Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/undisciplined-jets-take-lessons-from- retired-ref-446922403.html Undisciplined Jets take lessons from retired ref Team second-most penalized in NHL last year By: Mike McIntyre They are perpetual bad boys, a collection of players who can't seem to stop shooting themselves in their skates with their undisciplined play. And so in an effort to curb their frequent trips to the sin bin, the Winnipeg Jets have taken a novel approach: retired referee Paul Devorski was in the dressing room and then on the ice with the club during Friday's training-camp session for a crash course in how to cut down on the penalty parade that has plagued the team for several seasons. Coach Paul Maurice invited Devorski, who now works in a supervisory role with the league after officiating 1,594 games over a 26-year career that ended in 2015, to oversee his club as they participated in a number of intense battle drills. The National Hockey League approved the arrangement. "I wanted him to get out on the ice and have some interaction with the players. He’s not calling games anymore. Nobody swore at him out there, which I think he said is the first time that’s happened that he’s been on the ice," Maurice said following the session. " He was great with the guys. It worked out. We got a really young team here. We’ve got to figure out a way to learn some new skills. We’re thankful that he came in. The league thought it was a great idea. I think the Winnipeg Jets got a little better today." Winnipeg was the second-most penalized team in the league last season, and their lacklustre penalty killing was a major factor in missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the six seasons since returning to the city. Maurice spent part of the summer watching video of every penalty the Jets took last season and said having such a young group of players factored into his request to bring Devorski in. "It goes in part to our team becoming a better defensive hockey team. It’s a skill that has to be learned. Learning how to one-on-one somebody defensively, that’s a skill. So you either get beat, or you take a penalty on the negative half. So we tried to work on both of those," Maurice said. "It’s not just the penalty, it’s how. The first thing that happens usually when a penalty is taken is somebody loses defensive position. That’s the one-on-one part. But usually somebody else is blowing a route, so it’s a defensive liability first. Devorski wasn't made available to speak following the skate about what he observed, but Maurice said he shared key information about certain "tells" officials look for during the play, particularly when it comes to holding infractions. The Jets committed 31 of those last year, a number Maurice said must be cut back in order to have success. "For young players especially to be able to understand a little bit about what the tells are for the ref, what is the first thing he looks for. Clearly the sticks that come off the ice, the horizontal, the free hand. It’s good to hear a man who called it for 1,594 games, I think, in the regular season. He can explain it differently and it made great sense. So I thought it was a great day. We had a few calls, not as many. He said we did a really good job keeping our sticks down, but usually against your teammates you’re pretty good about that, but it's an awareness," Maurice said. Several players were seen conversing with Devorski after individual drills Friday, with much of the focus appearing to be on hand positioning. Captain Blake Wheeler applauded the move, saying desperate times call for desperate measures. "It’s an area we need to get better at, so we are looking to exhaust any resource we can to try and get better. He has a lot of experience and (we) just picked his brain a little bit, what they’re looking for, hopefully he can help us out," he said. Wheeler was asked why it appears the Jets are the first team in the league to take this approach. "I think we were about bottom of the league for penalties for the foreseeable past, so a lot of teams probably don’t need to do it," he said. However, Maurice noted Minnesota and Philadelphia are also planning to bring Devorski in over the coming days. The importance of becoming more disciplined is even greater this year with officials apparently instructed to crack down on several offences such as slashing, according to Mark Scheifele. "It’s going to be huge. You get a lot of power plays, it gives you a lot of momentum. Hopefully, we can be on the right side of those calls," Scheifele said. "I think it’s obviously something you have to continue to work at and continue to think about. That’s something we all have to do — we have to be conscious about it and remind ourselves each and every game of what we can and what we can’t do. I think it’s a good learning experience. Scheifele said being young is no excuse for being reckless. "We just got to be smarter, that’s about it. We get told, we see what happens around the league, what they call and we just have to be conscious of it each and every night," he said. Obviously time will tell whether the wild-child Jets are truly ready to settle down, or if all this talk ends up being cheap. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-coach-unconcerned-with-poor-early- pre-season-results-446924243.html Maurice unconcerned with poor early pre-season results By: Mike McIntyre They have gone winless in three pre-season games and have yet to score an even-strength goal, but Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice insists the lacklustre on-ice results aren’t cause for concern "I really like the level that we’re at, the effort that’s in camp, the focus by the whole group," Maurice said Friday as the second full week of training camp began. "We’re working on some really, really specific things. We haven’t done any offensive work. No line rushes really in terms of trying to get pucks. We haven’t done breakouts, counters, regroups. That’s all next week. Next week is speed, the first week was grind. I like where we’re at." Winnipeg lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Minnesota Wild on Monday and fell 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday despite icing more NHL-experienced lineups than their opponents in those first two home games. The Jets took a more inexperienced squad to Minnesota on Thursday and lost 1-0. Maurice said many of those same bubble players will be in the lineup tonight in Edmonton. A major round of cuts is expected to occur on Sunday, which will be an off day for the club. "So this is a big night for a lot of them," Maurice said of the game against the Oilers. "They get two games of the first four to make their case." Winnipeg did reduce its training camp roster by five on Friday. Forwards Francis Beauvillier, Patrice Cormier and Brody Sutter, and defencemen Kirill Gotovets and Peter Stoykewych were all sent down to the Manitoba Moose, who begin their week-long training camp Monday at the Bell MTS Iceplex. All five are on American Hockey League deals. Winnipeg still has 44 players in camp: 25 forwards, 14 defencemen and five goalies. The Jets are also dealing with a few bumps and bruises. Forward Joel Armia left Thursday’s game early and was not on the ice Friday. Bryan Little also didn’t skate Friday. Maurice said both are day-to-day with minor issues. "We’re at that point where we’re seven or eight days in without a day off. All grind, so we’ve got just about everybody wearing an ice pack," said Maurice. Forward Matt Hendricks and defenceman Tyler Myers also left Friday’s skate early. "Basically before we went out we got a lot of hip tightness, a lot of soreness. If you’re running too long you can put yourself in a bad way. So everybody had the green light today if it tightens up," he said. With a smaller group expected following this weekend — and only three more pre-season games left — there will be a big push to get ready for the Oct. 4 start of the regular season. "We’re going to look for our play to look differently starting Monday. We’re going hard here," he said. Winnipeg Sun http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/09/22/sgarbossa-looking-for-stability Sgarbossa looking for stability Skilled player adapting his game to stick around BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN EDMONTON – - Michael Sgarbossa isn’t having an identity crisis. But like many skilled players before him, the Winnipeg Jets hopeful is among those trying to do more with less. To be specific, Sgarbossa is working to show he can make the most of whatever ice time he gets while earning the trust of head coach Paul Maurice. Maurice has made it clear he’s looking for the guys on the fourth line to fill a role on special teams, most likely on the penalty kill.