Winnipeg Jets Training Camp Roster reduced by five more players – Winnipeg

Scoring goals in back to back exhibition games wasn’t enough to earn Jansen Harkins a longer look at the Winnipeg Jets training camp. The veteran forward, going into his seventh full professional season, was among five players placed on NHL waivers by the Jets. They’re assigned to the AHL Manitoba Moose who begin their training camp on Monday.

Harkins, who opened the scoring in last Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary and the 3-1 loss at Ottawa on Friday was joined by forwards Dominic Toninato, Kristian Reichel, Jeff Malott and defenceman Ashton Sautner.

The 27-year-old center was also guilty of making an ill-advised pass into the middle of the ice in his own end that was picked off by Claude Giroux and turned into the Senators’ winning goal with 18.3 seconds remaining in the second period of Friday’s loss.

Head Coach Rick Bowness says the decisions on Harkins and fellow veteran Dominic Toninato, in particular, were simply part of the process of reducing the training camp roster to a more workable number.

“Those were tough, but we can’t keep everybody,” said Bowness. “We gotta give some guys another game. If we had more games, then they’d be playing because they both had good camps…We’re not disappointed in them at all. We’re running out of time, we’re running out of games and we gotta get our practice numbers down so we can keep the tempo up. We don’t have guys standing around all day.”

On the topic of numbers, the Jets are now down to a roster of 35 players (3 Goalies, 11 Defensemen, 21 Forwards).

That includes three young forwards: 2023 first-round pick Colby Barlow, who is coming off being sidelined with a nasty case of the flu, along with Wyatt Bongiovanni (groin) and Henri Nikkanen (thumb).

Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi missed a second straight day of practice on Sunday and Bowness confirmed “100 per cent” that neither forward will be in the lineup for Monday’s game in Calgary.

The Jets bench boss also said Nikolaj Ehlers is still not ready for game action — that came from the player himself — while defenseman Nate Schmidt practiced again in a non contact jersey and is also not going to play against the Flames.

The Jets have announced the lineup of 20 players who will dress for the team’s second-to-last game of the preseason on Monday Night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

680 CJOB’s coverage begins at 6 p.m. CT with the pregame show, followed by the play-by-play with Paul Edmonds and Mitchell Clinton at 8 p.m. CT

Goalies (2)

37 Connor Hellebuyck
60 Collin Delia

Defencemen (6)

2 Dylan DeMelo
4 Neal Pionk
5 Brenden Dillon
14 Ville Heinola
44 Josh Morrisssey
64 Logan Stanley

Forwards (12) 

7 Vladislav Namestnikov
9 Alex Iafallo
15 Rasmus Kupari
19 David Gustafsson
22 Mason Appleton
28 Jeffrey Viel
36 Morgan Barron
55 Mark Scheifele
62 Nino Niederreiter
71 Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
73 Parker Ford
91 Cole Perfetti

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