Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/dano-sits-and-waits-in-hockeys-no- mans-land-464051793.html

Dano sits and waits in hockey's no man's land

By: Mike McIntyre

Marko Dano is trapped in purgatory, in what amounts to a professional hockey version of no man’s land.

The 23-year-old Jets forward has been a healthy scratch for 22 consecutive games, with no end to his press-box banishment in sight. Yet the brass apparently think enough of him that they don’t want to risk losing him on waivers to another team by trying to send him down to the .

So he sits, knowing the only he has at seeing game action is if a couple of his teammates were to be felled by injuries or if Winnipeg’s play suddenly went into a tailspin.

It’s the type of situation that might have some players on the phone with their agent, demanding a one-way ticket out of town. But Dano told the Free Press on Wednesday that while he’s frustrated, he hasn’t asked for a trade and has no plans to do so.

"Yeah, everyone wants to play, and now the team’s doing well. That’s great, and I’m happy the team is where we are right now. But yeah, it’s a little hard if you’re not playing and still waiting for your chance," Dano said following practice, where he was asked to play as a defencemen to fill in for , who was missing for maintenance.

"I’m trying to still be positive and work hard every day. I’m waiting for my chance to come. I know that chance is going to come, so you’ve got to be ready for it."

But is it, really? Dano has played in six games this season, ranging between a low of 4:53 in ice time and a high of 9:14. He has yet to register a . It’s quite a change for a player coming off a promising season in which he put up four goals and seven assists in 38 games with the Jets.

He’s clearly not the first injury option for the team. When Kyle Connor couldn’t go last week for a game, veteran Shawn Matthias took his spot in the lineup before joining Dano back on the sidelines. That would seem to suggest the Jets would need at least two forwards to go down before Dano’s number is called — and even that’s not a guarantee. There are plenty of players with the red-hot Manitoba Moose proving their worth for a potential call-up, such as , Brendan Lemieux and Nic Petan, who potentially could leap right over Dano and into the lineup. They are all playing in meaningful games these days, while Dano’s only opportunity to showcase himself comes in practice.

Dano said Wednesday he had a chance to join the Moose earlier this season on a conditioning assignment, meaning he wouldn’t need to clear waivers and could spend up to 14 days in the . But he declined after discussions with the organization and his agent.

"We decided to just stay here," said Dano. "Just to be here and be in the practice and just be ready."

Dano, the 27th-overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft by the , has always been viewed as a skilled player with a wealth of potential. But hockey history is littered with examples of talented players who were never able to leave their mark. Dano is already on his third organization, having come over to Winnipeg from the in the Andrew Ladd trade, and you wonder if a fourth stop will be necessary before too long.

"It’s just how it is. I’m happy here, I’m happy the team’s doing well. I love the boys here and the coaches, too," Dano said. "When you’re in a good spot, you want to be part of that team. So just trying to be positive, come in every day with a good mindset. I want to be part of a winning team. Like I said, it’s a matter of time. I hope my chance is going to come and I’ll be part of this team."

Jets praised Dano for handling the situation "exceptionally well."

"It’s not easy. It’s a slightly easier sell because we’re winning hockey games and we’ve stayed healthy," Maurice said. "Marko’s a young player, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience with it."

He said there isn’t a lot of daily dialogue between him and Dano or Matthias (who has dressed for 18 games this year, but just one of the past 13). Both players are doing their best to stay sharp if, and when, they are needed.

"They’ve pushed hard, and they’ve worked hard, and they’ve been worked hard. They’re giving themselves the best chance, that’s all they can do. We try to communicate with them. There’s not a whole lot to say to a guy day to day on this. Just keep going, and they’ve done that," Maurice said. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-goalie-mason-cleared-to-play- 463989923.html

Jets goalie Mason cleared to play

By: Mike McIntyre

Winnipeg Jets Steve Mason and the team were on the ice this morning at MTS Place.

He's now been felled by two concussions in his career, but as evidence continues to mount about the potential long-term impact of such injuries, veteran goalie Steve Mason insists it won't impact his game, even if the thought will always be in the back of his mind.

