Manitoba Moose

The Moose returned from their first road trip of the season with four points in the standings bank after they swept the Stars in Texas which included a comeback OT win on Saturday night. Assignment: Manitoban Dawson Barteaux was assigned prior to skate getting underway to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Skate Notes: Almost everyone was present and accounted for including Jets prospect Simon Lundmark who missed the last four games after he was injured blocking a shot. The only player missing was Chaz Lucius who missed the last two games for the Moose. He sustained an injury in the game against Iowa here in Winnipeg back on October 22nd. Rookies are alright: Jets prospect Brad Lambert off to a very productive start with 4G 5A for 9pts in six games. And it’s not just the points. Doing lots of good things with & without puck. The move to the middle looking good so far. However, the points are good enough to have him tied for 2nd for points by a rookie in the AHL. Teammate Jeff Malott said he is seeing that hard work from Lambert. The things that don't show up on a stat sheet. "He's taking on a lot of responsibility for us. That's a big job. He's done extremely well. He's working real hard in the faceoff dot, real hard on D-Zone structure and it's awesome when you can have a young guy come in and have an impact like that." The player in 4th spot for rookie points is Nikita Chibrikov (1G 7A) who sits one point back of Lambert. He’s also looked good since joining the Moose. He’s transitioned quite nicely from playing overseas to here in North America. "I think they are really starting to get the pro game" said head coach Mark Morrison when asked what these two are doing that isn't showing up on a stat sheet. "They're both moving the puck and getting open when they don't have the puck." He continued "As far as their defensive game goes getting body position, coming back in D-Zone coverage for example and being in the right spot. They're learning the system, they're learning how things move on the ice as far as quickness goes and how you have to recover. They're doing a great job. We're only six games in here and you can tell they've learned some things." First AHL goal: Speaking of rookies another one who folks are paying attention to is Jets 2022 3rd rounder Danny Zhilkin who scored his first goal as a pro on Saturday night after he finished off a pass from his childhood teammate Nikita Chibrikov. That fact wasn't lost on Zhilkin who was raised in Canada but spent his early years in Russia where he played with Chibrikov on teams from ages 4-9. He said the puck actually hit him in the neck before he buried it but added that it was "obviously pretty special coming from him". Health update: After skate I asked head coach Mark Morrison for an update on Simon Lundmark and Chaz Lucius. With respect to Lundmark he said they'd talk to the trainers and added "I'm pretty sure he's game ready.". Regarding Lucius he indicated he's skating early in the morning on his own for 15-20 minutes but remains "day-by-day". Said he's improving and while he doesn't expect him this weekend against Rockford he feels he should be back by the following weekend against Laval. I'm told it was a concussion for Lucius. Player media: Jeff Malott interview runs to 1:41 Danny Zhilkin interview runs remainder. Coach media: Topics: 1) Assessing the weekend series against the Stars. 2) Getting offensive contributions from the backend (:30) 3) What are Brad Lambert/Nikita Chibrikov doing that isn't showing up on a stat sheet? (1:13) 4) Injury update on Simon Lundmark (1:50) 5) Injury update on Chaz Lucius (2:08) Up next: The Moose are off tomorrow. They'll be back on the ice on Thursday for practice as they prepare for their weekend series with the Rockford Icehogs.

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