Moose make most of their odd vacation, prep for Rockets

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This article was published 22/03/2021 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Moose are nearing the end of their staycation.

After opening the AHL season with 16 games in 27 days against their Canadian Division foes, the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate is now closing in on the end of a 12-day stretch between contests. The Moose, 7-7-2-0, last played on March 13 when they closed out a four-game series with the Stockton Heat with a 4-2 win at Bell MTS Iceplex. Next puck drop is Thursday when they play the first of four straight at home against the Laval Rocket (11-4-1-0).

The time off has allowed the Moose to take a step back, focus on the fundamentals, and rest after a gruelling stretch.

“I think it was beneficial. We played so many games. You can communicate with the players, but there’s no time to practice,” said Moose head coach Pascal Vincent.

“I think they really enjoyed the two days of skill development, where we pushed them. It wasn’t easy on the ice, but (we) were working on specific skills for the forwards and specific skills for the defence.”

Vincent better hope his defencemen enhanced their skills since they will be without one of their best, Ville Heinola. The 20th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft was called up to the Jets’ taxi squad last week, as was goalie Eric Comrie.

“It changes our power plays. We’re number four or five right now in the league. We’ve been clicking, but not necessarily scoring goals. It’s all about work, off the rush, second chances, and winning one-on-one battles. Ville was part of that,” Vincent said.

In 16 games with the Moose, the 20-year-old Finn had four goals and six assists. The Jets claimed Comrie off waivers in February and sent him to the Moose after a stint on the taxi squad. Comrie, who’s been living out of a suitcase for the past two years, played only one game in his latest return to the Moose. He started the series finale against Stockton, earning a win that tied him with Cory Schneider on Manitoba’s all-time wins list.

“When he’s around, his attitude and leadership bring so much to the team. He’s a great example to everybody else… What the guy is going through is something I’ve never seen before. Being claimed on waivers, coming back, then claimed on waivers and coming back… but his attitude and leadership have been really good. Real good lessons that we can all learn from in staying positive no matter what. We’re going to miss that energy but he’s going to bring it to the Jets,” said Vincent.

A guy who has spent time with several NHL clubs but always finds a way back to the Jets organization is forward Marko Dano. The former first-round pick was sidelined with an injury before returning to the Moose lineup for their final three games. Dano said the break came at a good time, as it allowed him to catch up on practice time. The 26-year-old with 141 NHL games on his résumé can’t relate this break to anything he’s ever experienced as a pro.

“We’re living in a world where there are lots of new things in everybody’s lives. This is a new experience for everybody,” said Dano.

“This is maybe similar for European guys. We have a couple of national team breaks during the season. There are some tournaments that national teams play and if you don’t make a team, or get invited to a national team, then you usually get a couple days off. It’s usually around a week or 10 days. That’s the only thing I can think of that’s similar to this, but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that. This is new for me as well. We’re trying to make the most of it.”

It reminds defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic of his days at Merrimack College, where they practise all week for one or two games on the weekend. But Kovacevic, a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, said just because they’ve had their evenings free, that doesn’t mean they cut corners on COVID protocols.

“I think everyone realizes how serious the situation is and I think we’re all trying to do our part,” Kovacevic said. “There’s not really much hanging out besides online on video games and whatever… It’s a little bit different this year.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31