Time to knuckle down and fight for a job: Gregoire

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This article was published 10/09/2011 (5199 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PENTICTON, B.C. — It is good, straightforward and honest advice.

And when Jason Gregoire uttered the words during a media scrum Wednesday, it was easy to get the sense the message delivered was directed not so much to the rest of his Winnipeg Jets’ rookie teammates, but to the face that stares back at him in the mirror each morning.

“It’s not time to be ooh-ing and aahing any more,” said the Winnipeg-born product of the University of North Dakota. “It’s time to try and turn heads for yourself and for some of the coaching staff watching these games and in the main camp.

“I’m fighting for a job and that’s my mentality going into main camp.”

After two games in two days to open the Young Stars tournament — a win over San Jose followed by a loss to Edmonton — the Jets rookies had just one practice on Wednesday.

Matinee

They’ll wrap up the tournament on Thursday with a matinee game (1:30 p.m. CT, 1290 Sports Radio) against the Vancouver Canucks, before heading back to Winnipeg later in the day. And then it’s on to main camp for many of the prospects this Saturday.

Gregoire, 22, hopes he can continue with the consistency he’s shown through rookie camp into the workouts with the big club.

“I’m a little bit older than some of these guys so the next step (to the rookie camp) wasn’t that big for me, I don’t think,” Gregoire said. “Obviously, there’s going to be a step going into main camp but it’s a good pace anywhere you go and I feel like I’m in good shape and good playing form.

“As a hockey player you know you can’t look too far ahead or you’ll get lost. You’ve just got to worry about things one day at a time and here you’ve just got to relax.”

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St. John’s IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge, the man who is running the practices here and working the bench for the Jets, singled out Gregoire along with Mark Scheifele, Ivan Telegin, Carl Klingberg, Zach Redmond and both goaltenders — Edward Pasquale and Chris Carrozzi — for their efforts through the first two games.

Pasquale and Carrozzi will share the net duties in the finale while Winnipegger Jordan DePape will not play as the organization doesn’t want to aggravate a hip injury before he heads back to the Kamloops Blazers.

The game against the Canucks will be like old-home week for many in the Jets organization as five Vancouver players were with the Manitoba Moose last year.

“That game will mean something,” said McCambridge with a grin. “They all mean something, but that has a little more impact, obviously, after being employed by Vancouver for the last two years before. So, I’d like to get that win. I’d definitely like to get that and talked to the guys about that.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait