Isaac Poulter is among eight players sent to Manitoba as Scott Arniel and the Winnipeg Jets tighten their camp roster.
Winnipeg assigned Poulter, Alfons Freij, Colby Barlow, Kevin He, Jacob Julien, Fabian Wagner, Lucas Wahlin and Kieron Walton to the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday.
That's a significant camp cut in one move. Eight players are leaving the NHL group, thinning the numbers as Arniel gets closer to the lineup he wants carrying the heavier preseason workload.
Barlow is one of the bigger names in the group, but this assignment puts his immediate focus back on Manitoba rather than an NHL opening-night spot.
-
The same applies to Freij, He, Julien, Wagner, Wahlin and Walton. Their camps now continue in the AHL environment, where ice time and larger roles can matter more than remaining around as extra bodies.
Poulter's departure also reduces the crowd around the crease. For Winnipeg, the roster picture is becoming much easier to read with every round of assignments.
Scott Arniel's roster is getting tighter
The timing matters. Winnipeg is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton on Tuesday and doesn't play again until Friday night in Colorado.
That gives Arniel another practice window with a smaller group. Line combinations, special-teams usage and bottom-six opportunities should become more meaningful now that eight players have been moved out at once.
For the remaining forwards, fewer bodies means fewer rotations. Players still battling for depth jobs can expect their shifts to carry more weight as the Jets move deeper into preseason.
The blue line is tightening too. Every assignment creates more room for the defensemen still in camp to show whether they can handle NHL pace and earn Arniel's trust.
Kevin Cheveldayoff's front office is also entering the stage where development plans and NHL roster needs start separating quickly. Manitoba now receives another large group from the organization's camp.
This isn't the final roster, but the Jets have clearly moved beyond the wide-open evaluation stage. The next round of decisions should hit players much closer to NHL jobs.
For Barlow and the seven others heading to Manitoba, the assignment changes the setting, not the opportunity. Strong AHL starts can put names back on Winnipeg's call-up list quickly.
Did the Winnipeg Jets make the right call sending eight players to Manitoba?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
34 players placed on NHL waivers on Wednesday including 6 goaltenders
