The Winnipeg Jets defenceman knows all too well just how dangerous a puck to the groin can be, given it was his slapper that ruptured the testicle of teammate Blake Wheeler last season.
So, when a hard drive caught him below the belt Wednesday night in Toronto, there was immediate concern about just how serious things might be — along with a frightening flashback to the friendly-fire incident.
“It did cross my mind, for sure,” said Morrissey, who left the game in the first period and didn’t return. “I don’t know if that’s the universe and karma or what.”
Ryan Sun / The Associated Press files
Jets blue-liner Josh Morrissey left Wednesday’s game against the Leafs after taking a puck in a sensitive area.
Fortunately for Morrissey and the Jets, no serious damage was done and he was a full participant in Friday’s practice. He expects to be in the lineup on Saturday night as the Jets (30-11-5) try to avenge the 1-0 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs (24-14-8) in a rematch at Canada Life Centre. (6 p.m., Sportsnet).
“Obviously it’s an uncomfortable place to get hit for a guy,” said Morrissey, who has 33 points through 46 games this year. “At the end of the day, the medical team does a great job. Thankfully, I got all cleared and am feeling great and ready to roll.”
The Jets received some other good news as they head into their final game before a league-mandated player break and all-star break. Forward Gabe Vilardi, who missed the last two contests with a lower-body injury, is optimistic he can be in the lineup.
“Came up during the Ottawa game (last Saturday). Just everyone’s got different things that they have to manage throughout the year. Just kind of tweaked something and gotta take care of those types of things,” said Vilardi, who also missed 16 games earlier this year with a knee injury.
“You don’t want a weeklong thing to be a monthlong thing or rest-of-the-season kind of thing. It’s just be a little smarter about that, I think.”
Jets’ leading scorer Mark Scheifele (41 points in 41 games), who has missed the last five games with a suspected groin injury, also skated and was doing line rushes with Vilardi and Kyle Connor. However, when time came to work on the power play, Scheifele was a spectator on the bench.
“We’ve got a break coming up. Give him (Scheifele) that extra time. If he needs it, he needs it.”–Head coach Rick Bowness
“He just felt it was bothering him. Still a little bit there. It needs a little more time,” said head coach Rick Bowness. “Did he make it worse in practice? No. But it’s still there. We’ve got a break coming up. Give him that extra time. If he needs it, he needs it.”
Translation: Scheifele will not play Saturday, remaining on injured reserve along with forward David Gustafsson, who has been out since late December but is also nearing a return. That will mean nobody on the active roster has to be placed on waivers just yet to make room for them.
Vilardi, who has 20 points in 26 games, said there is growing excitement over how good a 100 per cent healthy Jets team could be.
“Obviously, we haven’t had a full, healthy roster, I don’t think, since the first few games of the season,” he said. “The good thing about having the depth we have is guys are interchangeable, and you look at our lineup. Anybody can play anywhere.”
After facing the Maple Leafs, the Jets will part ways for seven days. They’ll hit the ice Sunday and Monday for practices, then face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Bowness will be looking to find a bit more offence out of his group, which went 1-1-1 on the road trip but only scored three goals against the Senators, Boston Bruins and Maple Leafs. Missing Scheifele for all three, Vilardi for two and Morrissey for most of one didn’t help, of course.
“We had lots of good looks and he (Samsonov) made lots of good saves. Hopefully those go in for us (Saturday) night.”–Josh Morrissey
“We went over it (Friday) morning with them. In Toronto, specifically in Toronto… we didn’t play well at all in the first two periods of Boston, so you don’t worry about that, that was just bad hockey… but in Toronto, there were offensive plays that we could have made but we didn’t. So that’s on us,” said Bowness.
“It wasn’t so much what Toronto was doing. We made bad decisions with the puck. So, we cleaned that up in video. We addressed it on the ice in practice. We created enough chances to score, obviously, one or two goals, but we still left offensive opportunities out there that we didn’t make the right play.”
Although goalie Ilya Samsonov was sensational in stopping all 32 shots he faced, Morrissey thinks the Jets could do more to make his life miserable.
“The biggest cliché I suppose is the goalie can’t stop what he can’t see. So get in front of him and make it harder for him to see some pucks from distance,” he said.
“Those second and third opportunities around the net, winning those little battles, goals that are scored the dirty way, I suppose, the greasy way in front of the net. We had lots of good looks and he made lots of good saves. Hopefully those go in for us (Saturday) night.”
Samsonov will be in net once again, while the Jets will counter with their all-star starter Connor Hellebuyck.
No contract? No problem
Bowness, who celebrated his 69th birthday on Thursday, was asked about his contract status. He signed a two-year deal in the summer of 2022, although there is reportedly a club option for a third year.
“I think the last time I thought about my contract was the day I signed it. I’m not worried about it,” said Bowness, who joked his only concern is “tomorrow.”
“It’s like I told the players last year. I’m not here trying to extend my career or go somewhere else. I’m not worried about that stuff anymore. I’m good.”
Fred Greenslade / The Candian Press filesHead coach Rick Bowness is headed to his first-ever all-star game next weekend.
That said, Bowness admits he’s not viewing this season as a potential swan song given how much fun he’s having.
“Absolutely. It’s a great group. I love working with these guys. They’re good guys and their hearts are in the right place,” he said
“They’re committed. You challenge them after the Boston game? They respond. They responded going into the third period and they responded going into Toronto. So yeah. We’ve got a good rapport and I’m having fun with it. Absolutely.”
Bowness is headed to his first-ever all-star game next weekend as one of the four coaches selected based on having the best divisional winning percentage.
“I know with my age, I get it. But like I told Judy (his wife), as long as we still love it. And I still love coming to the rink, I still love the challenges of dealing with you guys,” he said.
“I still love the game. The game’s on the line in the third period? I love that stuff. That’s the exciting part. Where we are in the standings, that gets the adrenaline going, so yeah. I’ve got lots to give yet.”
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
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Mike McIntyre Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
