WINNIPEG — For a guy who sees himself at the Last Chance Cafe, Saku Maenalanen is doing everything in his power to earn a seat at the table — or at the very least, extend his reservation for a longer look.
Maenalanen came into Winnipeg Jets training camp as mostly an unknown, a forward who had a brief cup of coffee during the 2018-19 season, appearing in 34 games for Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes, notching four goals and four assists while splitting the season in the American Hockey League with the Charlotte Checkers.
After spending the past three seasons playing overseas, Maenalanen returned to North America on a one-year, two-way deal with the Jets and a distinct goal in mind.
“I wanted to play in the NHL. This is my last chance,” Maenalanen said before suiting up in his second preseason game, a 5-3 win for the Jets over the Ottawa Senators. “I’m 28 years old. That’s why I’m here. I’m a much better player. That’s why I went back to Europe to play games, and now I’m ready.
“This is a good chance for me.”
Originally chosen in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, Maenalanen believes his game has matured and that he’s ready to take the next step.
Only time will tell if he can convince Jets head coach Rick Bowness and the rest of the coaching staff that he’s ready to beat out one of the incumbents for the job or can vault himself past one of the prospects vying for a spot on the opening-day roster.
Maenalanen has been noticeable throughout training camp and had a solid debut against the Oilers in the 4-0 loss on Sunday night, doing enough to earn an unplanned second look on Tuesday.
“He’s a big, strong guy. He’s not afraid,” said Bowness. “He’s around the net. He did a good job on the penalty kill, so we tried to get him some more minutes.”
Maenalanen, who noted he’s often been used on the penalty kill when suiting up for the Finnish national team, seemed to take advantage of those roughly three additional minutes (moving him to 14:18 on Tuesday), producing two shots on goal and four shot attempts while being credited with two hits.
“The first thing that jumps out is he’s very skilled and has a great release,” said Jets forward hopeful Mikey Eyssimont, who meshed well on a line with Maenalanen on Tuesday. “You saw that on that toe-drag shot (in the third period). But he can put a little bit of grit into his game, as well. He’s (got) a big body and he uses it well.”
Eyssimont has also shown well through two games and was rewarded with a power-play goal on Tuesday, tipping home a one-timer from Kyle Connor.
Although Eyssimont is drawing attention for his pain-in-the-you-know-where style and dogged determination, he was filling in for Pierre-Luc Dubois on the Jets’ top power play unit against the Senators and made his opportunity count.
While Maenalanen is trying to force his way into the discussion for a roster spot, Eyssimont is likely battling to be one of the first call-ups, though his tenacity is sure to have caught the attention of the coaching staff so far.
Speaking of forwards leaving an impression, 2020 second-rounder Daniel Torgersson also had a night to remember, scoring twice and rattling a chance off the post as he attempted to complete the hat trick — sparking memories of Hannu Jarvenpaa’s preseason highlight pack from the Jets 1.0 era.
Torgersson got a taste of the North American game late last season, suiting up in four games with the Manitoba Moose to help get him ready for his first NHL training camp.
Suiting up for Sweden and capturing a bronze medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship in August also helped Torgersson get in the right frame of mind.
On Tuesday, Torgersson showed off some smarts in finding a soft spot in the slot, allowing Connor (who paced the offensive attack with a goal and three points) to find him for a perfect one-timer that opened the scoring, just 22 seconds after serving a minor penalty for tripping.
“I took a stupid penalty in the offensive zone and then the team had a pretty good PK. We killed the PK and then I don’t really know,” said Torgersson. “I just came into the offensive zone and (Kyle) Connor just passed me the puck and I thought, (expletive), I need to hit the net’ and I did it.”
Torgersson converted a pass from Alex Limoges on the doorstep for his other goal, then nearly wrapped up his first three-goal outing in recent memory.
“I hoped so, sometimes you get lucky, but other times you don’t have luck with you,” said Torgersson, asked if he thought the third-period chance was going in. “So next time.”
When you’re destined for the Moose like Torgersson is, doing enough to get that next game and survive the next round of cuts is all you can really focus on.
The blue line battle has been a topic of conversation and will continue to be throughout training camp as the jockeying for position continues.
It was an up-and-down showing for Ville Heinola, who got caught pinching on a goal by Tyler Motte on an odd-man rush, but also converted a perfect pass from Adam Lowry after a smart zone entry by Cole Perfetti.
Heinola showed some offensive flair, recording three shots on goal and six shot attempts to go along with two hits and three blocked shots.
Heinola, who played 17:34, is trying to make an impact but must show Bowness and associate coach Scott Arniel that his risk/reward quotient is at the right level.
Dylan Samberg, another candidate for a job on the back end, was mostly solid in his preseason debut.
Former Brandon Wheat Kings forward and Roblin, MB. product Jayce Hawryluk chipped a puck past Samberg on the Senators first goal from Cole Reinhardt, but that marker had more to do with Neal Pionk being caught out of position on the play.
Samberg ended up with four shot attempts, three hits and a blocked shot in just under 20 minutes of work, often looking like the player that was comfortable in his first taste of NHL action last season — when he overcame an injury on the opening day of training camp.
For those vying for a spot on the blue line or on the fringes of the forward group, the next step is to start separating yourself from the competition — something that hasn’t happened yet in the eyes of the head coach.
Bowness was unhappy with the Jets puck management and shift length during the first two periods.
“For a lot of guys, that was their first game but that being said, we have to play a lot faster than that,” said Bowness. “The two things that slow you up are long shifts and turnovers, and we were guilty of both tonight. Take out the Xs and Os and everything. If you want to stay out there for 55 seconds and you’re going to turn pucks over, you’re going to play very, very slow, which we did.
“In the third, we shortened the shifts up, we started going north and we looked a lot better. There’s a right way to play and it took us until the third to figure that out.”
The Jets are back in action on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, before returning home to host the Edmonton Oilers on the day they unveil Dale Hawerchuk’s statue.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
