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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFRANK GUNN \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Cole Perfetti is expecting a lot from himself when he hits the ice this coming season.<\/p>\n
The tight bond that exists in the NHL\u2019s smallest market is a major reason Perfetti told his agent to seek a longer extension \u2014 one that eats up some unrestricted free agency years \u2014 rather than something shorter. Pen was officially put to paper last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my family love it there. We love being in Winnipeg, being in Canada, being a part of the organization,\u201d said Perfetti, who was selected 10th-overall by the Jets in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously this (past) year wasn\u2019t exactly how we planned on the ice, but you rewind two years ago and we were the best team in the league throughout the regular season. That\u2019s the kind of group that I know we have and what we all believe in and what we can accomplish. One down year, I don\u2019t think, defines who we are as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perfetti was with his parents last week at the family cottage in Ontario when his agent called him with the good news, just five days before a scheduled arbitration hearing was set. Nobody believed it would get to that stage, with the deadline simply giving everyone involved a bit more urgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cKind of cliche, but without them (my parents), I wouldn\u2019t be here today. All the hard work and effort and time that they gave up so I could be in this position is, I can\u2019t thank them enough. So, to be able to be with them \u2014 I wish my sister and my girlfriend and the whole family was kind of all together \u2014 but it was really special to have them there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKind of cliche, but without them (my parents), I wouldn\u2019t be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey might have shed some tears and was very emotional during that time. It was pretty life-changing, so it was amazing to be there and celebrate with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perfetti now joins Lowry, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Dylan Samberg and others who are signed long-term with the Jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of guys are still locked up for a while and we\u2019re going to come back together as a close team and try to replicate what we did two years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s where Perfetti is likely going to have a major say. The 24-year-old is coming off a rough season, one that began with a high-ankle sprain in training camp and never really got on track. He had just 32 points (12G, 20A) in 68 games as the Jets fell all the way to 27th-overall in the standings, one year removed from winning the Presidents\u2019 Trophy.<\/p>\n
Perfetti says the organization has clearly shown faith in him by giving him this lucrative new deal. Now he wants to start paying them back.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The tight bond that exists between Perfetti and his teammates is a major reason he told his agent to seek a longer extension.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re showing you what they think of me and what they believe I can become, and the player that I can be. That goes a long way for your confidence when you know that the management, the coaching staff and everyone what they think of you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect a lot from myself on the ice this year to take a major step from last year.\u201d<\/p>\n To that extent, Perfetti said a longer-than-anticipated break between action has been a blessing in disguise \u2014 one he hopes will lead to a sizzling start come September.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully this is the longest off-season that we have. I\u2019ve been trying to make the most of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most I\u2019ve spent on the ice. This is the best I\u2019ve felt in the gym. Overall, the body and the mind are in a great spot. Obviously now with being here for five (more) years and kind of knowing what the future looks like, it\u2019s really settling and at ease a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI expect a lot from myself on the ice this year to take a major step from last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Perfetti is eager to get an up-close look at new centre Viggo Bjorck, picked eighth-overall by the Jets last month. The 18-year-old has already signed his entry-level deal and left his Swedish club behind, paving the way for him to jump right to the NHL. That could possibly be on a second line with Perfetti.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a pretty special player. It would be really exciting to play with him and we\u2019ll see where it goes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Perfetti doesn\u2019t wear a letter on his sweater, but he envisions becoming a more vocal leader on and off the ice going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m definitely going to work on that and continue to grow not just as a player but as a person, within the community, at the rink, on the ice, everywhere within Winnipeg. So, really looking forward to that opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201c(Viggo Bjorck is) a pretty special player. It would be really exciting to play with him and we\u2019ll see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf playing with Viggo is the case, he\u2019s an 18-year-old kid and I know I\u2019m only 24, so still a young guy myself, but it wasn\u2019t too long ago that I was in his shoes playing as a young guy. It\u2019s not easy, the NHL. Having someone who\u2019s a similar age that kind of just went through the ups and downs of it all being a younger guy, maybe being able to connect with him and relate to him a little more, it might be able to help both of us. \u201c<\/p>\n Perfetti is also excited by the addition of free agent signing Mario Ferraro, who he played with \u2014 and won a gold medal with \u2014 at the World Championships in Latvia back in 2021. Ferraro, a defenceman, played last season with the Sharks.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually have a couple of really good friends that played in San Jose as well, so they have nothing but great things to say as a guy and as a teammate. Obviously his play on the ice speaks for itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Perfetti is eager to get an up-close look at new centre Viggo Bjorck, and Mario Ferraro, who he played with \u2014 at the World Championships in Latvia back in 2021<\/p>\n \u201cBut from all the stories and everything that everyone\u2019s saying about what kind of guy he is off the ice, it sounds like he\u2019s going to be a great fit for our locker room. Someone that we need and someone that\u2019s going to come right in and be awesome to play with, hang out with.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all sunshine and rainbows around the Jets this summer, however. There\u2019s still the ongoing situation with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck \u2014 who was also at the Lowry wedding \u2014 and is the subject of ongoing trade talks given that the star of the gold-medal winning U.S Olympic team would like to be moved south of the border.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know as much as everyone else in the city of Winnipeg. We\u2019re very anxious to know, too,\u201d Perfetti said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know how special he is as a player and a person. Obviously we want to be playing with him day in and day out. Whatever happens is obviously out of our control. There\u2019s nothing that we can do about it. Try to not get caught up in it, enjoy summer, get better personally and whatever the roster is come October, that\u2019s what it is. We\u2019ve got to be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n mike.mcintyre@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike 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
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tETHAN CAIRNS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDAVID ZALUBOWSKI \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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