"You definitely don't want to get any more, but I feel if you handle them properly, you know the organization was great in terms of making sure that I was coming back when everything was all good. But at the same time, it's your brain and you hope you don't get any more," Mason, 29, said Wednesday following Jets practice at Bell MTS Place.

He was activated off the injured reserve list on Monday and backed up Connor Hellebuyck later that night as his team won 5-1 against . He missed seven games with an injury after taking a hard shot to the mask Nov. 5 in San Jose. Although he managed to finish the period, Mason told training staff during the intermission he as feeling nauseous and had a headache.

That immediately put him in concussion protocol, which would take more than two weeks to finally get through and be cleared.

"You never know with concussions. It dragged on a little bit longer. Part of that was having to pass the concussion-protocol testing, which is all your off-ice stuff on a computer, and written and verbal tests, but on the ice I've been feeling good for a lot longer than I've been back," Mason said.

Mason's first concussion happened in 2014 while a member of the . He was knocked into the net during a collision in the crease, striking his head. He missed 10 days then, including the first two games of their playoff series with the New York Rangers.

"Each individual case is entirely different from the next one. So you can't really judge that based on what other people are feeling. It's not always a big hit that causes a concussion. It could be the simplest of movements. But the brain is a fragile thing. You've got to let it run its course," he said.

Mason had a tough start with the Jets this season, but appeared to be rounding into form at the time he was injured. He had won his previous two starts before the San Jose game, giving up only two goals on 69 shots.

"Every now and then you get a good one in the head. You feel it, but nothing happens after the fact. But each and every play is unique to its own occurrence, so now it's just a matter of seeing the shots again and trying to get back into game action," said Mason.

Exactly when Mason might get his next start is still not known. Hellebuyck will be between the pipes Thursday when the Jets host the Chicago Blackhawks. Coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday Mason is a possibility for one of this weekend's back-to-back games with St. Louis, although he didn't rule out the possibility of Hellebuyck playing both.

He said Mason's time will come with another busy stretch of games looming, including a three- game trip next week against Nashville, Boston and the .

"I'm not going to close the door that we wouldn't go back-to-back, but if we do that it will change what we do going forward with the rest of the games on the road," Maurice said of his goaltending plan.

"(Mason) is going to be a real important guy going in the next six weeks especially."

Mason said Wednesday he is ready.

"The team's just had a great first third of a season so far, it's been a lot of fun to be a part of. Any time you're on the ice it's a lot more fun than being on the bench or in the press box," he said.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-gear-up-for-healthy-dose-of-division

Jets gear up for healthy dose of division

By Paul Friesen

The schedule has been surprisingly watered down, to date. Call it Central-Light, with a decided lack of bite to it.

This team might not remember what a divisional foe looks like – they haven’t played one in more than two weeks, and have faced just two in the last five-plus weeks.

That’s about to change.

Beginning with the first meeting of the season against Chicago here, Thursday, the Jets will sidle up to a four-pack of stout: after the Blackhawks, it’s back-to-back against St. Louis on the weekend, then Nashville next Tuesday.

Six days, three cities, four doses of their division – and a case of critical points in the standings up for grabs.

“It’s a really big challenge for us before the break,” Bryan Little was saying, Wednesday. “They’re all big games, they’re all division games and they’re all against good teams.”

Of course, what would a hockey dressing room be without a cliche or two about taking them one at a time.

OK, so let’s twist the cap off the Blackhawks, first, who to many observers is the NHL’s fizzling dynasty, three Stanley Cups in their recent past, but none on their immediate horizon.

To the Jets, though, they remain the standard.

“A lot of respect when that team comes in the building,” captain said. “They typically bring out the best in us. It’s a game we circle on our calendar, kinda see-where-you’re- at type of game.

“Anytime we’re on the ice with them we take a bit of an underdog mentality.”

The standings, inverted from years past, say otherwise.

Chicago, 15-11-5, is the one fighting to make the wild-card playoff line, at least for now. Three straight wins suggest this dog may no longer be sleeping.

The Jets, despite three losses in their last four, are a healthy 18-8-5, sit third in the Western Conference and trail only St. Louis in the division.

