Arniel high on Winnipeg Jets

Some observers see holes, Scott Arniel sees options and opportunities.

The head coach of the Winnipeg Jets is understandably optimistic about the coming season, while not ignoring the departure of several key pieces of the puzzle during free agency.

Since he was hired in late May as the successor to Rick Bowness, Arniel has been working at a frenetic pace: putting together a coaching staff and preparing for the upcoming season.

The 2024 NHL Draft and the annual Jets’ development camp is in the rearview mirror and Arniel has basically set the agenda for the coaches summit, which will take place at the end of the month.

Whiteout parties whip up green for city charities

Scott Arniel remembers what it was like to experience the original Whiteout inside Winnipeg Arena as a player and to see how the event brought Manitobans together.

Nearly four decades later, the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets is encouraged to see the tradition continue and on a day where the United Way and True North Sports and Entertainment announced it is making a contribution of $100,000 — to be split equally between four community charities — Arniel was among the speakers at a press conference in downtown Winnipeg who took pride in knowing what the cash would be used for.

“Winnipeg has been home for me since 1981, when I first came here. My wife Lia is from here and we raised our family here over the years and we are personally invested in efforts to make our city a better place,” said Arniel. “Being part of the original Jets Whiteout back in the ’80s, it was an exciting part of my personal hockey story. Now that my role has changed, in moving behind the bench, it’s exciting to see that this tradition not only lives on, but has grown tremendously.”

The Jets were eliminated in five games in the opening round series against the Colorado Avalanche, but the parties held during the three home games helped boost the total amount True North, in partnership with United Way Winnipeg, has contributed to more than $312,000 into downtown agencies to combat homeless, addiction and hunger throughout the Whiteout Street Parties.

New Jets assistant coach ready to soar

Dean Chynoweth was born into a hockey family, but he was undecided what career path he would pursue into his teenage years.

Jets sign Heinola to two-year contract

Ville Heinola has a new contract in place and will turn his attention to doing what he can to secure a spot in the opening-night lineup.

The Winnipeg Jets and the Finnish defenceman came to terms on a two-year deal that carries an average annual value of US$800,000 on Monday afternoon, scratching another restricted free agent off the to-do list.

The remaining RFAs are forward Cole Perfetti and depth defenceman Simon Lundmark.

Heinola, who was chosen 20th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, had done enough to make the Jets last October before he suffered an ankle injury in the final game of the preseason against the Ottawa Senators.

Defenceman Zloty excited to be back in Winnipeg with Moose

It's a case of déjà vu for Ben Zloty.

The Calgary native has spent a sizable chunk of his early hockey career in Winnipeg, playing four seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Ice (although one year was a bubble season when the WHL played in Regina).

Now the 22-year-old left-shooting defenceman is back in the all-too-familiar city. He signed a two-year contract with the Manitoba Moose on July 3, a day before he attended the Winnipeg Jets development camp which wrapped up Sunday at the Hockey For All Centre.

“It’s good to be back,” Zloty told the Free Press. “I’m excited, they got a good organization here (which) gives people a chance.”

Milic made most of first pro season

Thomas Milic didn’t let his mind wander.

As the Winnipeg Jets fifth round pick started out on his professional hockey journey last fall, he spent very little time worrying about which crease he would be tending.

The goalie prospect knew that if he stopped enough pucks, the rest would take care of itself.

The approach seems simple enough, though the execution of that plan is something that can occasionally lead to unnecessary speed bumps for rookies.

Jets positive on prospects, but ‘there’s still work to do’ on roster

Kevin Cheveldayoff was feeling a bit nostalgic as he met the media on Sunday following the completion of the latest Winnipeg Jets development camp.

“We didn’t have these back in our day,” the club’s 54-year-old general manager noted, reflecting on his time as a junior hockey player with the Brandon Wheat Kings preparing to try and make his mark as a pro.

Cheveldayoff, a 16th-overall pick of the New York Islanders in 1988, never did make the NHL. He spent five seasons toiling in the minors before hanging up his skates and likely would have benefited from such a valuable resource which is now a staple among all big-league teams.

However, he’s thrilled modern-day players are now getting the types of valuable lessons, leadership and mentoring that his generation missed out on.

Hockey the family business for development camp invite Namestnikov

Max Namestnikov is no stranger to the world of professional hockey. Winnipeg Jets fans know all about older brother, Vladislav, who has spent the last two seasons with the club and has played 708 games in his NHL career. Max, who is 12 years younger and still playing junior, is a bit of an unknown product around here. At least until this week, when the Jets invited the undrafted Michigan-born forward to participate in their annual summer development camp, which runs through Sunday at the Hockey For All Centre. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Max Namestnikov comes from a long […]

Lucius a well of untapped potential

Four straight years. Four significant injuries. Four season-ending surgeries. If it wasn’t for bad luck, Chaz Lucius wouldn’t have any luck at all. The 21-year-old has become a human pin cushion at this point given the number of times he’s gone under the knife to repair various ailments to his knee, shoulder and ankles. He’s also become a bit of a punch line for critics who say the Winnipeg Jets swung and missed with the 18th-overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft pick. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS files Chaz Lucius is optimistic his injuries are behind him and looking […]

Disappointment spurs goaltender DiVincentiis to refine his game

Dom DiVincentiis was riding the wave. Nine months ago, the Winnipeg Jets seventh round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft was the reigning Ontario Hockey League goalie of the year and had the inside track on being the starting goalie for Team Canada at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship. DiVincentiis had taken part in his second NHL training camp with the Jets and showed well before he was reassigned to the North Bay Battalion of the OHL last October. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Dom DiVincentiis has bounced back from the disappointment of getting cut from the Canadian National […]

Jets 2024 draft pick Alfons Freij back nine years after childhood visit

Alfons Freij was nine years old when he travelled with his father from their native Sweden to a far-flung place in the middle of Canada to compete in a pair of high-level youth hockey tournaments.

His team didn’t win a single game.

The long-distance trip wasn’t a total loss, however. Freij got an up-close look at the practice facility of the Winnipeg Jets — even posing for a picture under two towering posters of Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba — which he admits lit a bit of a fire.

“Wanted to be there one day,” he said Thursday, speaking inside the very same Hockey For All Centre that was known as the Iceplex back then. “That was one of my goals.”

Jets sign defenceman Haydn Fleury, forward Mason Shaw to one-year, two-way contracts

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenceman Haydn Fleury and forward Mason Shaw. The Jets said Thursday that both deals are one-year, two-way contracts with an average annual value of US$775,000 in the NHL. Fleury, 27, had five points (one goal, four assists) and 20 penalty minutes in 24 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. He also played five games for the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch. Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly (44) battles with Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Haydn Fleury (7) during second period NHL first round Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Toronto on […]

Jets continue to add depth through free agency

The Winnipeg Jets made a pair of free agent signings on Wednesday to boost the organizational depth chart.

Forward Mason Shaw and defenceman Haydn Fleury both inked one-year, two-way deals for the league-minimum of US $775,000 at the NHL level and substantially less should they find themselves in the AHL.

Shaw, 25, is a rugged forward who was drafted in the fourth round by the Minnesota Wild in 2017. The Alberta product has played 82 regular-season NHL games over his career, with eight goals, 12 assists and 118 penalty minutes. He’s also skated in 197 AHL games, scoring 43 goals and adding 78 assists.

Shaw, who is five-foot-10 and 184 pounds, missed much of last season recovering from the fourth ACL surgery of his career.

Jets hopefuls out to impress

The Winnipeg Jets will provide a peek into the future this week as the annual summer development camp is held at Hockey For All Centre.

A total of 35 players — 21 forwards, 11 defencemen and three goaltenders — are set to hit the ice for skates on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All sessions begin at 9:30 a.m., are open to the public and free of charge. There will also be private off-ice sessions which include a combination of teaching and team bonding.

The roster includes 17 recent picks of the Jets, highlighted by a trio of first-round forwards in Colby Barlow (2023), Brad Lambert (2022) and Chaz Lucius (2021).

Other prospects include all four players selected in the 2024 draft this past weekend in Las Vegas and defenceman Elias Salomonsson (second-round, 2022), who is coming off a championship season in Sweden and will turn pro in North America this fall.