Jets notes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/09/2011 (5122 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gregoire gung-ho today

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There’s lots on the line today if you ask Winnipeg Jets hopeful Jason Gregoire, the hometown 22-year-old left-winger.

Gregoire, who signed a free-agent contract with the Jets this summer, sees today’s game in St. John’s versus the Ottawa Senators as a must-have if he’s going to get anywhere on his NHL dream this fall.

“The position I’m in, I’m going to have to make waves to make this team,” Gregoire said. “I can’t just be lurking in the weeds just waiting to take my opportunity with things.”

Gregoire, a standout at the University of North Dakota last season, is likely to get into today’s game, though nothing was guaranteed.

He’s hopeful for another shot mainly because he was disappointed in his game Saturday night when the Jets lost 4-3 in Nashville. He now has one assist in two pre-season outings.

“I think it’ll be little things that will be important, like strong on the boards,” Gregoire said. “A winger in this league, you’ve got to make plays on the boards and I thought I was kind of weak tonight.

“Then I have to generate offence, too.”

Gregoire said he knows eyes are on him.

“(The coach) is looking to see if I can crack this lineup,” he said. “There’s a lot of good players here, a lot of bubble players as you would call them. You’ve got to step up to prove you’re above and beyond some of these guys to make the NHL.

“It’s a tough league to make and the way I played out there is not going to cut it, unfortunately. I know that. So it’s on to the next game and figure out what I’ve got to work on and what I’ve got to do to make this team in the end.

“I’ve got to do something to show I deserve to be here. He’s not going to let me stay because he likes me as a person. He’s got to like me as a hockey player and I’ve got to prove that to him.”

Snow shower

IT was probably a case of a rookie dissing a veteran.

At 9:46 of the second period, the referees whistled Jets’ forward Shawn Weller off for interference.

Weller had skated in on Carolina goalie Cam Ward, who covered the puck at the last moment, and stopped in Ward’s face.

The snow shower was nowhere near the magnitude of an “incident,” but Weller was sent off anyway for the slight.

Clark shows he can keep up

EXPERIENCE might be important but sometimes it doesn’t seem like fun at the time.

That would describe Kevin Clark’s Sunday with the Jets.

He was in the lineup for the 4-0 loss against Carolina, and though he skated well and had two shots on goal, it wasn’t near enough.

“It’s a learning curve for some of us,” said the Winnipegger. “I guess we probably came out a little slow in the first and second and you can’t do that at this level.

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“That’s pretty much their squad and you can see the pace of all the top guys.”

Clark, 23, had a goal last Tuesday in Winnipeg and showed at least on Sunday that he could keep up against a pretty good team.

“The speed’s not a big deal,” he said. “I think I probably have a little more time and was probably rushing myself in the offensive zone. But that might come with maturity and experience.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca