Laine did not fade offensively when opponents focused on him more as last season went on. He scored 21 goals in 41 games in the first half, and 15 goals in 32 games in the second half, when he missed nine games (eight because of a concussion, one with an illness).
"How he sees guys on the ice, that's great vision," forward Mathieu Perreault said. "He's not just a shooter. He's got the whole package.
"You just have to be a special player to do that. It's a gift. It's not something you really work on, that you show up at 18 and do that. He's a really smart guy and that helps him a lot, and being a big guy … his size helps him. Being 6-foot-5 is always an advantage in most sports. He's an overall great player."
Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, wasn't on the ice much during training this offseason, most of which was spent at home in Tampere, Finland. He said he skated six or seven times before returning to Winnipeg for training camp.
"From May to June, I didn't go on the ice," Laine said. "I wanted to get a break and be excited to go on the ice again after the summer. I did work out a lot and played a lot of golf, tried to get relaxed."
He said the goal for his daily gym time was improving his strength and his quickness.
"I spent a lot of time in the gym trying to be stronger and a lot of sprints and not a lot of cardio running, just the sprints," he said. "I'm trying to get faster. I think that was my main focus for the summer."