Mistelbacher reflects on NHL experience

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2024 (209 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ask any hardcore Winnipeg Jets fan who the franchise’s top prospects are and you won’t have to wait long to hear the names Brad Lambert and Colby Barlow.

The pair of players with American Hockey League experience were front and centre as two of the highest profile prospects to make the trip to the team’s development camp, hosted at the Hockey For All Centre July 4-7.

During scrimmages and practices at development camp, a familiar name for anyone associated with Eastman hockey joined the two AHL players on a line, as Luke Mistelbacher earned an invite to the camp after not being selected at the 2024 NHL draft.

Luke Mistelbacher said he learned a lot from attending the Winnipeg Jets' development camp as an undrafted free agent. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
Luke Mistelbacher said he learned a lot from attending the Winnipeg Jets' development camp as an undrafted free agent. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

“Obviously they’re very skilled players, so that helped,” Mistelbacher said on being paired with Barlow and Lambert.

“They just made the game easier.”

Mistelbacher wasn’t a potential NHL prospect at the start of this year, but gained notoriety after the Swift Current Broncos traded for Connor Geekie. Geekie, a 2022 NHL first round pick, was put on a line with Mistelbacher and Clarke Caswell, the only Manitoba player selected at this year’s NHL draft, and the trio thrived.

Mistelbacher finished the season with 53 points in 64 regular season games, adding on nine points in nine playoff games for Swift Current, including a hat trick.

“That was pretty cool,” he said.

“I always wanted a WHL hat trick. It didn’t happen throughout the regular season, and it just came to me in the playoffs.”

While the games are slightly lower intensity at development camp, played to give the fans who made the trip out something to watch at the end of the day, Mistelbacher said he felt like he fit right in with Barlow and Lambert.

“I thought I did a good job, it was fun,” he said.

Luke Mistelbacher said he learned a lot from attending the Winnipeg Jets' development camp as an undrafted free agent. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
Luke Mistelbacher said he learned a lot from attending the Winnipeg Jets' development camp as an undrafted free agent. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

The prospects even took in a football game together, watching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeat Ottawa July 5.

“It was a good experience, I learned a lot,” Mistelbacher said, reflecting on his NHL experience.

“I got to see what it takes and the different level of intensity and speed, the different level of intensity in the gym. There’s a different level to everything.”

Mistelbacher said he got invites to multiple development camps after the draft, but attending Winnipeg’s was an easy choice, given he wouldn’t need to travel far to make it.

Bouncing back after a disappointing draft day isn’t a new experience for the 18-year-old. He wasn’t selected in the Western Hockey League draft, but was able to impress Swift Current enough to nab a regular roster spot as a 17-year-old undrafted free agent.

The bantam disappointment is something he’s leaned on after the NHL draft came and went without hearing his name being called.

“It sucks waiting all day on draft day and not getting drafted, but it happened to me in bantam as well,” he said.

The Steinbach product was put on a line with top prospects Colby Barlow and Brad Lambert during the camp. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
The Steinbach product was put on a line with top prospects Colby Barlow and Brad Lambert during the camp. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

“Not getting drafted doesn’t make me a better player or a worse player.”

Despite that attitude, Mistelbacher admitted he’s going to be coming into his next season with Swift Current with “something to prove.” To that end, he’s upped his summer training routine, getting on the ice 3-4 days a week and in the gym 4-5 days a week.

“I’m hoping I can play a bigger role in Swift Current,” Mistelbacher said.

“I hope we can be a competitive team.”

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