Appleton, Samberg building on great seasons at development camp

WINNIPEG - One of the reasons Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff enjoys the team's annual development camp is to see the progress the team's prospects have made over the past year.
That progress is evident, especially with prospects Mason Appleton and Dylan Samberg.
Appleton, Winnipeg's sixth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft made quite the name for himself in his first season of pro hockey. His 44 assists and 66 points in 76 games with the Manitoba Moose led all AHL rookies, and for his efforts, he was presented the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL Rookie of the Year.
"I didn't have too many expectations coming into the year," Appleton said, reflecting on his season. "I wanted to make the Moose, that was my goal. From there my game kind of took off, I turned into a pretty good player in that league. So I was really happy with my year, and obviously it's something to build on."

The season also included the team's first playoff berth since relocating to Winnipeg in 2015. While Appleton's postseason was cut short due to a head injury - one he's fully recovered from - he says he's using this week at Bell MTS Iceplex as a springboard for his summer training.
"I just started training a couple weeks ago. So this camp is going to help me get back into the swing of things and get me in shape," he said. "I 'm going to stick to my keys and work hard in the gym, work hard on the ice, and then hopefully be the best player I can be in time for camp."

Samberg also had success in 2017-18, his first in the NCAA with Minnesota-Duluth. Halfway through the season, he was part of the USA team that won bronze at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, and concluded his freshman campaign with a national championship.
In Samberg's mind, the national title was made even sweeter when he thinks back to the doubts his team faced from outside the dressing room.
"We weren't really expected, after Christmas especially, to go anywhere. We had a slow first half of the year, and we got back after Christmas and started playing well," said Samberg. "We started to roll with it. We got a chance. We got in by one one-hundredth of a point, and I guess that's all the chance we needed. We got there. We got our opportunity, and we took it."
The 43rd overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft, Samberg's confidence grew throughout the NCAA season, and Cheveldayoff expects that to continue when the 2018-19 season gets underway.
"He's the type of guy that can really excel in today's game," said Cheveldayoff. "He's big, he's got a great stick, he can really move the puck. He's a guy there's a lot of excitement about.
"He has that ability to play a lot of different ways. He can play a hard game, a physical game with his size, but the thing that really drives us to him is his ability, his hockey sense and his skating."

Playing that hard game wasn't always easy for Samberg. While he's 6'3 now, he wasn't always a big guy.
"I always used to be a smaller guy. I liked throwing my body around, but when I finally added the size it kind of helped. I was able to knock the guys off the puck - instead of being the smaller guy, when I'd hit them and bounce right off," Samberg said, saying his growth spurt came after his freshman year of high school.
"I shot up about four inches throughout that summer. Throughout the next year I grew another three inches. It took some time to put on some weight, and when it finally did, my game rounded around and it all worked out."

But just like his on-ice game continues to grow, so too does his knowledge of what it takes to be a pro off the ice.
That's one of the big components of this week in Winnipeg. Director of Fitness Dr. Craig Slaunwhite will speak to the prospects about making good nutrition choices, training to be at their best, and much more, including a cooking class.
This is Samberg's second development camp with the Jets, while Appleton is at his third. The format may change slightly from year-to-year, but for Cheveldayoff and the staff, the goal is always the same.
"This is really a great opportunity for us to get a lot of hands on, face-to-face, one-to-one contact," said Cheveldayoff. "Our focus is more on teaching. The off-ice stuff is the same thing.
"It's an action packed week."

ICE CHIPS
Four players didn't take part in Tuesday's on-ice sessions: Kristian Vesalainen, Skyler McKenzie, Santeri Virtanen, and 2018 third-round pick Nathan Smith.
Smith arrived a day late due to travel complications, so itinerary wise, Cheveldayoff says the 19-year-old is one day behind.
Vesalainen, selected 24th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, has a minor injury that kept him off the ice.
"We anticipate he'll skate in the coming days. If it was the regular season I'm sure he'd be playing," said Cheveldayoff, who acknowledged Vesalainen's incredible season, where he won an SM-Liiga title with Karpat.
"Start to finish, he had a great year on the offensive side. He got traded and had a chance to win a championship, which is a real good opportunity for any player. It was a great growth year for him.
"We hope he'll be here and it will be a great challenge for him to try and make the Jets."
McKenzie (lower body) and Virtanen (upper body) are also dealing with minor injuries.