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 Winnipeg Jets returned the 6-7, 230-pound defenceman to his junior-hockey squad, the Kitchener Rangers, 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 Calgary Flames. 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 goaltenders 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, Chase De Leo, 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 Edmonton Oilers. Winnipeg opened the exhibition slate Sept. 18 at home with a shootout loss to the Minnesota 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 Carolina Hurricanes. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins came under heavy criticism Sunday after issuing a statement saying they would, as reigning Stanley Cup 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 goal 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 Manitoba Moose 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 American Hockey League. 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.