Rookie Harkins sent to ECHL for seasoning

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This article was published 03/01/2018 (2927 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jansen Harkins is taking a detour to Florida as he navigates the waters in his first pro hockey season.

The Manitoba Moose sent the rookie forward to their ECHL affiliate on Wednesday as part of a plan to get him more playing time. Harkins, 20, has dressed for 26 American Hockey League games this season, scoring two goals and adding six assists while mostly in a fourth-line role. He’s been a healthy scratch for a handful of recent games with the Moose as the club enjoys both good health and solid depth.

Moose head coach Pascal Vincent said going down to the Jacksonville Icemen is not a demotion, but rather an opportunity.

“This is not unusual. We want him to play minutes, we want him to develop. And to be able to use our East Coast hockey team and for him to be able to play minutes, important minutes, is crucial in his development,” he said. “We want him to feel good about himself, we want him to go out there, to be put on the ice when it really matters.”

Harkins knows he’s coming back to the Moose soon regardless of what he does in the ECHL, meaning there’s no pressure on him to find instant offensive success.

“He’s going there to play a certain amount of games and we’re going to call him back up — he knows all about it,” said Vincent, without revealing how many. “It’s anything but a penalty, a reassignment where the player is not performing. He’s a big piece of our organization, and to us, it’s just being smart about the development of our players.”

Harkins was selected in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2015 NHL draft. He turned pro this fall following four seasons with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League.

Several other players from that draft are having big years in the organization — Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic are with the Winnipeg Jets right now, while Sami Niku, Mason Appleton and Michael Spacek are with the Moose.

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The Moose have welcomed back a big piece of their blue line.

Julian Melchiori, 26, was returned to the club Wednesday after being called up by the Jets on Dec. 14. He didn’t dress for any games with the big club, but was an extra body following an injury to defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who returned to the lineup this week.

Melchiori is having a stellar offensive season with the Moose, with four goals and eight assists through 26 games. The goals and points are both career highs for Melchiori, who is in his sixth season with the AHL club. He also dressed in 30 games with the Jets during that span, putting up two assists.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg