A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

A few shots from Saturday September 15th at the Winnipeg Jets training camp. That day was the “Fan Fest Day” which meant that all of the training camp drills were taking place in front of a rather substantial crowd at the Bell MTS Iceplex that morning, where both veterans and prospects alike were competing to solidify their spots on the Winnipeg Jets’ roster for the 2018-2019 National Hockey League season. Above is a shot of Canadian-born veteran Brandon Tanev saucering a pass to Finnish rookie prospect Kristian Vesalainen.

Joe Morrow watches intensely as it comes into his zone during the morning drills at the Bell MTS Iceplex. As not all of the players are people whose playing style he is familiar with, his reactions to the new playing styles by both prospects and trade acquisitions alike had to be sharp.

Unphased by the crowd at the Bell MTS Iceplex that morning, captain Blake Wheeler leads by example by staying very focused. By doing this, he is demonstrating to the new, younger players what their work ethic needs to be in order to have a solid spot on the Winnipeg Jets roster.

Tucker Poolman, who shared his time in the 2017-2018 season between the NHL Jets and the AHL Moose, looks out at the new faces he is competing with for a more permanent role on the NHL roster.

Vesalainen was really being put through his paces as he goes down the ice with veteran defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Vesalainen’s speed is something that will certainly add to the Winnipeg Jets’ already sharp scoring lines, once he makes it to the main team.

All of the players present in the circle for a meeting with head coach Paul Maurice. Undoubtedly, Maurice was likely telling all of the players what their next drills were going to be, and what sorts of skills he would be looking at while they were going on, as well as the expectations.

During the meeting, recently acquired goaltender Laurent Brossoit is in deep discussion with goaltending coach Wade Flaherty. Without a doubt, the two are more than likely discussing what his role would be in 2018-2019 while possibly serving as the backup for starting goaltender (and Vezina Trophy finalist) Connor Hellebuyck.

Patrik Laine swoops along the ice in a quick turn during the on-ice session. Certainly, his leaner shape acquired over the off-season while back home in Finland has helped him with his speed. He plans on maintaining the more streamlined build throughout the season, with the help of his mum’s cooking.

During training camp, there's always a sense of ferocious competition. As an example, Ben Chiarot says a rather hard “hello” to Kyle Connor during one of the short scrimmage exercises...

...and Chiarot "Jet propels" teammate Connor across the ice...

...and there's the liftoff of a Jet!!!

However, there was a very safe landing as Kyle Connor proves his agility yet again, staying in the play 100%!!!!

A defensive zone scrimmage as both Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele watch the puck intensely. Certainly with the new players who shall be undoubtedly joining the Jets this season, learning their moves and playing styles from as many different perspectives as possible will be very helpful to the team in the long run.

As a one on one drill takes place, several of the Jets’ players watch and learn both from their teammates and assistant coach Charlie Huddy, who ran the drill on this side of the ice. Again, part of learning how their teammates play and what kinds of styles and strategies they already use on the ice both helps each of the Jets learn how they might be able to include the differing style of play into the regular season.

Dustin Byfuglien tries to slow down Andrew Copp as he makes his way towards the net. “Tries” being the operative word, as Copp has a lot of speed when he gets going!

Ben Chiarot chases down the speedy rookie prospect Kristian Vesalainen during a one-on-one drill. Vesalainen was again really being put through his paces at the camp, and was definitely showing that, if he isn’t playing in the NHL for the Jets this season, he will certainly be a huge asset to the Jets’ farm team, the Manitoba Moose.

A pair of players fresh out of the Canadian Junior Hockey ranks, Red Deer Rebel forward Kristian Reichel (#86, navy jersey) battles Kitchener Rangers defenseman Logan Stanley (#64, red jersey). Reichel is originally from Litvinov, Czech Republic, while Stanley is from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Both are 20 years old.