Off-season departures means opportunity knocks for young players at Jets camp

Winnipeg Jets' Nikita Chibrikov (90) checks Edmonton Oilers' James Hamblin (57) during first period NHL preseason action in Edmonton on Sunday September 24, 2023. The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season.

They lost second-line centre Sean Monahan and winger Tyler Toffoli to free agency and promising centre/winger Cole Perfetti — a restricted free agent — has yet to re-sign.

That opens the door to such young blood as Nikita Chibrikov, Brad Lambert, Brayden Yager and others to crack the starting to roster.

Chibrikov, 21, has been impressive in the early going, scoring two goals and adding two assists at the recent Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C.

“Yeah, it’s more confidence for me,” Chibrikov said after the Jets opened training camp at Winnipeg's Hockey For All Centre on Thursday. “Feeling more comfortable. Everything is better. My hockey, my mind, outside of the rink, my language.”

The winger scored 17 goals and had 47 points in 70 games with the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose last year.

“Oh, I feel good. I’m ready to make the next step,” Chibrikov said. “Just try to do my best and show my game, work hard and compete, and to do everything for the team that I can. If I play good, the goals come to me.”

The five-foot-nine, 160-pound Russian also got into the last Jets regular-season game last year and impressed with his tenacity while scoring his first NHL goal.

“I’m not the biggest size but I try to do all the work that big guys do,” he said. “It doesn’t matter for me. I feel like I should do it, in the corners or blocking shots. It doesn’t matter.

“I know it’s a part of the game and the show. I try to make a difference, to be a pretty good guy on the ice, a lot (more fun).”

The Jets also lost veteran defencemen Brenden Dillon (free agency) and Nate Schmidt (bought out), which opens at least one roster spot for the likes of Ville Heinola, Elias Salomonsson, Colin Miller and others.

Heinola, 23, actually cracked the roster last year before sustaining a fractured ankle.

“It’s exciting times for me,” he said. “There’s probably definitely some opportunities for me. It doesn’t change my mindset at all. It’s been the same every year when I want to steal someone’s job and make the team. That’s my only goal this year — to make the team and play well.

“Injuries are tough and they’re kind of part of this game. Hopefully, the body is good and everything goes well. I just want to be able to play my game and not worry about any injuries or anything like that.”

The six-foot, 181-pound Finn also worked on building up his muscle to accommodate being more physical.

“Obviously, the guys that were moving on were great teammates,” said defenceman Josh Morrissey. “They were veteran guys with a lot of experience in the league. So, now some other guys are going to have an opportunity that I’m excited about.

"How that shakes out I don’t know, but there are some guys that look great here at the start of camp and will have some opportunities to either elevate their role or make the jump to the big leagues."

After general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff failed to acquire veterans to replace the departed Jets, he suggested that the young players should be excited for the challenge of making the club.

"A lot of them had a good summer of training,” he said. “We were able to see them midsummer at development camp in a lot of cases ... That's kind of why you have that development camp — to kind of get a benchmark of where some people are at and then compare it to them when they get to training camp, see what kind of work has gone on in the summer there. You can see that a lot of guys have put in some meaningful time.”

New Jets head coach Scott Arniel issued a challenge to the new guys at a team dinner Wednesday night.

“I told them last night, there’s opportunities,” Arniel said. “Through how they practise and the exhibition games themselves, guys will get a chance to play and show us what you have … Go play to your identity. Do what you do best. You’re all going to get seen in situations that normally, you may not be in and show us what you can do.”

NOTES: Cheveldayoff is still working on re-signing Perfetti … The Jets host the Minnesota Wild in their first pre-season game on Saturday.