It used to take teams like the Blackhawks or Blues to get the Jets worked up into a lather.

On Thursday one of the NHL’s most surprising teams will step onto the ice with, dare we say it, a touch of swagger?

Hell, did say it.

“When you step on the ice you can have that swag to your team, where, ‘We’re ahead of you in the standings,’ and for a reason – because we’ve been playing well,” the highest-scoring fourth- liner in hockey said. “We’ve had success against them in the past, too, at least the last couple of years.

“It’s a good matchup for us. Our confidence is high.”

Little didn’t disagree, acknowledging that confidence wasn’t there as recently as last season.

“Especially against the top teams,” he said. “This year… we go into every game believing we can win.”

Little is quick to say the Jets still hold the Blackhawks in high regard. He still sees them as a contender, and with their star power, it’s hard not to.

One of the men in charge of shutting down that star power is approaching this game like he has any other versus the ‘Hawks.

“I don’t think a whole lot changes,” grind-line winger Andrew Copp said. “You look at their roster, they’ve got Cup winners, left and right.”

Copp, though, isn’t without a touch of swagger, too.

“That’s kind of across the board in any game,” Copp said. “Going into Tampa and Nashville, we thought this is where we belong. We can have a little arrogance about ourselves, but we can’t be too high and mighty and think we’re going to just step on the ice and win.

“Maybe arrogance is the wrong word. Maybe quiet confidence is a lot better.”

Head coach Paul Maurice acknowledges there’s more confidence in his players than he saw last season. But he sees something else, too.

“What’s different is we haven’t at this point been on much of a rollercoaster, in terms of emotions,” Maurice said. “I don’t know that we’ve necessarily had to wind ourselves up to play games. They’re in a good routine.”

Just when you thought Maurice was going to go all milquetoast and say it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, he surprised us.

“There’s a lot of truth to the standard lines – ‘one game at a time,’ and ‘it’s just another game’ – and I get all that,” Maurice said. “But when we haven’t seen these teams — normally we see them so often — there is a rivalry, there is an intensity built into these games.

“They’re exciting games to watch. They’re exciting games to coach.”

A tall pitcher of Central Ale, it turns out, does get mouths watering. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-gameday-vs-chicago-blackhawks

Jets Gameday vs Chicago Blackhawks

By Paul Friesen

Winnipeg Jets vs Chicago Blackhawks

7 p.m., Bell-MTS Place; TV: TSN-3; Radio: TSN 1290

THE BIG MATCHUP

Star power vs star power Both teams are oozing scoring talent up front, with two top lines capable of putting up serious numbers. Which team’s stars produce, and which can be shut down, will go a long way to determining the victor.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Fourth-line power Mathieu Perreault is on a point-per-game pace, despite his spot on the Jets’ fourth line. That depth scoring has been key to Winnipeg’s record, and takes some heat off the top guns.

Shut ’em down How a power play that looks like this – Toews between Kane and Anisimov, with Keith and Seabrook on the point – can be as bad as Chicago’s has been is one of life’s great mysteries. The Blackhawks have two power play goals in their last 30 chances, and rank 29th in the NHL.

Get that first one The Jets have been dominant at home and when they score first they’re a dominant 14-1-4, overall. Nothing gets the home crowd going like an early one, and the Jets seem to feed off it.

Lead through 40 Here’s a telling stat: the combined record of Winnipeg and Chicago when leading after two periods is 20-0-3. Conversely, the Blackhawks have come from behind after two to win three times, the Jets just once.

Don’t work overtime The Blackhawks have forced nine of their 31 games to overtime, winning four of them. While that’s nothing to write home about, the Jets’ OT record of 1-5 is a mess. Until Paul Maurice designs a winning strategy for three-on-three hockey, his team is best to avoid it. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/perreault-couldnt-be-happier

Perreault "couldn't be happier"

By Paul Friesen

He has to be the highest-scoring fourth-liner in hockey.

Jets winger Mathieu Perreault’s 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 19 games has him on pace for a career season.

Yet, he’s averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time per game since returning from injury to his current spot alongside Matt Hendricks and .

“My years in Washington I had the same kind of minutes and I was able to produce,” Perreault said. “If I get out there on the power play, that’s where I can get a lot of my offence.”

Perreault does have six of his points on the Jets second power-play unit during his stint on the fourth line.

If others are wondering when he’ll force head coach Paul Maurice into moving him up the lineup, Perreault apparently is not.

“Obviously the minutes are not as high, but the team is winning and I’m able to produce,” he said. “So I couldn’t be happier.”

Perreault started the season in Winnipeg’s top six but lost that spot to American League call-up and NHL rookie Kyle Conner when he missed 12 games.

— Friesen

Global Winnipeg https://globalnews.ca/news/3915708/winnipeg-jets-goalie-steve-mason-feeling-great-after- concussion/

Winnipeg Jets goalie Steve Mason ‘feeling great’ after concussion

By Russ Hobson Sports Anchor/Reporter

WINNIPEG – After being pulled off injured reserve earlier in the week Winnipeg Jets goalie Steve Mason is back between the pipes.

Mason took part in his first full practice on Wednesday after missing the last two weeks with a concussion stemming from when he was hit in the mask with a shot. It’s certainly not the first time he’s been hit up high with a puck, and probably won’t be the last.

“Goalies get hit in the head all the time and it doesn’t always feel good, but usually you don’t feel anything after the fact.” Mason said. “But this was just a case where I wasn’t feeling great, probably 10-15 minutes after the shot had hit me.”

Mason, 29, had a tough start to the season after losing his first four starts with the Jets. But he was victorious in his last two starts before getting hurt and hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game in his last five appearances.

He had been skating on his own the last week and a half in an effort to regain his previous form.

“Feeling great.” he said. “It was just a matter of passing the concussion protocol testing which is all your computer, and verbal, and written test, so that was more frustrating than anything.”

Mason had to pass concussion testing before getting cleared to return. Studying game film is one thing but hitting the books is completely different.

“In school I wasn’t too worried about passing a test or not,” Mason said. “But in this case, the only way I was coming back was if I passed it, so I put a little bit more pressure on myself to study for it I guess.”

The Jets play games on every other day up until their Christmas break so his services will be required with a busy stretch ahead. Jets head coach Paul Maurice said it’s a possibility he could be back guarding the Jets’ at some point this weekend.

“He’s going to be a real important guy going in the next six weeks especially.” Maurice said.

“We’ll have half our road schedule done by Christmas and he’s going to have to play in these games. We need him to play in these games.”

The Athletic Winnipeg https://theathletic.com/183570/2017/12/13/campbell-significant-changes-to-connor-hellebuycks- game-are-paying-off/

Campbell: Significant changes to Connor Hellebuyck's game are paying off

By Paul Campbell

In September, I couldn’t have told you which Winnipeg Jets goalie would be the starter I’d be writing about in December. With Connor Hellebuyck’s struggles last season and the arrival of veteran Steve Mason, I expected an open competition for the crease, which might not get resolved all season.

A strong start by Hellebuyck and an unfortunate early injury to Mason has settled the matter at least for now. Hellebuyck has seized the crease in impressive fashion, with his .920 all-situation and .932 5-on-5 save percentages ranking him eighth among goalies who have at least 15 appearances.

It's a remarkable improvement from the numbers he put up last year. Hellebuyck’s all-situation .908 and 5-on-5 .918 save percentages had him well below league average, and likely led to the Jets’ decision to sign Mason.

So what changed? There’s enough variance in a goalie’s save percentage from year-to-year that it’s difficult to separate randomness from planned effect. In Hellebuyck’s case, however, there have been significant changes in his game that, at least so far, seem to be paying off.

Kevin Woodley of NHL.com and InGoal Magazine was the first to outline the complete overhaul of Hellebuyck’s summertime training regimen, targeted at strengthening his core. The goal was to help him play from the inside out, keeping strong, compact, and tight until a shot required him to stretch or reach out. Hellebuyck’s tendency had been to play from the outside in, focusing on covering the net with his long limbs, but leaving significant holes through the body that – we discovered last season – NHL shooters could exploit.

