Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/slater-to-suit-up-for-team-usa-at- olympics-tournament-467969523.html Slater to suit up for Team USA at Olympics tournament By: Mike McIntyre HE was ready to hang up his skates last summer, figuring his best hockey was behind him. He was homesick, the contract offers from North America had vanished and he questioned just how many miles his now 35-year-old body had left. But then came the decision from the National Hockey League not to allow players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Jim Slater decided retirement could wait as he chased an opportunity, however slim it might have seemed. He stepped up his training. He paid meticulous attention to his diet. He added an offensive flair to his already stellar defensive game. This week, it paid off in an incredible way when Slater was named to the United States men’s hockey team that will compete next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea. "It was a great call. I was just overjoyed to hear those words. It was a pretty special moment I was able to share with my family," Slater told the Free Press on Wednesday during a telephone interview from Switzerland, where he’s playing with HC Fribourg-Gottéron in that country’s national league. "Just putting on the jersey for the first time and skating on the Olympic ice, that’s going to be the ultimate." Slater spent the four seasons in a Winnipeg Jets uniform upon the team’s return to the city in 2011. The gritty centre, drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2002, was part of the memorable "GST" line that first year with Tanner Glass and Chris Thorburn. He also embedded himself in the community through his volunteer and charity work. Slater’s NHL career ended at 584 games following the 2014-15 season, when the unrestricted free agent wasn’t re-signed by the Jets or any other organization. He headed overseas, playing two seasons as an import with Genève-Servette HC while his wife and young daughter remained home in Michigan. He wasn’t prepared to extend his stay to a third season, but then everything changed. "I’m over in Switzerland by myself, my family’s back home. It’s just hard being over here and not having them," said Slater. "But then the announcement came that the NHL’s guys weren’t going to go. I talked to my wife, and she’s like ‘You gotta go, give it a chance.’ That’s when you start getting excited about it, that this really could be a possibility. And here we are." It certainly wasn’t easy to get here. Slater, with 11 goals and 14 assists through 32 games with his new team in the Swiss league this season, was having a strong season after scoring eight times and adding 15 assists in 44 games last campaign. He was among a large number of potential players identified by U.S.A. Hockey and saw his odds improve in November when he was invited to play on the American team in the Deutschland Cup. The U.S. finished fourth. He’s been a nervous wreck for much of the past month waiting to see if his leap of faith paid off. "Obviously getting drafted in the NHL is big. The other thing off the top of my head is scoring my first NHL goal," Slater said of where this ranks in his career. He said being in Michigan on a holiday break last week and watching his three-year-old daughter, Wyn, call his parents on FaceTime to break the news might just be the best moment of all. "Daddy’s going to be an Olympian," she said repeatedly, according to Slater. As a hockey lifer, Slater admits he was initially disappointed the world’s best players wouldn’t be competing in the Olympics — even if it would have denied him a dream opportunity. "It’d be great to see the best on the best. That’s what the Olympics are all about. But that’s not going to happen," said Slater. However, he believes the level of hockey is going to open many eyes. "Every nation has a chance. It’s a mystery. There isn’t a clear-cut favourite. Every game is going to be a battle. We feel we have just as good a chance as every one else to win gold, or win a medal. I think it’s going to be great hockey, and great hockey watching for fans," said Slater. "These are real good hockey players over here. A lot of these guys could play in the NHL, or have played in the NHL." Slater said he’s been overwhelmed with warm wishes from former teammates and fans on social media, including many in Winnipeg. He knows he’ll have a cheering section of sorts from north of the border. "Winnipeg was absolutely a fantastic place, not only for hockey but for quality of life, for living. I loved it there. It was my type of city. I still have some really close friendships and people that I care for tremendously who live in the community," said Slater, who has continued to keep tabs on his former team as they make noise in the NHL this season. "I’m excited that they’re doing so well and the fans are getting a taste of this. I think it’s going to be like that for a long time," said Slater. "I’m just excited for everybody in Winnipeg." The feeling from many Winnipeggers towards Slater is no doubt mutual. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/dano-matthias-ready-for-next-return-to- action-467966433.html The waiting game: Dano, Matthias get rewarded for their patience By: Jeff Hamilton As he skated onto the ice for warm-up ahead of Sunday’s match against the Edmonton Oilers for what would be his first game in more than two months, Marko Dano worried less about how he’d perform and more about how his body would feel. The root of the worry for Dano, a 23-year-old winger in his third season with the Winnipeg Jets, was how his body might react to the speed and intensity of the game after missing the last 30 as a healthy scratch. The last time he had played was on Oct. 27, so it was only natural Dano wondered whether his body would fail him. So when the pre-game workout didn’t go as planned — his legs felt heavy and his hands a bit off — Dano feared the worst. He had worked hard to get back into the lineup, often spending hours with the coaching staff after practices to ensure that when he did get his chance to play he’d make the most of it. Any concern he had soon faded when he opened the scoring on his first shift, scoring his first goal of the season two minutes and 34 seconds into the game, what proved to be the deciding marker in a 5-0 win over the Oilers. "I’ve been waiting for a chance to play for a long time," he told reporters. "It was a great feeling, and now hopefully I’ll get some more ice time and be able to help the team out." Just two nights before, in a 4-2 home win over the New York Islanders on Dec. 29, Shawn Matthias, having missed the last 10 games — and playing just one in the previous 21 — had identical luck as Dano. He, too, scored on his first shift, lifting the Jets to a 1-0 lead. Like his teammate, the goal provided a brief escape from what had been a tough few weeks on the outside looking in. "Obviously, the last little while has been a different experience for me," said Matthias, 29, whose career has spanned 545 games over five teams, including four in the last five years. "To finish last season with having shoulder surgery, you work hard all summer, and to not have a great start… that goal felt good." While both hoped their goals would lead to more playing time, each knew nothing was promised. While centre Mark Scheifele (upper body) and winger Brandon Tanev (lower body) have created holes in the lineup for the foreseeable future, others are knocking on the door, including a number of prospects currently with the Manitoba Moose. Matthias and Dano are part of a unique group on the Jets: fringe players that must wait for the worst (an injury) for their own personal best-case scenario (a chance to play). Matthias, who signed with the Jets as a free agent ahead of the 2016-17 season, spent much of his first year battling injuries. In total, he played just 45 games for Winnipeg, scoring eight goals and four assists. He said there is a difference when it comes to missing time due to injury versus sitting out because of numbers, even if both tend to weigh heavily on the psyche. "When you have an injury you’re rehabbing something and there’s extra work there, but both are pretty tough on you," he said. "When you’re healthy, you’re constantly just trying to get back in by being a good pro and working hard, being a good teammate." In this case, being a good teammate doesn’t just mean supporting your fellow skaters. It involves treating the daily grind as if you were contributing on a nightly basis.