GUSTAFSSON ON A MISSION
David Gustafsson is a man on a mission during this month’s Winnipeg Jets training camp.
“I want to set the tone immediately and try to solidify my spot on the team this year,” said Gustafsson after a 75-minute skate on Saturday morning. “Last year I had a chance to try it out and it was fun. This year, it’s time to really show them that’s my spot and try to solidify myself there.”
When last season ended, Gustafsson knew that this fall’s training camp would be his fifth with the Jets since being drafted in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He knew if he wanted to add more NHL contests to his resume – which currently sits at 74 total games – he needed to switch things up a bit.
To accomplish that, the Swedish forward completely overhauled his off-season training program.
“I changed everything. I moved to a different city, worked out with different coaches, started skating with a new skating coach, and worked to get that quick step a little quicker,” Gustafsson said. “I feel like if we’re going a long way, I’m pretty fast. But the first three steps, that’s really what I have to work on. That’s been my main focus.”
Along with that, the 23-year-old Swedish product wants to get better at face-offs.
In the 36 games Gustafsson played before the calendar flipped over to 2023, he only won 44.8 percent of the draws he took. Those numbers surged in the second half, when he won 65.2 percent of his face-offs in the 10 regular season games he played.
He felt his offensive game – his other area of focus – went on a similar trajectory.
“Offence, obviously, the numbers there weren’t too great last year,” Gustafsson said of his six assists. “That’s something I have to improve if I want to solidify myself there. Just be a guy that (head coach Rick Bowness) can rely on too. That’s a big thing. Especially on the fourth line, you want guys that you can rely on that nothing crazy is going to happen out there. I think that’s the main thing I think about.”
At the time Gustafsson spoke to the media, the line-ups for the two preseason games on Sunday and Monday, a home-and-home set with the Edmonton Oilers, were unknown.
He looks at the preseason as a chance to show off his hard work in the off-season.
“You’re going to get a lot of ice time to play and you have a chance to show yourself again,” he said. “It’s been a long summer without games, so these are the games you want to play. I look forward to preseason games.”
The battle for forward spots will be intense as camp goes on, but Gustafsson is ready for that competition.
After all, he’s spent all summer preparing for it.
“You try not to concern yourself too much with what’s around,” he said of the amount of forwards in camp. “There are a lot of forwards there that have played NHL games, and good forwards. At the end of the day, you just have to do the best you can and hopefully Bones thinks you deserve a spot.”
EHLERS AND BARLOW UPDATES
Both Nikolaj Ehlers (neck spasms) and Colby Barlow (flu) missed Saturday’s practice.
“Colby’s still not feeling well,” said Bowness. “We were hoping to see Nik play tomorrow night, we wanted to see (Perfetti, Niederreiter and Nik) play, but that’s not going to happen tomorrow. Nik will skate but it will be with the smaller group. We will give him Tuesday off and hopefully by Wednesday he will be ready to go back with the main group.”