There’s plenty of video evidence showing that Hellebuyck is getting stretched out less this season, moving more as a whole-body-unit, rather than an assemblage of independent limbs. Nothing, however, paints a clearer picture than the change in his stance during shootouts. This is him last year:

Two things stand out here. First, Hellebuyck plays with a significant amount of backward flow: he starts well out and then backs up, in many cases rapidly, as the shooter approaches. His momentum makes it more difficult to shift his centre of gravity against the flow, and also leaves him very deep by the time the shot comes, exposing lots of net.

Second, he remains wide and upright through most of the sequence, his arms low and out to the sides. He looks loose and ready to react and perhaps seems to be taking up more net, but this stance leaves significant holes open between limbs and body, holes that are very hard to close off reactively when a shot comes from point-blank range.

Let’s fast-forward to this season. You don’t need to be a goaltending expert to see the difference.

Aside from his equipment, Hellebuyck looks like a different goaltender here. His stance is compact, and he holds it for the duration of the approach. His flow has also been reduced to a trickle; he begins from a similar depth, but backs in far more slowly, continuously reducing the amount of available net as the shooter gets closer.

The strategic shift this change represents is clear: close off the holes, allow nothing through the body, don’t give an inch of extra net by retreating too fast, and don’t bite on any move till the shot is inevitable. Basically, he’s forcing the shooter to beat him with a superb shot, rather than beating himself by opening up holes to be exploited. This is playing from the inside out.

One of Hellebuyck’s defining trademarks over the course of his career has been his glove position. Most modern use a fingers-up position with the glove further forward than the body. In contrast, Hellebuyck would hold the glove low and out to the side. This is him in 2016:

As the play approaches, you can see Hellebuyck’s glove down below his knee. It’s even more evident when he’s preparing for a faceoff in his zone.

The glove starts off low and then gets even lower as the puck is dropped, bringing his weight forward onto his toes and making it biomechanically more difficult to lift up to stop a high rising shot.

Now, look at his glove position this season:

Both on the draw and facing the rush, Hellebuyck is keeping his glove higher, and using a fingers-up position. This may seem to be covering less net than the long extended arm posture he employed in previous years, but it gives him access to stops he simply couldn’t make before: it’s almost impossible to move your glove fast enough to catch a puck whizzing past your ear or over your shoulder when your hand is down by your shin. This wouldn’t have been an issue against lower-level competition, but facing the faster and more deadly shots of NHL players exposed it time and again. For instance:

Despite the brief screen, Hellebuyck almost stops this shot. Had he been using his current fingers-up position, holding the glove arm higher as well, there’s no question he would have stopped it. This season has been a completely different story.

This laser of a shot from unexpectedly short range is labelled for the hard-to-defend area over the goalie’s biceps. Last season, Hellebuyck’s best chance at stopping it would have been to turn his hand over, raising his elbow and shrugging his shoulder into the puck. This season, his glove is almost already there, and he’s able to cleanly catch a puck he previously would have had little chance of stopping.

It’s all too common to hear players, after the fact, credit their hard work during the summer with their success the following year. It may be true in some cases, but it’s just as likely to be a post- hoc narrative that really doesn’t explain much, with no visible supporting evidence.

In the case of Hellebuyck, however, a summertime spent working a specific strategy has lead to a significant, visibly altered game that’s been producing far superior results. It’s been said that goalies don’t improve much after 20, but Hellebuyck is showing that with the right kind of help and a willingness to learn, change, and work, a goalie can overcome his previous limitations.

Toronto Sun http://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/world-junior-camp-stanley-would-love-to-add-personal- touch-to-memories

World junior camp: Stanley would love to add personal touch to memories

By Terry Koshan

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Logan Stanley has not played a shift in the world junior hockey championship, yet he has memories of the event that he cherish for the rest of his life.

The Winnipeg Jets prospect is among 11 defencemen competing for a coveted job with Canada’s junior team this week at the selection camp at the Meridian Centre.

Four will be told they will not be required for the 2018 world juniors in Buffalo, starting on Dec. 26 when Canada meets Finland at the KeyBank Center.

It appears to be a safe bet that returnees Kale Clague, Jake Bean and Dante Fabbro, as well as Victor Mete, sent to camp by the , have the top four spots locked up.

