Vilardi inches closer to return

WINNIPEG – It’s been a long six weeks for Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi.

The 24-year-old has been working hard to get back into the lineup since spraining his MCL against the Los Angeles Kings on October 17. Former teammate Blake Lizotte fell into Vilardi that night and the Jets forward voiced his frustration with the incident today following practice at Canada Life Centre.

"I've played with him a lot. He's done a lot of little things like that. It's stuff that you guys say it was an awkward fall; it’s not an awkward fall. It's someone pushing your feet out from the back, my knee gets caught under me and then he tackles me. It's that simple. I was pretty close to being gone for the rest of the season, so it's frustrating to look at stuff like that and think about it, “said Vilardi.

“Obviously, I don't think his intent was to hurt me, but you make plays like that, it's a stupid play - and it's frustrating to think that guy sits in the box for two minutes and then I have to deal with what I've dealt with for the past month and a half. But that’s life, now I’m here. I’m looking forward to playing again and just having fun. It’s tough when you’re by yourself.”

Vilardi has been skating with his teammates for almost two weeks and has been travelling with the team as well. But he was clear it has been challenging trying to fit in with his new team with all the time he has missed.

“I missed most of the preseason because of the flu that was going around. It’s good to see the team winning, but at the same time, being the guy who is on the outside looking in, almost? Obviously, everyone does their best to make you feel like you’re part of the team,” said Vilardi.

“And you do feel like you’re part of the team, but the new guy, it would have been nice to come in and get familiar and play and get comfortable, as opposed to not playing hockey. These guys are 20 games in, and I really haven’t done much yet.”

In a perfect world, Vilardi will make his return tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, but Jets head coach Rick Bowness wasn’t about to commit to that.

“Well, we are hoping that he plays tomorrow, then we’re going to have to be a little patient with him he’s missed a lot of time. The game has ramped up a lot from when he was playing in early October, the speed of the game, everyone is at the top of their game now. So, we’re going to have to be patient with him and work him in slowly,” said Bowness.

“If he can play, we have to start with that. So, it’s not 100 per cent that he’s in tomorrow. We’re all hoping that he’s going to play. If he plays then we’ll start him on the fourth line, get him on the power play and see how he’s doing. Now I say that but if we see he’s fitting right in, he’s picking up right where he left off then we’ll move up his minutes.”

Vilardi was skating with Morgan Barron and David Gustafsson during line rushes and was also involved in the power play with Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey. Winnipeg’s failure to cash in on numerous power plays last night against Dallas sealed their fate in the 2-0 loss to the Stars.

“You can say ‘go to the net, go to the net’ but you’ve got to be big and strong and physical and have that desire to stay there and he has all that. Plus, he has great hands, he hangs onto the puck, he doesn’t throw it blind,” said Bowness.

“He does a lot of good things down around the net when there’s no play. He uses the half wall guys really well and he has good timing when to step in front of the goalie, when to step off to the side as a passing option. So, he brings a lot to the power play.”

Outside of the rehab, Vilardi has been trying to get used to wearing a brace on his knee.

“It’s not ideal. I’m sure some of you guys have worn braces for other sports. You play hockey without a brace all your life and then you’re getting asked to put something under your gear that you’re not comfortable with,” said Vilardi.

“So, yeah, it is important to find the right brace and make sure it fits. For some guys it’s easier than others. Maybe I got a little bit of OCD. It bugs me. So, there’s been that battle with the AT guys. But I have to wear it, they’ve been really good and helped me in getting the right brace.”