Thorburn fights way to top

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This article was published 10/02/2015 (3870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s not a regular headliner, but at least Sunday and Monday, Winnipeg Jets right-winger Chris Thorburn could crow about a little history.

With his two scraps against Colorado’s Cody McLeod and a holding-the-stick penalty, Thorburn surged to 650 career penalty minutes for the Atlanta Thrashers/Jets to become the franchise leader in that sin-bin category.

The old leader, now second?

It’s Eric Boulton, who’s now been relegated to past tense more than once this season.

“We had a good text conversation last night,” Thorburn said Monday about contact he had with his old teammate late Sunday. “It was more jokes than anything.

“That’s what he said, ‘All my records are getting beat.’ It was just fun.”

Earlier this season, Bryan Little’s hat trick ended a long franchise drought for three-goal games, last sniped by Boulton.

Thorburn was wearing his PIM total like a badge of honour.

“It’s cool,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. Especially with the guy that I pass. Eric Boulton was a great teammate and good friend and still is.

“Now, it’s just time to move on.”

The weekend was a busy one for Thorburn.

He had three fights in two games, on Friday, settling a score with Chicago’s Daniel Carcillo.

The Jets were sharper in both games where Thorburn was engaging.

Coincidence?

“It’s just the games within the game,” he said. “Teams, both us and Colorado, just weren’t going good. We just needed a little bit of spark and if that helped, well, for us it did. But every night that’s not going to happen. We got the result we wanted and it’s not to say it had anything to do with the fight. Just the way it goes sometimes.”

The penalty-minute issue is notable.

But the more important story on Thorburn is the regular fourth-liner has again been the Jets’ flexible forward, being moved around to fill a variety of holes the team has encountered.

“It’s just about the guys you’re going to play with, knowing them and being comfortable with them,” said Thorburn, whose Sunday shifts were with Jim Slater, also playing up a line, and Michael Frolik. “For me, that’s easy. I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity.

“I’ve always been the one that, given the chance, I just put everything out there and see what happens. It’s been going OK. For me, it’s just preparing the night before, making sure of sleeping and eating, all that stuff because my minutes have gone way up. It’s a little different that way.

“The other part of is to just enjoy it. That’s where my mentality’s been, having fun, enjoy my new linemates and I get to talk to everyone now.”

The joke aside, Thorburn’s willingness to stick his nose in for his teammates, and his ability to be that flex guy, is not lost on those around him.

“I think for him, having been around a long time and being a veteran guy, he understands his role and I think when he moves up, he keeps his game simple. Sometimes other guys get plugged in there and they feel like they have to do more and try to make plays to play with those types of guys,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd.

“He understands that if he keeps his game simple, that in itself will help his linemates. I think it’s been nice for him because it’s not easy to go from playing three to five minutes a game some nights to jumping up to 13. That’s tough cardio-wise to get your pace back up. Luckily, we have a guy who takes care of himself and is ready to jump in there.”

Added coach Paul Maurice: “He’s a talker. He’s got a friendship with just about everybody in the room. He laughs loud. He’s a great personality in there. And then he’ll do what he did last night for his teammates and himself.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca