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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets centre Morgan Barron (left) sees that his role on the club is evolving to mentorship, especially alongside his pair of young wingers Brad Lambert and Isak Rosen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As the Jets prepare to welcome the Colorado Avalanche for the front end of a home-and-home series with the league leaders, the centre has welcomed an increase in responsibilities and playing time.<\/p>\n
Barron is someone who can easily relate to Lambert and Rosen, both of whom are working to establish themselves as NHL regulars after spending multiple seasons in the AHL.<\/p>\n
Prior to the trade that sent Barron over from the New York Rangers, he was occasionally on the yo-yo \u2014 being sent down to the Hartford Wolf Pack and recalled on multiple occasions before eventually finding his way to full-time duty with the Jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to help bring those guys along, which isn\u2019t a position I have been in.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Barron\u2019s mentors during his time with the Rangers was Chris Kreider, who is now with the Anaheim Ducks after spending the first 13 seasons of his career with the Broadway Blueshirts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually lived with him for two summers and trained with him,\u201d said Barron, who was originally chosen in the sixth round of the 2017 draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a player that I always looked at growing up. I admired a lot about his game and I got to know him quite well as a person. He\u2019s another guy who has carved out a way to continue to be such an effective player. Going back to his 50-goal season, I was up and down that year and watched a lot of the games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether I was scratched or playing that year, there were so many little things that you pick up on that he\u2019s so good at. My game has diverted a little bit from his game in some ways. But there are still elements I like trying to watch and learn from him. To have someone to talk to and help you through the process of turning pro was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kreider has a similar stature to Barron \u2014 who is six-foot-four and 220 pounds \u2014 so having access to both the mind and body of work of a power forward was an invaluable resource for someone trying to find his footing at the NHL level.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have someone to talk to and help you through the process of turning pro was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barron recalls a time as a healthy scratch, when he was watching his teammate from the catwalk during the 52-goal season, where Kreider went to work just outside the blue paint in front of the opposition goalie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember a puck came (to the net) and he tipped it on the left side of his body and he immediately spun clockwise,\u201d said Barron, who appeared in his 300th game with the Jets and 318th of his NHL career in Tuesday\u2019s 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe puck hit the goalie, bounced off him and landed right on his stick. His stick was there before the puck. He tipped it and immediately recognized the angle that it should hit the goalie and where it would likely hop out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a moment that I still have such a vivid memory of sitting there and watching it happen and realizing that\u2019s the difference (between good and great). Ninety per cent of the league, maybe more, tips that puck and turns the same way that they tipped the puck. It doesn\u2019t even clock for them to calculate where the rebound is going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barron isn\u2019t just thriving in a mentorship role; he\u2019s enjoying the most productive season of his NHL career and is adding components to his game that have allowed him to excel \u2014 whether that\u2019s on the penalty kill or at even strength.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t GODOFREDO A. V\u00c1SQUEZ \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron (36) is having a career-high year with 23 points in 62 games this season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n With 11 games remaining in the regular season, Barron has equalled his career-high for goals (11) and established a new mark for points (23) in 62 outings.<\/p>\n Barron credits some of the growth to his off-season training group in Halifax that includes a trio of Canadian Olympians: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche.<\/p>\n \u201cJust the speed at which they do everything and the consistency is a lot of fun to watch and be a part of,\u201d said Barron.<\/p>\n \u201cThose guys aren\u2019t taking days off and they\u2019re not going on the ice to kill time. They\u2019re going out there and continuously getting better. That\u2019s something I admire about a lot of the guys. From talking to guys in this league, there\u2019s no sense of satisfaction, regardless of how good they are.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good for me to just go out there and try to keep up with those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to MacKinnon specifically, Barron says one thing that separates him from most NHLers is the ability to make plays while skating at warp speed.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t LINDSEY WASSON \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron credits his growth to his off-season training group in Halifax that includes Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing I take away is: you see the way (MacKinnon) picks up the puck through the neutral zone in transition and he\u2019s going full blast very quickly,\u201d said Barron.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a part of that that me and a lot of other people will never be able to emulate, but you try to watch it and build your own version of it and realize the effectiveness of being able to push that puck north as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve played with some guys who could reach close to that top speed that they reach, but he\u2019s doing it while stickhandling with his head up, scanning the ice, so it makes for a real challenge to play against.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Jets continue to try and push for a playoff spot, they enter Thursday\u2019s game five points behind the Nashville Predators in the chase for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference, while the Avalanche hold a seven-point cushion on the Dallas Stars for top spot in the Central Division.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tight race, but the only thing we can control is what we can do,\u201d said Lambert. \u201cIf we go out there every night and play the way we did (on Tuesday) night, we\u2019ll give ourselves a good chance.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t ANDY CLAYTON-KING \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Jets inked college free agent Lucas Wahlin to a one-year entry-level contract on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jets welcome Wahlin<\/p>\n The Jets inked college free agent Lucas Wahlin to a one-year entry-level contract on Wednesday, adding organizational depth in the form of a right-handed shooting forward that is capable of playing all three positions up front \u2014 and was used primarily at centre this past season at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.<\/p>\n Wahlin, whose deal kicks in next season, will join the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an amateur tryout offer and will be eligible to participate in the Calder Cup playoffs.<\/p>\n The Minnesota product is known for his sound, two-way play along with his skating ability, competitive spirit and leadership, as he\u2019s been captain at St. Thomas for the past three seasons.<\/p>\n Wahlin, who spent one season with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL before moving to the college level, had 21 goals and 39 points in 36 games this past season with St. Thomas and was named the top defensive forward of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.<\/p>\n winnipegfreeppress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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