The Winnipeg Jets have officially opened their training camp for the 2016-2017 NHL season and once again, due to this past summers entry draft and signings of Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor (not to mention the upping of Mark Scheifele's eight-year, $6.125 million contract) expectations are high in River City.
Of course I suppose all fans say that about their team upon the dawning of a new season. New players, new opportunities, new dreams. Not that too much stock is put into this, but The Hockey News did in fact name the Winnipeg Jets the 2019 Stanley Cup champions. Hey, a guy can dream can't he? So what if that article was meant to salivate Jets fans in two seasons, the dreaming starts now!
But as for the present, will the Jets measure up this season to what expectations were for 2015-2016? If so, who will lead the way and bring the excitement of the NHL playoffs back to the Manitoba capital? The core players will obviously carry the mantle as expected. So for now, we'll ignore players like new captain Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Brian Little and Ondrej Pavelec.
What Jets fans really want to know is how many goals will Patrik Laine score? Will he challenge the Maple Leafs Austin Matthews for the Calder trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year? Will he seize the brass ring as another Teemu Selanne or will he *GULP* be a bust?
With all eyes on Laine, will college stand-out Kyle Connor slip in under the radar and turn some heads as I believe he will, or will he be a regular scorer with the Manitoba Moose? Will Josh Morrisey finally make the big club? Will he be able to let Jets fans exhale a collective sigh of relief and ask Jacob who? Who will win the back-up position to Pavelec, who is in the final year of his five-year deal? Or will it be Pavelec fighting to retain his starter job? Will Micheal Hutchinson continue his wonderful play from last year or will newcomer Conner Hellebyck outplay them both and start the season between the pipes for the Jets? Will Nikolai Ehlers continue his break-out that he began last season?
