Today was the first day on the ice for Jets players after they performed their off ice testing on Wednesday. It is the 13th time there has been an NHL training camp in Winnipeg since the relocation which makes you wonder where the time goes.
Kudos to SignGuy who had some creative signs for the early skate which began at 10 AM with Team Numminen getting things started.
So far the star of day 1 of Jets training camp is signguy who has unveiled a couple of solid signs. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/V9aRecDl98
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) September 21, 2023
The lines were as follows:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Barron-Kupari-Namestnikov
Viel-Gustafsson-Barlow
Torgersson-Lucius-Reichel
Morrissey-Salomonsson
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Capobianco
Sautner-Stewart
Hellebuyck
Delia
Once the skating was concluded the media availabilities were, not surprisingly, with Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele. Both players are heading into the final year of their respective deals and there has been plenty of speculation about them this summer. This was their chance to speak for themselves.
This concluded the day for Team Numminen with Team Selanne (which has been pointed out to me sounds a lot like Teemu Selanne) getting underway at 1 PM.
The lines and D pairs in the afternoon looked as follows:
Ehlers -Perfetti-Niederreiter
Iafallo-Lowry-Appleton
Malott-Lambert-Chibrikov
Toninato-Harkins-Jonsson-Fjallby
Chisholm-DeMelo
Heinola-Schmidt
Dillon-Bauer
Kniazev-Lundmark
Brossoit
Salminen
About 30 minutes into the skate we learned that the Jets and 2023 1st rounder Colby Barlow had agreed to a three-year entry-level contract. Since he had skated in the morning he wasn’t available for an interview but is expected to speak on Friday.
However it wasn’t all good news as Nikolaj Ehlers left the skate early. It wasn’t readily apparent as to what caused him to leave the ice. We later learned it was due to neck spasms that will keep him off the ice on Friday but the team is hopeful he’ll skate on Saturday.
With all the talk of Cole Perfetti getting his shot at the second line centre role the 2020 1st rounder spent some time at the end of practice working against Adam Lowry.
Adam Lowry vs Cole Perfetti doing some faceoffs at the end of practice with another centre in Brad Lambert looking on as day 2 of Jets training camp winds down. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/p924mVfpXV
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) September 21, 2023
We would end up chatting with Perfetti to hear his thoughts on how he can make the move from the wing to the middle of the ice at the NHL level.
Head coach Rick Bowness spoke about the new contract for Colby Barlow, the neck spasms that forced Nikolaj Ehlers to leave skate early and much more.
Stay tuned for another busy day tomorrow.
