Practice report - Vlad tough to play against

WINNIPEG – Vladislav Namestnikov has almost been a Winnipeg Jet for a year. The Russian forward came over last March in a deal with San Jose for a 2025 fifth-round pick.

Namestnikov has played up and down the lineup, has had power play time and kills penalties too. He doesn’t shy away from contact and is happy to give back more than he receives.

Rick Bowness wants his team to be hard to play against and that’s the exact mentality that Namestnikov has. So where did that mentality come from?

“I don’t know. I’ve kind of always hated to lose I guess,” said Namestnikov after practice on Thursday.

“And I feel like my dad was a bit of a, not a tough guy but he would always hit people. He was a defenceman so he would hit people and get under people’s skin so maybe from him.”

Namestnikov’s father, Evgeny, played parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League mostly with the Vancouver Canucks.

“It just kind of translates from dad to son. We never really talked about toughness or fighting or anything like that,” said Namestnikov.

“My first fight was in junior in London. So, when I came over here (from Russia), I realized the game is a little bit different and sometimes people are going to jump you. Sometimes you have to learn to defend yourself.”

After his scrap Tuesday against the Wild’s Jacob Lucchini, Namestnikov is up to 17 fighting majors since he arrived in North America.

“My first-year pro (2012-13 with the Syracuse Crunch) I played with Eric Neilson (6’2, 205 forward), he was the biggest tough guy ever. My first pro fight I got into was a line brawl and he started it so after that I kind of asked him how to grab on and just certain movements to defend yourself.” said Namestnikov.

The other day I was talking to Lows (Adam Lowry), and he was teaching me how to get out of, there’s a lot that goes into it, it’s pretty interesting.”

This is Namestnikov’s 11^th year in the NHL and he is still asking questions about a part of his game that he is not known for.

“I mean you gotta learn something every day. There’s so much out there that we can get better at,” said Namestnikov.

“Just ask questions and learn.”

As for his time here in Winnipeg, the 31-year-old is enjoying his time as a Jet.

“I love it, it’s great. It’s a great group of guys, great organization,” said Namestnikov.

“They treat you great here so no complaints. Love it.”

FIVE-ON-FIVE PLAY

The Jets have won two of their last three games and a primary reason for that has been their power play with six goals over that stretch. The concern is how the team is playing five-on-five which had been a strength for the majority of this season.

“We were a lot better in the third period against Minny and same with the first period. It was a little lackadaisical second period, just puck management, uncharacteristic turnovers, some bad changes by us that really led to the opportunities that they got,” said Adam Lowry.

“Same with Calgary. Calgary, our gap, we were a little slow, we weren’t finding that high-pressure game that we expect of ourselves.”

The Jets continue their run of divisional opponents Friday in Chicago before facing Arizona and St. Louis at home and then on the road again in Dallas. The Hawks have not made things easy for Winnipeg this season despite the fact they sit at the bottom of the Central. Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek has been the key for the Hawks in the previous three meetings.

“We've had a tough time putting the puck in the net behind him, so give him credit,” said Rick Bowness.

“We've played him better than the score indicates but, that being said, we have to find ways to score, and we need the two points."

From the looks of it, Morgan Barron and Nate Schmidt will be back in the lineup after being healthy scratches against Minnesota. Nikolaj Ehlers is dealing with a nagging injury, but Bowness said he is expecting the Danish forward to play against Chicago.