Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/morrissey-adds-some-o-zone-flash-to- shutdown-role-on-blue-line-464989843.html?k=9UrvAj

Morrissey adds some O-zone flash to shutdown role on blue line

By: Jason Bell

Josh Morrissey is showing some of the offensive skills that he's had tucked away until recently.

With defencemen Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom on the shelf with injuries, the 22-year-old blue-liner is pushing up the ice with more regularity, slipping into the slot and releasing more shots than he has since breaking into the NHL late in the 2015-16 campaign.

He fired a and added an assist Sunday in 's 4-0 shutout of the St. Louis Blues — the fifth and sixth points he's accumulated in December, his most productive month since securing a regular spot on the Jets' D.

One of his former junior coaches maintains it was really just a matter of time.

"You could see early on he was a gifted player offensively, there was no denying it," says Dave Manson, a longtime assistant coach with the . "He could see the ice and make plays like very few guys could do. He always had that side of his game.

"We really pushed him to learn how to defend, because if you can do that you earn a coach's trust to use you in every situation. Once he realized that at the pro level — proper stick positioning, body positioning, plus the fact Josh is super-competitive — that's the reason he's earning more ice time in Winnipeg."

Morrissey has carved out a niche as a shutdown specialist in 117 career NHL games, but he's taking full advantage of an opportunity to showcase abilities that, until late November, have only occasionally been on display.

Morrissey now has five goals and eight assists in 34 games, third on the Jets blue line behind Tyler Myers (5G, 11A) and Byfuglien (0G, 15A). He's flashing the offensive flair that made him one of the most dominant junior defencemen in and captured the attention of the Winnipeg's scouting staff during the 2012-13 season.

Jets maintains it was only a matter of time before Morrissey began producing more points. Most impressive, he says, is the former Raider all-star rearguard's willingness to play a more conservative, defensive style — with tremendous success — since he turned pro.

Morrissey's comfort level and effectiveness playing against some of the best forward units in the league automatically translates to increased minutes on the ice and, over time, an expanded role on special teams, he says.

"We've got a player we know has offensive skill and he takes his (defensive) role first. Because of the quality of his play, he plays against the other teams' best in a shutdown role every night. So, he's not cheating... or jumping into holes to try to get some numbers that would get him noticed more as an offensive player. We know it's there. He's looking for it a bit more, which we're fine with," says Maurice, in his 20th season as an NHL head coach and fifth in Winnipeg.

"The next stage for him will be running on the back end on one of the power plays. That will be where his numbers will increase drastically. We don't want to add four or five more minutes to a player's game when we love the game he's playing, but he's going to force (himself) into that position by his play."

The Jets selected Morrissey with their first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft after the six-foot,195-pound Calgarian registered 15 goals and 47 points in his draft year with the Raiders. The following season (2013-14), he boosted those totals big-time, firing 28 goals and adding 45 assists in just 59 games.

Perhaps most remarkably, he was called up by the Jets’ then- affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps, and played eight regular-season contests and participated in 20 playoff games, recording nine points.

Morrissey returned for a final year of junior in 2014-15, finally turning pro with the Moose the following season and picking up three goals and 22 points in 57 games. He also dressed for one NHL game that year when the Jets battled the .

Last season, he collected 20 points in his rookie year with Winnipeg but he made his mark as a consistently responsible defender.

"He's grooming himself into becoming one of those No.1 type of defencemen," says . "How well he plays defensively is just tremendous. When you draft a guy like that, I don't think that's what they expected, necessarily. I remember when he came into camp early on, when he was in junior, a power-play guy, a little guy, a quick guy, makes nice plays. I certainly never saw that coming, the level of defence he can play.

"He's gone against the best players in the world and taken them out of games sometimes."

Paired up with , a sound defensive effort remains his top objective — particularly now with Byfuglien and Enstrom sidelined for extended time.

He leads the team's defence with a plus-seven rating and is averaging 19:29 minutes of ice time per game, although he's worked an average of two additional minutes over his last five outings.

"With guys out of the lineup, everybody has got to step up and take on a little bit of those roles," Morrissey says. "For me, I’m just trying to get better every single day and get better to help this team win. Our whole back end has stepped up with those guys out.

If he was a well-kept secret in the Manitoba capital before, word around the NHL is certainly leaking out now, although Morrissey is taking all the compliments in stride.

