Postma snaps return-to-sender streak

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This article was published 16/10/2014 (4322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE has been a pro since 2009 so you are tempted to ask, is Paul Postma ever not going to seem like the new guy on the Winnipeg Jets’ defence?

Game maturity, injuries and the NHL lockout — sometimes not in that sequence — conspired to limit Postma’s NHL resumé to 58 games preparing for this fall’s training camp.

And now three games into the 2014-15 regular season, the answer to the first question could well be maybe.

It’s a decidedly small sample but there were things to like about Postma from the opening weekend.

One item that stands above the others is his head coach, Paul Maurice, submitted his name for some unsolicited public praise on Sunday, especially for puck movement, when the Jets had a tough time staying afloat against the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

On that night, Maurice increased Postma’s ice time significantly over the first two games (averaging 12:43 in Games 1 and 2 to 16:26 on Sunday).

Postma also went through the first weekend without being on the ice for an opposition goal, not all his doing for sure but it’s the kind of “plus” more Jets need if they’re going to get anywhere on their wish list to be a better defensive club.

Collectively, all of that can surely be seen as a good sign for a player who missed the majority of training camp with an injury and who was believed by some to be the odd-man out in the defensive pairings to start the season.

“Guys that aren’t necessarily guaranteed a spot on the team — you’ve got to prove yourself in those games,” Postma said, referring to the one and only pre-season game he got this fall, the last one, before seeing the level of games go straight to that of elite teams like the San Jose Sharks and Kings last weekend.

“That’s kind of your only chance to showcase what you’re made of and what you can bring to the team. Once it comes to the regular season, the pace of play and the intensity jumps up so much more. Everything counts. Every night means something. And it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Every team is good in this league.”

Postma said he was feeling some confidence early on the weekend and it carried him through.

“I actually felt pretty good,” he said.

“I know they’re two of the better teams in the league so it’s a good way to measure yourself and see how you compare to those guys.

“I think I can still get into better shape. My timing has been pretty good. And from last year, I think my positioning has been a little bit smarter and I’m a little more confident with the puck and in this league, confidence is everything. If you have it, you can play and if you don’t, there’s no point of even going out there.”

One thing Postma says suits him this season is Maurice’s desire for tighter gaps on the ice.

‘I’m a little more confident with the puck and in this league, confidence is everything. If you have it, you can play and if you don’t, there’s no point of even going out there’

— Jets blue-liner Paul Postma

“They’re great,” he said.

“For a skating defenceman like me, I can get up in the play a little more but it’s all neutral zone.”

“We have tighter gaps and that gives teams less chance to get into our zone so we’re spending less time in our defensive zone, which is exactly what we want, fewer goals against, and more time to try to score goals.

“And he loves it when guys jump up into the play and join the rush so I’m going to try to do that as much as I can.”

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Making plays is the bottom line and Maurice said again Wednesday the Jets’ opening weekend offered little time to go from a pre-season level to something much more demanding and difficult.

“I don’t think that’s bad,” he said. “In some ways it’s a continuation of your training camp. You want to get into the grind. We got into it. Phoenix grind hard. They’re a big, big team. We had three real physical games and you could see it in how the bodies came back to the rink the next day.

“But we got back into that grind the next day and we want to use that, the fact that we just played three really hard games to prepare us. Now we feel as healthy as we should be after those three games and we’re ready for that kind of grind, and I think Nashville’s going to bring that as well.”

The Predators are at the MTS Centre Friday for the Jets’ home-opener.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca