Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-trim-training-camp-roster- 447421613.html

Jets trim training camp roster

By: Jason Bell

Logan Stanley has the size but needs to grow his game in junior.

The returned the 6-7, 230-pound defenceman to his junior-hockey squad, the , on Sunday morning. He was one of 13 players trimmed from the NHL club's training camp roster.

Head coach Paul Maurice hinted over the weekend he wanted the personnel down to a more workable number and he'll have that Monday morning when the Jets skate at the Iceplex in preparation for an evening pre-season clash with the .

Winnipeg (0-3-1) is still looking for its first victory of the pre-season. Game time is 7 p.m. at Bell MTS Place (TSN3 TV, 1290TSN Radio).

Nineteen forwards, nine defencemen and three remain at training camp.

Stanley participated in the Young Stars Classic prospects tournament in Penticton, B.C., earlier this month and was invited to the Jets' main camp. However, the Waterloo, Ont., product, a first- round pick (18th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft clearly isn't ready for prime time.

Kitchener is 1-1 its first two games of the OHL season. Stanley could be in the Rangers lineup when they play the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday night. Stanley won a Memorial Cup national junior title with the Spitfires in late May, but his rights were dealt to Kitchener in early August.

Two notable members of the Jets organization, goalie Michael Hutchinson and blue-liner Julian Melchiori, were cut by the big club and must clear waivers before joining the Moose.

Hutchinson has appeared in 99 games with the Jets over parts of four seasons, going 41-38-11 with a career 2.63 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He was at his best with the Jets during the 2013-14 season when he went 21-10-5 and helped the team earn its only playoff appearance.

He inked a new two-year contract prior to the 2016-17 season, as the Jets needed another goalie under contract to leave exposed to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expension draft. Hutchinson's fate was sealed when Winnipeg signed goalie Steve Mason over the summer, and he will partner with Eric Comrie with the Moose unless he is claimed on waivers or a trade with another club can be negotiated.

Melchiori, meanwhile, has a pair of assists in 30 games with the Jets over parts of three seasons. He got into 18 contests at the end of last season when the club was hit with string of injuries to the blue line, and will be a valuable, veteran contributor for the Moose.

Fowards Michael Sgarbossa and Buddy Robinson, both signed by the Jets on July 1, were demoted and must clear waivers before joining the Moose. Blue-liner Cam Schilling is in the same boat.

Winnipeg also sent forwards Mason Appleton, , Jansen Harkins and Jimmy Lodge, defenceman Sami Niku, Nelson Nogier and goalie Jamie Phillips to the AHL team. None of the players requires waivers.

The club suffered its third-straight loss in regulation Saturday — a 6-2 defeat to the host Oilers. Winnipeg opened the exhibition slate Sept. 18 at home with a shootout loss to the Wild. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-captain-wheeler-takes-stand- against-trump-447487343.html

Jets captain Wheeler takes stand against Trump

By: Mike McIntyre

EDMONTON — He isn’t taking a knee. But Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler – never one to shy away from an on-ice battle — is taking a stand against U.S. President Donald Trump through social media.

In the process, the Minnesota native appears to have gone where no other pro hockey player has publicly ventured to date.

Wheeler, who uses the handle @BiggieFunke, fired off a pair of short, pointed Twitter messages this weekend as part of an ongoing controversy between Trump and a growing chorus of other pro athletes.

"It’s the First Amendment to our Constitution. The First one!!" Wheeler said in his first Tweet.

"Regardless of how it makes you feel individually, these are literally the principles the US was founded on. Come on, Mr. President," he typed moments later.

Wheeler didn’t make the trip to Edmonton for Saturday night’s exhibition game, and he and his teammates were off on Sunday. The first opportunity to speak to the matter and expand on his comments will come this morning.

Trump has come under fire for comments he made at a rally in Alabama on Friday, where he suggested National Football League players who protests during the national anthem should be "fired."

"Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b— off the field right now. He is fired," Trump said.

Wheeler’s comments appear to be mostly well-received through social media. As of Sunday evening, they had been "liked" more than 14,000 times and re-tweeted by other users more than 3,000 times. There were also more than 500 comments from other Twitter users, with the majority being supportive of his position.

"I couldn’t agree more! Guess I have a new NHLer to root for. Thank you for speaking up," said one user.

"Good for you to stand up for what is right regardless of the backlash you may receive. Proud to have you as Captain of our Jets!" wrote another.

Not everyone was on his side.

"Stick to hockey! Stay out of politics!" reads one of the few dozen negative replies, all carrying a similar theme to them.

Trump’s comments triggered an immediate backlash on a number of fronts. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called them "divisive" in a statement, while the player’s association went even further in their reaction.

"We will never back down," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith tweeted early Saturday morning. "We no longer can afford to stick to sports."

Trump, as he is prone to do, carried the matter over to Twitter. On Saturday morning, he took aim at Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors by "uninviting" him to the White House for waffling on his invitation.

A slew of basketball players then jumped into the fray, with Lebron James calling the president a "bum" among other things.

Wheeler then weighed in, answering a question many had posed about whether a hockey player might ever enter the fray. It remains to be seen if others will now follow suit.

It also raises questions about whether Wheeler might opt to go beyond his Twitter comments and protest during the anthem by sitting it out, as athletes in several other sports have done including a huge wave during Sunday’s round of NFL games.

The Jets are currently in a stretch where they are playing eight straight games against Canadian teams through the end of the pre-season and start of the regular-season. The first opportunity to hear the U.S. anthem comes on Oct. 14 when they host the .

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins came under heavy criticism Sunday after issuing a statement saying they would, as reigning champions, visit Trump at the White House. Trump quickly responded on Twitter, praising them for being a "great team." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/top-defensive-prospect-will-make-camp- cuts-a-tough-call-447483483.html

Top defensive prospect will make camp cuts a tough call

By: Mike McIntyre

EDMONTON — He was a question mark coming into camp as he worked his way back from off- season double shoulder surgery while getting his first taste of pro hockey.

But Tucker Poolman continues to impress his boss.

"He’s had a real strong camp. He hasn’t had a dip, he hasn’t had a lull," Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice said following Saturday’s 6-2 loss in Edmonton.

Poolman played 16:51, registered two shots on and blocked a shot while going minus-one. He spent plenty of five-on-five time matched up against superstar Connor McDavid.

"It’s hard to assess a guy coming out of college. There’s a big unknown for all of them. It’s obvious the skill set. He’s big, he moves, he can shoot the puck, he’s showing some nice hands to make some plays. But you don’t know until you get into the heavier going. But he handles it well," Maurice said.

With the Jets' top-six defence appearing to be set and Ben Chiarot likely slated for the seventh spot, where Poolman fits in remains a mystery. Does he go to the and log big minutes for his first pro experience, or stick with the big club for added depth from the press box?

Time will tell.

JC Lipon is likely destined for another year in the . He certainly helped his cause as a future recall option with a strong showing in Edmonton, which Maurice singled out for praise in his post-game comments.

Lipon made the most of his 10:35 of ice time, scoring a power play goal, dishing out three hits, firing two shots and dropping the gloves for a spirited scrap with Jujhar Khaira.

"I just try to do something every night to try and get another game," Lipon said.

Mission accomplished, as he remains with the team following Sunday’s round of cuts.

Hockey is filled with examples of players who could light it up in junior but flopped at the pro game. But Maurice thinks there’s a future player in Michael Spacek, who scored a power-play goal in his exhibition debut Saturday.

Spacek is coming off an impressive 30-goal campaign. He should be a key player for the Moose this season, but could find himself in the Jets conversation sooner rather than later.

"We’ve liked him right from going back a couple years. His body’s changed an awful lot in two years. He’s quite a bit bigger, stronger. But what he had two years ago he still has," Maurice said. "He’s got a real nice vision in the middle. And he passes the puck very accurately and very hard. He’s one of the few guys I think that can break into the league at some at centre and stay at centre. Usually the young guys get out to the wings a little bit and (don’t) come back in until they learn the game. But he’s got a real good understanding about body positions. And he can take the puck in the middle of the ice in our own end and do something with it."

On paper, it looked like a line filled with exciting offensive potential. Yet the trio of Nic Petan, Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic never really got going in Saturday night’s game in Edmonton.

"Penalties. Penalties all night long," Petan said of the lack of flow. "We were talking about it on the bench. Every three to four minutes there was a . If we had a five-on-five shift there were only one or two in a row. But that’s no excuse for us three, we probably should have a little more offensive ability there. The plays were there, you could see them, we were just a touch off."

The three combined for zero shots on goal, although Petan hit the scoresheet with an assist on Spacek’s power play goal. He played a whopping 21:22, leading all forwards and trailing just defenceman Dustin Byfuglien.

"The legs were getting a little tired by the third," Petan said. Maurice has moved him to the wing, stating he believes it to be Petan’s best shot to make the team.

Petan said the sense of urgency must increase for himself and his teammates heading into the final three preseason games with a 0-3-1 record so far.

"We’ve got to start getting some wins here in the preseason just to make ourselves feel a little bit better," he said. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/matt-hendricks-could-be-key-to-building- winning-jets-season-447484093.html

Matt Hendricks could be key to building winning Jets season

By: Mike McIntyre

EDMONTON — They appear poised for great things, coming off a breakthrough season in which they finally went from chronic rebuilder to legitimate Stanley Cup threat.

But ask around the room of the – a place absolutely oozing talent with talent with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – and you’ll get a surprising answer about who played a big role in helping bring it all together.

Matt Hendricks? Really? Really.

"He’s a big leader and it’s the reason why this team had so much success last year, because of his character and his drive to get this team together," forward told the Free Press. "I know in Edmonton we’re going to miss him dearly."

Hendricks, 36, is now plying his trade with your hometown Winnipeg Jets. He signed over the summer as a free agent and appears slotted for the fourth-line centre role, where he can hopefully help the team with face-offs and penalty killing, two areas they have historically struggled with.

Not exactly move-the-needle stuff, especially from a guy who’s put up just 49 goals and 51 assists in his 521 career games over nine seasons with Colorado, Washington, Nashville and Edmonton. Many fans may be questioning why the Jets would want to use a roster spot on a slowing, aging journeyman with mediocre numbers. And those in the hockey analytics community quickly denounced it.

Yet to hear some of the Oilers speak this week, you’d think Winnipeg had just found the guy to help bring them to the Promised Land.

Maroon said building a winning team is not just about throwing your 18 most skilled skaters into the lineup, but finding a proper balance over the grind of a regular-season and hopefully a long playoff run.

And when you have an abundance of young talent – as both the Oilers and the Jets do – it takes on an even more important role, he said.

"With Matt, Winnipeg’s doing a really good job with that. That’s a good signing. He’s going to bring that team together. He’s going to bring that energy that maybe they were missing," said Maroon.

Zack Kassian, who seemingly had all the potential in the world after turning pro only to run into a number of mostly self-inflicted roadblocks early in his career, said Hendricks is the perfect mentor.

"It’s important. He’s been around the league, he knows what it takes. He’s a true pro, comes to work every day. That’s a good example on the younger guys coming out of junior, first, second year guys. On how hard you have to work to not only play in the league but stay in the league," said Kassian.

"He’s a great guy in the room, great family guy, cares about his teammates. And then on the hockey side, he comes to work every day, competes, he battles hard," he said. "I know everyone in here wishes him the most success and when we found out Winnipeg picked him up we were very happy for him."

Jets head coach Paul Maurice spoke glowingly of Hendricks last week after just a few days of training camp.

"For me, he has already made the players around him better," said Maurice. "He has completely embraced the role of the bottom-six forward guy, that role player. So he practiced differently than some of our young, bottom-six guys who still practice like they did when they were on their No. 1 line in junior or on their college teams."

Hendricks only dressed for 42 regular-season games last year due to injury and didn’t crack the lineup as the Oilers went deep into the second round of the playoffs. But Maroon said that didn’t stop him from leading the way.

"In playoffs he was a huge part. Even though he didn’t play he dressed with us in warmups and he was the guy that got us going and making us prepared," he said. "He’s just one of those guys that works 110 per cent on and off the ice. If it’s for practice, if it’s for games, he brings so much energy. I’m just really proud of him that he got another deal. He’s just one of those guys you cheer for every single night. We’re going to miss him, but Winnipeg got an A-plus guy."

Winnipeg Sun http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/09/24/can-jets-young-guns-force-way-onto-roster

Can Jets young guns force way onto roster?

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

With one week before training camp, the questions still outweigh the answers when it comes to the final few spots on the opening-day roster for the Winnipeg Jets.

While Sunday’s cuts helped bring some things into focus, there are still several jobs that are still very much up for grabs.

When the latest round of transactions were revealed, it left 31 players vying for 23 spots – though injured defenceman Jan Kostalek hasn’t participated in training camp because of an upper-body injury and he will be assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League as soon as he’s cleared medically.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at where things stand at each positional group:

Goalie With Michael Hutchinson placed on waivers and Jamie Phillips assigned to AHL camp, there’s not much left to determine here.

While Eric Comrie sticks around to give the Jets some insurance for the final week of camp, he’s going to start the season with the Moose.

Free-agent acquisition Steve Mason has only appeared in one game, so he’ll likely start two of the remaining three pre-season games this week, beginning with Monday’s tilt against the Calgary Flames.

Connor Hellebuyck has been solid in each of his two starts and he’ll get one more start.

Make no mistake; Mason was brought in to be the No. 1 guy.