"It’s always really nice to hear people say nice things about your game... obviously, I really appreciate that. But I’m just here to try and help the team win every single day and try to get better every single day and be the best pro I can. That’s all I try to do every day," he says.

Manson, an NHL defenceman for 16 years with seven different clubs including the Jets 1.0 (1993-96), takes great pride in playing a role in Morrissey's rapid development and skyrocketing value to the Winnipeg organization.

"I'm not surprised the success he's having in pro," says Manson, who still speaks with a soft, raspy voice — the result of a throat injury sustained 25 years ago during a fight with Sergio Momesso of the Vancouver Canucks. "He was a great player for us and helped change the culture in Prince Albert. We're proud of that, obviously.

"To see him succeed is terrific, and we know how much (the Jets) think of him. He's respectful and polite and he's very professional. He's going to be a very good player for a long time because of his competitiveness and his character."

Morrissey is in the final year of an entry-level deal that pays him US$832,500 this season. He’s a restricted free agent and will be in line for a hefty pay hike. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/its-jets-firepower-up-against-preds- extinguisher-in-nashville-464993613.html

It's Jets' firepower up against Preds' extinguisher in Nashville

By: Jason Bell

It's the Central's most explosive squad pitted against the division's defensive specialists.

Something's gotta give.

The take on the Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena, the second meeting of the NHL season between the divisional rivals. Game time is 7 p.m. (TSN 3, TSN 1290).

Winnipeg (19-10-5) has ripped more goals (112) than any other Central Division team thus far in the 2017-18 season and is the only club in the league with three players who have at least 15 goals prior to Monday night's slate of games.

Second-year sniper scored his team-leading 16th — and his NHL-best 10th power- play tally — while top-line centre 's nifty deflection was his 15th, as the Jets blanked the visiting St. Louis Blues 4-0 Sunday. Laine's linemate, , also has 15 goals.

The Predators, meanwhile, are a stingy bunch, giving up just 85 goals to this , the fewest of any team in the division.

It's been 154 minutes and 59 seconds since the squad's Finnish-born goaltending tandem of Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros allowed a puck to get past them. In the Preds' last outing, Rinne stopped 32 shots for his third shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Flames. Two nights earlier, Saros stopped all 46 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory over the .

Nashville (21-7-4), which also won 7-1 in Vancouver last week, is 6-0-1 this month, 11-1-2 in the past 14 games — the lone regulation loss coming against the Canucks Nov. 30 — and 16-2-2 over its previous 20 contests.

The Preds defeated the visiting Jets 5-3 Nov. 20.

•••

After 48 shots and nothing to show for them Saturday in St. Louis, the Jets finally had to reason to celebrate after Adam Lowry tapped in his fifth goal of the year past goalie Jake Allen at 4:32 of the second period Sunday to open the scoring against the Blues.

It was Winnipeg's 63rd shot at the St. Louis net over nearly 85 minutes of play, a big chunk of them coming from the club's No.1 line of left-winger Kyle Connor (nine shots), right-winger Blake Wheeler (nine shots) and centre Mark Scheifele (four shots).

But it was the hustling, hard-checking trio of Lowry and his wingers Brandon Tanev and Andrew Copp that sparked the home side. Tanev beat two defenders to the puck behind the Blues net and slid it over to Copp before getting sandwiched, and Copp connected with Lowry who was left alone on the doorstep.

Head coach Paul Maurice said the line — which has 11 points in its last six contests — has been effective in a shutdown role and produces offensively at critical times.

"They’re important to us, especially at home — they’ve been great," he said. "They’ve kept good players off the board and found also, every once in a while, a way to generate offence."

Lamenting the line's lack of production two weeks ago, Copp was more upbeat Sunday about the trio's recent contribution.

"It was nice for our line to be rewarded. We feel like we’re trending in the right direction; we feel like we’ve had a ton of chances lately," he said.

•••

Former Jets tough-guy Chris Thorburn had an emotional return to Winnipeg as a member of the Blues.

Pegged by coach Mike Yeo to start the game with linemates Paul Stastny and Scottie Upshall, Thorburn, the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise leader for most regular-season games played (709) admitted he was a bit of a wreck on the first shift.

"My legs were numb. I had goosebumps and every emotion that you could imagine," he said after the game.

His former teammates had some shenanigans going during the warmup, shooting pucks at his ankles as he skated by, the 34-year-old right-winger said.

