SAN JOSE – There may be some rain in San Jose on Monday in San Jose, but it’s certainly not dampening any spirits for the moms and sisters joining the Winnipeg Jets on the road this week.
“To share the experience with them and get to have them see how we travel, them to see how we’re treated, the day-to-day of being on the road, it’s super special.,” said captain Adam Lowry. “They’ve played such important roles in our careers and our upbringing, it’s just a small way that we get to share what we’ve been so privileged to experience playing in the NHL.”
After a four-hour flight on Sunday and a team dinner shortly after arrival, it’s evident that the friendships have already been built. It was also the players’ first chance to make sure their moms got to dinner on time.
“Growing up it was the other way around, they were making sure we were on the bus or at places on time, now it’s roles reversed,” laughed Lowry. “It’s been a lot of fun getting to see where everyone is from, where they get their personality, or things like that.”
Are any of those personality traits obvious? Head coach Scott Arniel isn’t saying.
“There actually are a few, I won’t name anybody but you can see it,” Arniel grinned. “These guys, they had the dads out last year and now they have the sisters and moms. It’s a special time for them, not only for the players but also the mothers.”
For Cole Perfetti, he’s excited his mom – Sandra – gets to have the same experience his dad, Angelo, had last season.
In fact, she knew about the trip before her son did.
As they always say, ‘a mother always knows.’
“I had mentioned to her ‘I think we’re going to do a mom’s trip, it’s not 100 percent, but I kind of heard we might be,’” Perfetti said. “Then all of a sudden, she heard we were doing it. So she was super excited. Right away she was really amped to do this. It’s awesome to be able to do this with her.”
The special guests watched the 30-minute skate at SAP Center on Monday. David Gustafsson was part of the session in a non-contact jersey, his first time on the ice since leaving the 8-1 win over the Boston Bruins a little under a week ago.
“He’s still in the concussion protocol but he’s further along,” said Arniel. “He got on the bike yesterday, now he gets to get on the ice. We’ll just move him along here. No rush, obviously with concussions it’s a tricky area, so we’ll go day-to-day.”
Nikolaj Ehlers graduated from a non-contact to a regular jersey, but wasn’t part of line rushes and Arniel said it’s still a day-to-day process with Ehlers at this point.
The full line rushes looked like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Chibrikov
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Fleury-Pionk
Stanley-Miller
Heinola-Coghlan
Dating back to November 22, the Jets have played at least every other day (including two back-to-back sets), so to wake up on Monday and not have a game that night was a welcome change for the group that had played 13 games in 23 days.
“It’s a bit of a mental reset,” said Lowry. “Sometimes the limited practice time, those days in between games, you’re just trying to rest as much as possible and you miss out on the important things with hockey - mental sharpness, and structure-wise - and being able to work on that in practice today, hopefully it helps for this road trip coming up.”
The trip will be short, just two games on back-to-back nights against San Jose and Anaheim, but the Jets won’t be taking either opponent lightly – even though they’re seventh and eighth in the Pacific Division, respectively.
Winnipeg beat San Jose 8-3 on October 18 with Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Neal Pionk registering four-point nights.
“They’re young, they have a lot of firepower, guys that are shifty and can make plays,” said Perfetti. “It’s always tough against these guys, we always have a tough time in this building. I think with that two-day break, we needed that, and we’re feeling good going into it coming off a nice win.”
The goal, of course, is to keep those good vibes going with their moms in the building.
“It’s the little things like seeing how we travel and seeing our hotel, going behind-the-scenes on the day-to-day stuff they don’t typically see,” said Perfetti. “We’re pretty spoiled, so it’s nice to spoil her too and have her on this trip. It’s great to have all the moms, the sisters, and meet some new people. It’s been fantastic so far.”
