The preseason games don’t count in the standings, but for players at an NHL training camp on the bubble, they count nonetheless.
The Jets played a number of players on the bubble — both up front and on defence — throughout their six-game preseason slate to give them a chance to show why they shouldn’t be among those sent down to the AHL to begin the 2023-24 season. Three in particular from that category stood out.
1) Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola did everything he could to show he should finally stick with the big club. Unfortunately, the defenceman suffered a lower-body injury in the final preseason game against the Ottawa Senators after getting tangled up with Erik Brannstrom in the corner. He was helped down the tunnel and did not return.
The injury is serious, head coach Rick Bowness said after the game.
“It’s not good,” he told reporters. “We’ll have more information on it tomorrow, so they’ll be another analysis and they’ll look at it, but it’s not a short term injury.”
It was terrible luck as the 22-year-old — who has played just 35-career contests with the Jets through his first four seasons and has spent most of his time with the Manitoba Moose — proved himself ready by putting his best assets on display.
After the 2019 first-rounder vowed in May he was “going to give everything I have this summer” and show the coaching staff “they can’t take me out of the lineup anymore,” he showed intelligent puck movement in all zones, strong skating, excellent passing, superb awareness, and posted strong underlying metrics.
The Finn, often criticized for being undersized, put on muscle over the offseason and it showed as he had no trouble defending against larger players. The issues he’s had in his career have mostly been on the defensive side, but he was not muscled off the puck or pushed around like he has been in the past.
Perhaps because he’s entering a stage of his career where he will not develop any further in the minors, Heinola was given a long look by Bowness and company. In five games, he scored one goal and played big minutes.
Although the Jets’ defensive logjam still exists as neither Neal Pionk or Nate Schmidt were traded in the offseason, Heinola looked to have done enough to be the seventh defenseman over Kyle Capobianco or Logan Stanley. Unfortunately, the injury appears to be long-term and will prevent him from taking the spot to start the season.
The only thing working against Heinola prior to the injury was bureaucratic: he doesn’t have to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL, while Capobianco and Stanley do.
2) David Gustafsson
David Gustafsson notched three goals, which was a much-needed offensive outburst. The Swede is down to the last year on his deal and most likely his last chance to be a full-time Jet.
The “Gus Bus” is coming two-straight disappointing seasons. In 2022-23, he played 46 games but recorded no goals and six assists while skating an average of 10:06. Most of his playing time came in the first half as Kevin Stenlund — a fellow Swede who began the season with the Moose — was given an opportunity to be fourth-line centre in December, impressed Bowness, and kept the job. Gustafsson was regularly relegated to the press box as a result, playing just two games in January, none in February, seven in March, and one in April.
“I started second-guessing myself and it’s hard when you lose confidence in this sport, it’s hard to play,” Gustafsson told the Winnipeg Free Press lately. “I’ve been working a lot on myself, just the mental levels and that aspect of the game so I feel like I can take a new positive thought about it. I know some more stuff now about how to get away from those (bad) thoughts.” (From ‘Gustafsson’s new, improved outlook paying off, Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 4, 2023.)
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Gustafsson has excelled in the AHL as a top-line centre and worked on his shot and with new strength and skating coaches in the offseason. He trained in Sweden with a group with other NHLers instead of alone, calling it “a more competitive summer.”
His new training regime seems to have paid off. He scored on a deft tip-in in a 5-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Sept. 25, then followed it up with a pair of goals in a 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Oct. 2, including on a nice give-and-go with Parker Ford.
“Puck went into the net for him, that’s a huge start,” Bowness said two days after the two-goal performance. “He’s here, can play left wing, play centre and kill penalties while being a very reliable defensive forward. And that’s what he’s done.
“His timing offensively is better,” Bowness continued. “But, again, his main job here is to kill penalties, win faceoffs, be versatile and be ready to do the job, whatever we ask him to do.”
Gustafsson, who entered camp a bit of an afterthought, has made a good case for sticking with the team as the 13th forward. He’ll have to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL, so the Jets will have to risk losing him for nothing if they decide to reassign him.
3) Parker Ford
Raise your hand if you had Parker Ford leading the Jets in preseason points. Now put it down, you liar.
The 23-year-old center and winger, who has played less than a dozen professional games, put up a goal and three assists in four games. He made his professional debut with the Moose last season, recording two goals and two assists in eight games, after wrapping up a four-season career at Providence College.
The undrafted Ford is only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but is a dogged competitor who owns a Brandon Tanev-like skillset. He used his aggression, energy, and speed to his advantage despite not being the most purely-skilled guy on the ice.
A 2020 NHL Draft report backs up the Tanev comparison: it describes Ford as having a “non-stop motor” who “provides heavy forechecking and momentum-turning plays in the neutral zone” and is “always around the net… to “create havoc around the goal mouth.”
Ford, like Heinola, was given plenty of opportunity at even strength and on special teams throughout preseason. Overall, he impressed Bowness.
“You want guys to step up and say, ‘I can help your team. I can make you a better team.’ And that’s what he’s trying to do,” Rick Bowness said recently. “Give him full marks. The last two games, you notice him. And he’s strong on his feet, he’s not afraid and he sticks his nose in there and he’s got a good sense for the net.” (From ‘Ford turning heads with all-out approach to game, Winnipeg Free Press, Sept. 28, 2023.