"I think they were trying to hurt me. They know how much of a threat I am," said a laughing Thorburn, who has yet to score this season and has three assists in 21 games. "There were four in a row that caught me good. I just giggled. It was all in good fun."

Thorburn, one-third of the popular GST ( and Jim Slater were his mates) during the team's inaugural 2011-12 season in Winnipeg, was given a loud ovation when his six-year stint with the organization was recognized during a TV timeout.

"It was emotional, it meant a lot," he said of the friendly welcome from fans. "It was a great moment, one that I won’t forget, just like my time here. A lot of good stuff happened to me here. My daughter being born here, a lot of ties, a lot of relationships and friendships.

"Winnipeg will be in my life and my family’s life for the rest of our lives. It’s a chapter that’s over, but at the same time it continues."

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-look-to-improve-road-play-in-key- matchup-with-predators

Jets look to improve road play in key matchup with Predators

By Ted Wyman

I ran into Winnipeg Jets chairman on a flight to Minneapolis on Monday and he said exactly what I was thinking.

If the Jets play the way they did the last two games, they are going to be awfully tough for any team to beat.

That includes the Nashville Predators, who appear to be the class of the NHL’s Western Conference right now.

The Jets played a terrific brand of hockey in the back-to-back games on the weekend against the powerful St. Louis Blues.

They generated an impressive 94 shots on goal in the two games, against a team that averaged fewer than 29 shots against per game and is one of the stingiest defensive squads in the game.

They outplayed St. Louis for 120 minutes. The only St. Louis player they weren’t better than was Carter Hutton, who stopped 48 shots in a 2-0 St. Louis win on Saturday.

The Jets did not get discouraged however and came out with the same intensity, the same physicality and the same ability to generate offensive chances, while skating to 4-0 win on Sunday.

Led by impressive sophomore defenceman Josh Morrissey — who did his best Duncan Keith impression Sunday by making several outstanding defensive plays, laying out big hits, scoring a goal and adding an assist — the Jets showed the Blues they are legitimate contenders for top spot in the wildly competitive Central Division.

It would be almost impossible for any team to play that way for 82 games but the Jets have already shown an ability to do it relatively consistently.

Which brings us back to Tuesday’s game against the Predators, a team that had a consistent enough game to get all the way to the final last spring.

They’ve been stellar again this year and were the better team when the Jets visited Nashville last month.

Like the Blues, the Preds are a team the Jets are going to have to beat to make any noise in the standings and during the playoffs. Nashville is tops in the conference with 46 points and the Jets sit just three points back.

The Jets come into Nashville on a cold streak on the road. The Jets are 0-4-2 in their last six road games, have been outscored 24-10 over that span and they’ve given up at least three goals in five of the six games. Their power play over the six games was a woeful 2-for-25 (8%) and their kill just 17-for-25 (68%).

Those numbers won’t do if the Jets are going to start picking up points away from home again.

With a 6-3-1 record against the Central Division, the Jets are holding their own but as evidenced by the intensity of the St. Louis games, these games mean more than others.

The combination of ferocious forechecking, solid defensive play and good goaltending — along with an elite home-ice power play — has made them something special to watch and helped them to a record that is nine games over NHL .500 (19-10-5).

And yet they’re only a few losses away from being close to the playoff line.

Wins on the road and within the division will go a long way toward separating the Jets from then chasing pack.

What has held them back from doing that so far has been a series of lapses.

When they’ve had off nights, they’ve really been off. In their 10 losses this season, the Jets have been outscored 50-18. By contrast, in their 19 wins, they’ve outscored the opposition 83- 28.

Some of the games were closer than the score indicated, but basically, for the most part the Jets either win big, or they lose big this season.

Not one of the outright losses was decided by a single goal and only three of them were decided by as few as two goals. Only four of their wins have been decided by one goal.

Almost all of their one-goal games have gone to overtime and you can’t help notice how much better their record would look if they weren’t 0-5 in gimmicky 3-on-3 extra time.

So here’s the checklist for a team that has done many things right to this point in the season:

Win a few more games on the road, win in the division and cut out the lapse games — after Christmas those will become more and more costly. Oh, and maybe pop in an overtime goal or two.

After Nashville, the Jets will have a couple more tough matchups — against the Bruins in Boston on Thursday and in Brooklyn against Andrew Ladd and the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.

A couple of wins in the three games would sure look good heading into the short Christmas break.

