Winnipeg Jets re-assign Nic Petan to the AHL

The Winnipeg Jets announced on their website that Nic Petan has been re-assigned to the American Hockey League.

Petan started his pro-career earning a roster position with the Jets after a strong camp.

The role though was a bit unique. It is not the norm for a 20 year-old rookie with a tonne of offensive skill to bounce between the pressbox and the fourth line. Petan did play secondary power play minutes to boost his ice time and display his puck management abilities, but unfortunately it does seem that Petan has some development to do.

In his 14 games, Petan posted a 40.8 per cent Corsi when adjusting for score-effects. The Jets have averaged a 54.5 per cent for the minutes when Petan is on the bench. Both his Corsi percentage and the difference between on-ice and on-bench numbers are a team low.

Petan’s one goal equates to 0.54 points per sixty minutes.

Suffice to say, Petan was not playing well in the role and minutes he was provided. Now, there is an argument to be made that Petan may have succeeded if placed in a different environment, like replacing Chris Thorburn in the newly constructed third line with Alexander Burmistrov and Nikolaj Ehlers.

This is not the last time we will Petan dress in the polar-night blue. Petan will play big minutes in the AHL and be expected to help drive offense for one the league’s worst scoring teams. He will likely gain opportunities for call-ups again this year with injuries and will push for a roster spot once again as soon as next year.

As of this moment, the Jets have not called up a replacement although Patrice Cormier is likely a favorite with JC Lipon as an darkhorse, since both Michael Raffl and Matt Fraser are both injured..