Training Camp Notebook - September 24

WINNIPEG - Winnipeg Jets training camp has reached an important point.
Three practices, two scrimmages, and long hours at the rink mean everyone is feeling the same.
"We need a game," said head coach Rick Bowness.
Luckily for the Jets, they get one tomorrow when they open the preseason against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.

The line-up was announced on Saturday afternoon, and Bowness stayed true to his word that it would be "relatively young."

The goal is to see improvement every day in camp, and Bowness saw that improvement today.
"We're seeing a little bit better structure in the scrimmage today as opposed to yesterday," said Bowness. "We didn't get looked off as much as we did yesterday in terms of finishing checks and staying above. So those things are important. We saw some slight improvement."
In fact, the 50-minute skate that Team Hawerchuk went through prior to the scrimmage (with Team Steen following suit after the 50-minute scrimmage) was about just that.
"Yesterday we were doing a lot of swinging away and getting looked off," Bowness said, adding that the implementation of a phased forechecking drill was as much about improving that as it was seeing the structure.
"Go up and make a play, just stay with your guy, don't swing away and let him back into the play," Bowness said. "When you break it down, we make it as simple as we can so we can see the movement and we can correct any movement when it's too wrong when there are less bodies in there. Five-on-five, it gets a little more hectic and you have to see them make plays under pressure."

Team Hawerchuk prevailed by a score of 2-1 in the scrimmage on Saturday, which was held in front of a packed crowd at Bell MTS Iceplex with the annual Jets Fan Fest taking place that same day.
The fans were treated to a quick goal from David Gustafsson, who beat Connor Hellebuyck 90 seconds into the game with a quick shot from the slot.
Pierre-Luc Dubois tied things up with two minutes left in the first half with a great individual effort, holding off Logan Stanley before putting one past David Rittich.
The game-winner came in the second half, as Kyle Connor finished off a play with a quick wrister from the right circle that beat Arvid Holm.
The scrimmage had more intensity than Friday's, as Dubois and Stanley even mixed it up a bit with some pushing and shoving midway through the game.
"You want them to play hard," Bowness said. "We're not out there to hurt each other and we're not out there to fight each other. But you have to play the game hard. We wanted more contact today. We got it. So that's fine."
LINE RUSHES
For the third straight day, all the line rushes stayed the same:
Team Hawerchuk:
Connor-Scheifele-Ehlers
Toninato-Gustafsson-Gagner
Malott-Nikkanen-Reichel
Torgersson-Zhilkin-Lambert
Morrissey-Kovacevic
Sautner-Bauer
Chisholm-DeMelo
Stanley-Gawanke
Team Steen:
Perfetti-Dubois-Wheeler
Harkins-Lowry-Appleton
Eyssimont-Stenlund-Maenalanen
Limoges-Maier-Lucius
Samberg-Schmidt
Capobionco-Pionk
Dillon-Heinola
Kuzmin-Lundmark

SEIZING OPPORTUNITY
Gustafsson's goal in the scrimmage is just one part of making an impression on the new coaching staff.
After a 2021-22 campaign that saw him play just two NHL games due to injuries - one on December 17 against Washington where Gustafsson got hurt early in the first, and the other on Jan. 2 against Vegas when he was injured after 2:19 of ice time - he's hoping his run of back luck is behind him.
"Injuries come in this sport and it's something you've got to deal with. I think that's something that made me stronger," said Gustafsson. "I want to make the team, I want to play in the NHL. That's been my dream, always. That's the mindset I have this year."
The Swedish forward has played 28 NHL games since he was drafted in 2018, with just six of those coming in the last two seasons.
The 22-year-old made the most of his time in the American Hockey League though, as he's played in every possible situation with the Manitoba Moose - whether that be power play, penalty kill, or even strength.
"I've learned more on my off-side and (about) playing defence. I feel like I can show off that I can play every single (game situation)," he said. "I feel like I've done a lot of hard work and I feel like I've developed the skills to be up here."

SOMEONE TO LEARN FROM
Gustafsson has spent the first three days of camp on a line with one of the newest members of the organization, Sam Gagner.
Gagner may be new to the organization, but he's no stranger to the NHL, as he sits 33 games shy of 1,000 for his career.
"You try to watch a guy like that every practice and see what he's doing and how professional he is every time he comes to the rink and how he works here every day," Gustafsson said. "You talk to him about "How do you feel about me going this way or that way on the ice, what time do you want me to push and what time do you want me to stay back?' He's helpful with things like that."
Throughout his career, Gagner has played every forward position, on every forward line, and in every situation. He broke into the NHL in 2007, but has had three assignments to the AHL since 2015.
He's been a consummate pro the whole way.
"You start to understand it's an everyday league. Nothing is given and there's different circumstances that happen throughout a year," Gagner said. "I've been on the high end of things, I've been on the low end of things, and when you take a step back to reflect, you enjoy it all. You enjoy the process."
His father, Dave, played 946 games in his NHL career and has been a sounding board for his son throughout his career.
"My dad went through challenges in his career and has relayed a lot of that information to me," said Gagner. "To go through it yourself, to go through the challenges and come out the other side, it's a great feeling, it's really rewarding."
Gagner says it doesn't matter to him how many preseason games he plays, but Bowness said he's already had a conversation with the veteran forward about what to expect.
"We're not going to give him a whole lot of games. We need to see some younger players. We know what Sam is going to bring," said Bowness. "Does he need a game or two? Yes. But he's not going to play early and I've explained that to him. He gets it. He understands his role."
He not only understands it, he embraces it, no matter what that role might be.
"The guys that don't make an adjustment to their games, don't last very long," Bowness said. "All of a sudden he's not a top six on some teams, he never complained, he kept working on his game. They needed him to kill penalties last year in Detroit. He stepped in and did a great job. He couldn't have done that 10 years ago. He's smart enough to figure out how to survive in the league."