Keep playing the way they did on Saturday and Sunday and it’s going to be a very happy holiday. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-at-predators-five-keys-to-the-game

Jets at Predators: Five keys to the game

By Ted Wyman

Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators

7 p.m., Bridgestone Arena. TV: TSN3, Radio: TSN1290

FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME KEEP UP THE PRESSURE The Jets have been skating hard, forechecking tenaciously, laying the body and generating oodles of offence. What’s not to like about that? They’ll need more of the same to keep the pressure on an excellent Predators defence corps and a team that is every bit as big, strong and physical as they are.

FORGET THE LAST ONE The Jets lost 5-3 to the Predators in Nashville last month, although they really just had one bad period — the second. They were able to flush that game quickly and proceed to pick up wins in Anaheim and Los Angeles and they’ll have to keep what happened in that game out of their minds this time around. Clearly, there can’t be any lapses against the Predators, who have won three straight games and are 7-1-2 in their last 10.

SHUT ’EM DOWN While the Predators have become one of the best teams in the league because of an elite defence corps that includes P.K. Subban, Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm (plus the injured ) they are dangerous up front as well with the likes of Ryan Johansen, Kyle Turris and Filip Forsberg. This will not be a game where the Jets can afford any loose defensive play.

BALANCING ACT The Jets got goals from players on three different lines on Sunday, plus one from defenceman Josh Morrissey, who had one of his best games of an already strong season. The fourth line of Matt Hendricks, and Joel Armia continues to provide the Jets with depth scoring and possession time. That kind of balance is crucial to the team’s continued success.

SOLVE PEKKA As good as Connor Hellebuyck has been for the Jets this season (2.45 GAA, .919 save percentage and 17-4 record), veteran Pekka Rinne has been better for the Preds. The Finn has an 18-4 record and sparkling numbers — a 2.25 GAA and .930 SV%. Both these teams can score, but it might be the goalie that comes up with the most timely save that wins it for his team.

THE BIG MATCHUP Jets power play vs. Predators power play These are two of the most potent power plays in the NHL, with the Preds second in the league at 26.66% and the Jets third at 25.40%. Winnipeg’s power play has been far better at home than on the road and they are 20th in the NHL in penalty killing so this could be a clear advantage for the Predators, who are sixth in penalty killing at 83.70%. Individually, this is a matchup of the leading power play goal-getter in the NHL (Patrik Laine of the Jets with 10) and the player who is right behind him (Filip Forsberg of the Preds, with nine). http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/moose-on-top-of-ahl-hill

Moose on top of AHL hill

By Paul Friesen

After a mediocre start (4-4-2 through 10 games), the Moose have been trampling opponents, 17-1-1 since Nov. 1. They’ve been tearing up the AHL for a month and a half now, and after a whirlwind three-in- three weekend, it was official.

The (21-5-3) woke up Monday morning, looked through bleary eyes at the standings and found themselves alone, on top.

Not even their head coach fully understands how they’ve done it.

“I’m not sure if I can explain it,” were the first words out of Pascal Vincent’s mouth.

After a mediocre start (4-4-2 through 10 games), the Moose have been trampling opponents, 17-1-1 since Nov. 1.

That includes three wins in three days on the road, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Those last two wins were in Toronto, toppling the Maple Leafs’ farm team from the top of the AHL heap.

“We’re winning games in different fashion,” Vincent said. “One night we’ll win a game based on our physicality. The second night we’ll win on scoring goals. The other night we’ll win on playing good defence. And some nights our goalies are standing on their heads.”

Stats tell part of the story.

Led by second-year pro Jack Roslovic (14 goals) and veterans Patrice Cormier (13) and Buddy Robinson (12), the Moose have scored more goals (113) than anybody, and they’re No. 3 in goals against (62).

That’s a goal-differential of plus-51. The next best team? Toronto, at plus-32.

Manitoba’s power play is ranked third in the league, its penalty kill second.

The Moose don’t seem to care where they play: they’re 8-1-1 at home, 13-4 on the road. One more road win and they’ll match their total from all of last season.

Asked to pick out some key players, Vincent rattles off virtually his entire roster.

“It’s just a group of great people that work hard and they believe in themselves,” Vincent said. “When you see guys cheering for each other consistently – and I can hear them on the bench, what they say and how they support each other. I tell them, ‘Let me be the bad guy. You guys support each other.’ And it works really well.”

The mental grind of playing in the minors is significant. The ridiculous schedule, small crowds, wondering if you’ll ever get called up to the NHL – it can wear on players.

