Training camp is now complete, the final cuts have been made, and all that’s left is to drop the puck on the new season.
48 hours before their season opener, the Jets finalized their opening night roster. The Jets made six moves on Monday to reach the 23-man limit, with the club deciding their top prospects needed a little more spice on the farm.
The Jets have assigned forwards Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov and Jarrett Anderson-Dolan, as well as defenseman Elias Salomonsson to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
Defenseman Logan Stanley was placed on injured reserve after recently undergoing knee surgery, while forward Ville Heinola was designated as injured non-roster following surgery on his ankle.
According to head coach Scott Arniel, Lambert, Chibrikov and Salomonson all had strong camps, and he stressed to the players that it is all about their development and that they can be back with the big club at any time.
“We don’t want these guys to push them into a situation where they crash and burn and we have to start over,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said. “We’re obviously doing this because we need these guys. They are separate from our future.
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“That doesn’t mean anything is written in stone where we’re going. I told both of them (Lambert and Chibrikov) to move forward and continue to be the best players they can be. It could be a week. It could be a month. “I’m not making any guarantees, but he obviously opened the eyes of a lot of people in Penticton to play in exhibition games here.”
The Jets are holding three goalies for the time being after fans suffered a minor panic attack when netminder Connor Hellebuyck missed practice Monday morning. But it is not injury related as Hellebuyck was absent from the skate for personal reasons due to “family issues” and they are hoping to have him in time to catch a flight to Edmonton on Tuesday for Wednesday’s season opener against the Oilers. But will be back with the team. , But the club opted to keep three goalkeepers just in case.
“He may not be back for practice tomorrow but we’re hoping he’ll be on the same plane when we go to Edmonton,” Arniel said. “So, he has some family things that he’s taking care of and have to take care of, so, we’ll give him his privacy and move on.”
Defenseman Colin Miller earned a spot on the Jets roster after an impressive first training camp with the team, scoring three times in the pre-season. He began the campaign with a strong hold on a spot among their starting six defensemen following injuries to Stanley and Heinola. It’s a big change from last spring when the 31-year-old veteran couldn’t find a regular spot in the lineup under Rick Bowness after the trade deadline deal.
“It’s definitely a different feeling for me,” Miller said. “I think last year was a bit of a whirlwind with everything that was going on. So, it’s good to have a full training camp here and bring in some more familiar faces to start with.”
Forward Rutger McGroarty made the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 23-man roster out of training camp after the Jets’ first-round draft pick was traded to the Pens in August.
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