Look Ma, I’m a Winnipeg Jet

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This article was published 25/08/2016 (2797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quinton Howden emerged from the MTS Iceplex dressing room through a door emblazoned with the Winnipeg Jets logo Friday morning, still not quite believing he’s entitled to do so.

“This is a dream come true. I’ve said it lots of times before but it still hasn’t sunk in,” said the 24-year-old left-winger. “It feels like in two weeks I’ve got to pack up and leave again. I’m so used to doing that. It’s nice to be settled and I’m really excited to get things under way.

“I think that’s pretty obvious,” Howden added, after being asked for the highlight of his summer.

Clearly, that’s the ability to call himself property of the Jets.

Winnipeg signed Howden, an Oakbank product, to a one-year, two-way contract July 1. He played parts of three seasons with Florida after being drafted 25th overall in 2010 by the Panthers but was not given a qualifying offer, making him a free agent.

Howden, who fired six goals and chipped in five assists in 58 games during the 2015-16 NHL season, said he’s settling back in as a full-time Manitoban.

“It’s funny, I got the (training) camp invite the other day and it said on the sheet that if you’re getting your hotel accommodations and flight accommodations, talk to (Jets staff),” said Howden, who has purchased a home in Oakbank.

“It’s just a drive here for me, so it’s exciting. I’m just excited to get underway and meet all the guys. I’m just very fortunate to be here and to get things going. It’s a fresh start.”

Howden was part of a group skating at the Iceplex that includes defenceman Mark Stuart and goalie Michael Hutchinson of the Jets, Eric Fehr of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ryan Reaves of the St. Louis Blues.

The former Moose Jaw Warriors junior star, skating in the city since May, will be in a battle with the likes of Chris Thorburn, Marko Dano, Joel Armia, Anthony Peluso, Brandon Tanev and Alexander Burmistrov to win one of the final three or four forward spots on the roster. Otherwise, he could wind up with the Manitoba Moose.

He has a game plan to try and delight the Jets brass but the rest, he knows, is out of his control.

“I’ll bring my speed, that’s my biggest asset,” he said. “If I can use that to my advantage, hopefully I’ll show what I’ve got.”

Howden said he was impressed with a pair of Jets forwards, in particular, when Florida hooked up with Winnipeg last season.

“I remember when (the Jets) came to see us in Florida. They were on a hot streak near the end of the year,” he said. “Obviously, Scheif (Mark Scheifele) and Wheels (Blake Wheeler), that streak they both went on. You build on that confidence that they have around the young guys coming up. It’s all exciting.”

The Jets main training camp begins Tuesday, Sept. 20. The club plays its first pre-season game a week later when the Calgary Flames visit the MTS Centre Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.

Fehr, meanwhile, a newly minted Stanley Cup champion, slipped out of a dressing room down the hall with his equipment bag slung over his shoulder after the hour-long workout. And he was grinning.

‘I’ll bring my speed, that’s my biggest asset,” he said. “If I can use that to my advantage, hopefully I’ll show what I’ve got.”– new Jets forward Quinton Howden

“Yeah, good summer. It was a lot of fun,” said the Winkler native, who turns 31 Sept. 7. He brought the Cup to the southern Manitoba city in mid-July, about five weeks after the Penguins knocked off the San Jose Sharks in six games in the championship series.

“We went back to Winkler and brought it out to the mall and it was a great reception. People from the town came out. It was great for the community and it was a lot of fun. Then we went back to my parents’ farm. There were about 300 people there, so it was a lot of fun, just kind of a thank you to everybody that’s helped me get to where I am and give everybody a chance to meet Stanley.”

Fehr, who scored three goals and added an assist during the Penguins’ playoff run, has played in more than 500 games during parts of 11 seasons in the NHL after a brilliant junior career in Brandon.

He said regrettably the most challenging time was spent during the 2011-12 as a Winnipeg Jets forward, when he potted just two goals in 35 games before injuries cut his season short.

“I think about how close I was to being out of the league when I was playing with Winnipeg,” said Fehr, who then was hurting just pulling a Jets jersey over two badly damaged shoulders. “It was a pretty big struggle for a year or two there, but I didn’t want to go down easy and kept fighting to come back.

“When you get an opportunity to win like that, it makes everything that much better.”

So, is he getting the respect he deserves from the rest of the boys at these August scrimmages?

“They come up and congratulate you,” he said. “Every time you do something, though, they make sure you hear about it. If you’re a little late on a backcheck, of course (it’s) ‘why would you backcheck, you just won the Cup,’ or something like that — just poking fun at you.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter @WFPJasonBell