When you’re over-matched, it can get torturous.

The last two years, Manitoba couldn’t buy a goal on some nights.

“When you know you have zero chance, the day before is difficult, the morning skate is difficult, the meetings are difficult,” Vincent acknowledged.

This past off-season the team added a couple veterans to the mix, and they’ve combined with Jets prospects to create a mood that’s night-and-day from a year ago.

“It is really contagious,” Vincent said. “So what comes first, the egg or the chicken? You create a good team chemistry off the ice and then you win games, or by winning games you create a good team chemistry? I don’t know the answer.”

Getting some of the best goaltending in the AHL certainly hasn’t hurt.

Jets castoff Michael Hutchinson, in particular, has been virtually unbeatable, stopping 66 of 68 shots against the Marlies on the weekend to lower his already eye-popping saves percentage to a league-leading .950.

The weekend in Toronto showed another important ingredient with the Moose.

After Manitoba wrestled first place, overall, from the Marlies with Saturday’s 2-1 win, the teams did some pushing and shoving in the pre-game warmup, Sunday.

“Of course there’s some bad blood,” Vincent said. “They were the top team before we played that first game. The second game was going to be an important one for both teams and the emotion was pretty high. It brought the energy one notch higher.”

A bit like a playoff game, he added.

The Moose won going away, 5-1.

“We create confusion on the ice,” Vincent continued. “But we’re in control of that confusion. There’s a high energy we bring, because of the way we play. But staying in control when the emotions are pretty high – I didn’t know how we would react. And the team reacted really well.”

The way Vincent sees it, what’s happening with the Moose this season all started seven years ago, with the vision of Jets GM, .

“I don’t believe in luck,” Vincent said. “When you work hard, luck will come. That’s the result of a lot of people working hard.

“We’re in a good place right now.”

Nobody can argue with that. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/moose-goalie-still-mum

Moose goalie still mum

By Paul Friesen

He’s the AHL’s player of the week and the hottest goalie not playing in the NHL.

But former Winnipeg Jet Michael Hutchinson, toiling for the Manitoba Moose, won’t talk about it with reporters.

Hutchinson, named the AHL’s player of the week, Monday, continues to refuse interviews, and not even his head coach knows the reason.

“It’d be interesting to ask him why,” Pascal Vincent said, Monday. “And maybe we will have that conversation at some point, him and I. But we haven’t, yet. We keep it professional: when he’s going to play, how it works and stuff like that. Everything about his career.

“But that part I haven’t touched, yet.”

Hutchinson is 11-1-1 with a league-leading .950 saves percentage.

But when the Jets recently needed an injury replacement for Steve Mason, they chose the younger Eric Comrie, instead.

“It wasn’t an issue, whatsoever, when it happened,” Vincent said. “The game right after, he was outstanding. He will control what he can control. It’s also a business, and he understands the moving parts, the decisions that are made for the present, but also the decisions that are made for the future.”

The Jets appear to have given up on Hutchinson after a bad season, last year.

Canadian Press http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets-nhl-prospects-1.4455358?cmp=rss

Patience pays off: Jets reap rewards of focus on draft, development Winnipeg on pace for franchise-best 100 points thanks, in part, to play of young stars

By Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Kevin Cheveldayoff knows if the circumstances were different, he might have been out of a job a few years ago.

Tasked with overseeing the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets as a rookie NHL general manager when they returned to the hockey-mad city in 2011, the club has made the playoffs just once under his watch.

But despite rumblings of his demise on more than a few occasions, Cheveldayoff's vision to draft and develop players, coupled with the organization's patience from top to bottom, is finally paying off.

"Very fortunate to have the ownership group that we have that shares the same philosophy on how we were going to do this," Cheveldayoff said in a recent interview. "We were patient with the development of some of our young players. In today's day in age you can't rush them.

"We feel that's going to help them in the long run."

Jets on pace for franchise-best season It certainly has so far this season.

The Jets entered Monday's action seventh in the overall standings, fifth in the Western Conference and third in Central Division with a 19-10-5 record. Their 43 points has them just three back of the Nashville Predators for first in the conference and the division, and is the best mark among the seven Canadian teams.

Winnipeg is on pace for 103 points, which would not only rank as the franchise's best season since the were sold and moved to Manitoba, but also higher than any total the previous incarnation of the Jets could muster before relocating to Phoenix to become the Coyotes in 1996.

"We've just got to keep our head down and keep grinding away," said Cheveldayoff.

