Rookie Janmark makes bold first impression with his new team
Easing into games, into the NHL for that matter, was obviously not the avenue of choice for Mattias Janmark.
The Dallas Stars rookie scored on his first shift in his first two games, starting with his first goal, which he netted 1:39 into a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then, just 20 seconds after the puck dropped in Saturday’s contest against the Colorado Avalanche, he scored his second.
“He’s been light on the minutes, but good with the production,” said Stars coach Lindy Ruff.
Janmark does have experience to draw on — compared to an 18-yearold like Connor McDavid — having played in the Swedish Elite League.
Nor has Janmark been dealing with the scrutiny McDavid has.
Oilers head coach Todd Nelson said he even made a point of talking to the centre on Monday, in an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure he felt he was bearing.
McDavid arrived in Dallas without a point in his first two games.
“He has to understand that he is a very very important piece to our organization and our team, but the weight of it isn’t on his shoulders,” said McLellan. “So much has been made (of him) because of his stature ... it seems to be ‘Connor this, Connor that’.
“As an 18-year-old, I’m sure he feels that a little bit, but we have to remind him that’s not how we’re looking at it.”
As for Janmark, he said it has been a learning process but it’s helped that he got off to a good start, and that he had the experience of playing in the SEL with and against older, more experienced players.
He also played nine games in the American Hockey League before making his NHL debut, on a line with Ales Hemsky and Cody Eakin.
The 22-year-old, who hails from Stockholm, was drafted by Detroit in the third round in 2013 and dealt to Dallas in March, along with defenceman Mattias Backman, for Erik Cole.
HEMSKY PUTS DOWN ROOTS: Hemsky, the former Oilers winger, now has a house in his hockey haven, a wife and a surgically repaired hip. He’s even got a tattoo snaking up his left forearm, something he had thought about for some time but didn’t do until he left Edmonton, where he had spent the better part of 12 seasons.
He’s relaxed, he’s still playing hockey and he’s out of the spotlight.
“I can deal with (the attention) but it’s hard when you’re losing and you have to do it over and over. It wears on you: all those same questions for those six, seven years,” he said. “It’s hard.
“This is different. Hockey is not as big a sport but there are a lot of fans ... but you can get away from the rink and nobody judges you, nobody talks about hockey. Even if you play bad, you can forget about it and regroup.”
Drafted 13th overall in 2001, Hemsky was dealt to the Ottawa Senators at the 2014 trade deadline, signing a three-year, $12-million deal with Dallas a few months later. The 32-year-old is currently on the third line, with Janmark and Eakin, averaging just 13:32 of ice time.
“I have to give him credit for playing through it last year,” said Ruff. “I thought his grit and determination inside the system was very good. Right now, he’s skating really well and shooting the puck well.
“I think he knows now that more pucks need to get to the net.”