Defence Julian Melchiori and Cameron Schilling were placed on waivers, Nelson Nogier and Sami Niku were sent directly to the minors and Logan Stanley was returned to the Kitchener Rangers of the .

Barring any health issues, the top-six is basically set with Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Josh Morrissey, Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov expected to be in the opening-day lineup.

That leaves Ben Chiarot and rookie pro Tucker Poolman battling for the seventh spot.

Chiarot, 26, has worked hard to establish himself as an NHL regular during the past three seasons and signed a two-year contract extension in the summer.

He’s more experienced and better suited to handle being in and out of the lineup.

Poolman, 24, has passed each and every test put in front of him during the pre-season – which is even more impressive considering he’s coming off bilateral shoulder surgery.

The mobile puck-mover has suited up in three games so far and has definitely caught the attention of Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

“He’s had a really strong camp. He hasn’t had a dip and he hasn’t had a lull,” Maurice said following Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. “The skill set is obvious. He’s big, he moves, he can shoot the puck and he’s shown nice hands to make some plays with it. But you don’t know until you get into the heavier going. But he handles it well.”

Poolman has been excellent and it won’t be long before he’s a regular with the Jets, but barring an injury, his development will be best served by playing top-pairing minutes with the Moose to start the season.

But he’s certainly making the decision difficult.

Forwards A total of 19 forwards remain after Michael Sgarbossa and Buddy Robinson were placed on waivers and Jansen Harkins, Mason Appleton and Jimmy Lodge were sent to the Moose.

With the Jets expected to open the campaign with 14 forwards, five forwards will still be cut, assuming full health.

Michael Spacek and JC Lipon had strong showings on Saturday to help them stick around a bit longer, but they remain longshots to make the big club out of camp.

The picture is cloudiest for the forwards that will be left standing, though nine skaters are considered locks: Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, Bryan Little, , Nikolaj Ehlers, Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp and Joel Armia (who was sidelined in Thursday’s game against the but is only considered to be day-to-day).

Although it will be up to veteran Matt Hendricks to determine where he stands on the depth chart, it’s a good bet he’ll be with the Jets either as the fourth-line centre or an extra forward.

Nic Petan had an assist and played 21:22 on Saturday (which was second only to Byfuglien), is embracing the move from centre to the wing and is a front-runner to stick around for his third NHL season.

Shawn Matthias is coming off an injury-plagued season and trying to hold off youngsters like Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic and Brendan Lemieux.

Marko Dano and Brandon Tanev are the other incumbents on one-way contracts and remain in the mix, though they’ll need a strong week to bolster their chances.

As Maurice said Saturday night, the really tough calls still need to be made and the competition at this position is about to heat up. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/09/24/jets-trim-roster

Jets trim roster Down to 32 players after latest cuts

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

There were no big surprises as the Winnipeg Jets made another round of cuts on Sunday afternoon.

Goalie Michael Hutchinson was among five players placed on waivers with the purpose of being assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Among the others placed on waivers were defencemen Julian Melchiori and Cameron Schilling and forwards Michael Sgarbossa and Buddy Robinson.

Seven waiver-exempt players were assigned to the Moose, including Jamie Phillips, defencemen Sami Niku and Nelson Nogier and forwards Chase De Leo, Jansen Harkins, Mason Appleton and Jimmy Lodge.

Defenceman and 2016 first-rounder Logan Stanley was returned to the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

That leaves the Jets with 32 players (three goalies, nine defencemen and 19 forwards) in training camp, including defenceman Jan Kostalek, who is out with an upper-body issue and will be assigned to the Moose as soon as he is medically cleared to play.

The Jets are 0-3-0-1 during the pre-season and are back in action on Monday against the Calgary Flames at Bell MTS Place.

Things are shaping up as expected on defence for the Jets, whose lone battle appears to be between Ben Chiarot and Tucker Poolman for the seventh spot.

Poolman, a rookie pro after completing three seasons at the University of North Dakota, has impressed during the pre-season but the Jets must ultimately determine whether his development would be better served by logging big minutes in the AHL or sitting in the press box (assuming the top-six blue-liners are healthy going into the season).

Up front, things remain very much up in the air for jobs on the fourth line and possibly two extra spots still up for grabs, provided the Jets keep 14 forwards on the opening-day roster.

The Moose are set to open training camp on Monday.

TSN.ca http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/jets-being-proactive-as-they-try-to-cut-down-penalties~1214442 (VIDEO LINK)

Jets being proactive as they try to cut down penalties

Tim Hortons That's Hockey discusses the Jets' strategy of bringing in Paul Devorski to help curb Winnipeg's penalty issues and explain why Dustin Byfuglien needs to lead the way by being more disciplined.