Grinding away is also a good description for how he's built the Jets during six-plus years at the helm. Cheveldayoff, who won the Stanley Cup as an assistant GM with the in 2010, drafted 10 of the players on Winnipeg's current roster.

Draft and development at forefront Some of Cheveldayoff's picks — including star forwards Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine — hit the ground running, but others like defenceman Josh Morrissey and goalie Connor Hellebuyck have taken longer to find their footing.

"From my very first training camp you understood why a player got drafted," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice, who was hired in January 2014. "You don't always know. There's exceptions when an Ehlers comes in or a [Laine], but you understand why the player was drafted.

"The draft and development ... it's been at the forefront for us."

The veteran players have seen it, too.

"Guys that have been here the whole time, it was tough to be patient," said captain Blake Wheeler. "We knew what was coming down the pipeline, it was just a matter of when."

Patience throughout the organization For the 22-year-old Morrissey, it's been exciting to be among the youthful crop that has Winnipeg on the move.

"The team has done an awesome job of bringing in some really great young players and really good young people that are willing and ready to learn," he said. "It's cool to of be a part of that group."

While ownership had patience with Cheveldayoff, he has in turn given Maurice more rope that most coaches get after missing the playoffs two years in a row. Winnipeg made the post-season in 2015, but it was over quickly in a four-game sweep at the hands of the .

"The thought process of what we have been doing essentially was laid when he came in," said Cheveldayoff, who along with Maurice was rewarded with a contract extension in September. "We had talked about some different aspects of things that we felt, as an organization, we were going to need to try to do to win.

"Paul is a very good communicator. He's someone that has tremendous respect for the players, but also has tremendous respect from the players."

Keeping results in perspective It hasn't been hard for Maurice to see the big picture despite some frustrating moments.

"It would be difficult if you didn't believe it, if you stood behind the bench and said, 'Yeah these kids are good kids, but they're five years away," he said. "We were a very young team the last two years, and you could see the kinds of things they couldn't do yet, but you knew they would fairly soon.

"Our young guys are still working on becoming really good everyday. There's lots of nights they're really good. Getting them to that consistent level is the challenge now."

Cheveldayoff is quick to keep things in perspective just past the midway point of the schedule, but seeing his blueprint turning into tangible results has justified his plan for the Jets.

"It's been a good start," said Cheveldayoff. "You've got lots of runway ahead of you to try to continue to keep it going."

CBC Manitoba http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/jets-wives-girlfriends-formula-harvest- 1.4454897?cmp=rss

Jets' wives and girlfriends donate $9,500 in formula to Winnipeg Harvest Formula will be distributed immediately, says the food bank's executive director

CBC News

The wives and girlfriends of the Winnipeg Jets have donated thousands of dollars of baby formula to Manitoba's largest food bank.

They presented Winnipeg Harvest with about $9,500 worth of canned baby formula on Monday, after raising the money by signing Christmas ornaments at a recent home game.

"We're obviously really happy," said Emily Byfuglien, who made the donation with Sam Wheeler. "We're both moms so we kind of get, we want to help any kids in need, so we're super excited we can send out that much formula."

The pair said they discovered last year that formula was one of the things Winnipeg Harvest rarely sees donated due to its price.

"It opened our eyes, I guess, to see that's what they need, and being moms, I couldn't imagine not being able to feed my kids, so it made it extra important and extra special to be able to do," said Wheeler.

Winnipeg Harvest executive director Kate Brenner said the formula will help the 1,600 infants they feed every month.

"Without proper nutrition, these kids aren't getting the right start to life they need in order to grow up to be healthy people," she said. "So this is tremendously impactful.

"We distribute formula in the city first. If we have enough, then we'll distribute farther afield, up to Churchill and places like that when we have the formula. So what the Jets' wives and girlfriends have done here and through their efforts is they've allowed us to have a little bit of a cushion so we can maybe go a little further than we have before."

The formula will be distributed immediately throughout the week, said Brenner.

Winnipeg Jets pose with pets for fundraising calendar "It comes in the door, it goes out the door, because it's so much in demand and we know that it's very important to the kids who need it, the babies."

It's always in the food bank's top 10 list of needed items, Brenner said.

"Most of the other food is donated, but this one we do have to buy, although we do get a break on the price, it's never free," she said.

"One tin of that feeds one infant for one week, so you can imagine how much we need to feed all these 1,600 babies every month."