Not that Stanley — a member of the Memorial Cup-champion who was traded to his hometown this past summer — will need extra motivation, but there is some if it’s needed.

In late 2008 when he was 10 years old, Stanley, who was born in Kitchener and raised in Waterloo, and his minor-hockey teammates headed to Ottawa for a tournament during the Christmas break.

They caught the Canada-Kazakhstan game at the 2009 world junior, won 15-0 by Canada, and happened to be staying in the same hotel as the Canadian juniors, a team that featured future stars such as , P.K. Subban and Alex Pietrangelo and was coached by .

A chance meeting with Quinn, who passed away in 2014, left a mark on Stanley.

“We were running around playing mini sticks at the hotel, and he stopped to talk to us, probably for 15 minutes,” Stanley said on Wednesday. “He took that time out of his day, signed all of our jerseys. We got a picture with him that my mom still has somewhere in an album.

“You think back and when someone of that stature does something like that … he could have walked by and not taken the time. All of us here could do the same thing for some young kids who are watching or will be at the tournament. Definitely something you can learn from.”

Stanley with the Memorial Cup prior to a game against his former team (GETTY IMAGES)

If you happen to see a similar occurrence, Stanley will be the player towering over everyone else. At 6-foot-7, 231 pounds, the 19-year-old is the biggest skater in camp.

Chosen 18th overall by the Jets in the ’16 draft, Stanley arrived at camp with the idea that his size will work in his favour.

“For sure,” Stanley said. “I think my feet and my skating are good enough to play with anyone here. I have to use my size and my strength to dominate in the D zone.

“Being good defensively, moving pucks quickly, -killing well, blocking shots, being hard to play against in my own end. All of it is important.”

The past seven hockey months have been hectic for Stanley.

There was his recovery from knee injury in time to help the Spits win the Memorial Cup in May; in August, Stanley was traded to the Rangers, happily moving back into his parents’ home on a full-time basis.

Training camp with the Jets ended when Stanley was sent back to the Hockey League in September with the knowledge that he needed more development at the junior level before the possibility of sticking in the NHL could be realistic.

In 30 games with the Rangers, Stanley, whose first concern is playing strong defensively, has 25 points, an OHL career high.

At the same time, taking advantage of his mom Lori’s cooking — “I tend to eat whatever she puts in front of me,” Stanley said with a grin— and sleeping in his own bed have been beneficial.

Not having to return home until after the gold-medal game is over in Buffalo on Jan. 5 would be just fine with Stanley.

Making the team first is foremost, and he would love to add to his world-junior memories.

“To be able to play in my last year of eligibility would be really fun, a great experience,” Stanley said. “You have to bring an edge that is different from some of the other guys and I think I have that.”

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/ehlers-getting-lost-in-the-jets-shuffle~1283959 (VIDEO LINK)

Ehlers getting lost in the Jets' shuffle?

Does get lost in the Jets' offensive shuffle? Tim Hortons That's Hockey share their thoughts on him flying under the radar.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/vincent-we-felt-we-were-moving-forward-every-year- 1.943068

Vincent: We felt we were moving forward every year

Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent speaks with Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph about how the organization's success has been a result of seven years of hard work, the team's road trip to California, the upcoming games vs. Toronto, and the goaltending performances from Michael Hutchinson and Eric Comrie. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/practice--paul-maurice/t-277437442/c-55686103

PRACTICE | Paul Maurice

Head Coach Paul Maurice provides an update on Hendricks and Myers, and looks ahead to Thursday's game against the Blackhawks https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/practice--steve-mason/t-277437442/c-55685303

PRACTICE | Steve Mason

Steve Mason on how he's feeling after returning from a concussion the other day vs. Vancouver https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/practice--andrew-copp/t-277437442/c-55685803

PRACTICE | Andrew Copp

Andrew Copp looks ahead to Thursday's game against the Blackhawks https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/practice--bryan-little/t-277437442/c-55685703

PRACTICE | Bryan Little

Bryan Little on the play of his line with Ehlers and Laine and how the trio has found success recently