WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets recalled Nik Ehlers, but he won’t play in Game 4 against the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night.
Coach Paul Maurice said the plan for Ehlers after arriving in town was to have dinner.
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The goal is for the organization’s top forward prospect to observe, at least at first.
“We look at Nik as hopefully a real big part of our future,” Maurice said Wednesday after his team’s morning skate. “You’ve got to be in the building to get a pace for this game, the speed and the physicality of it. It’s good for all of those guys, our younger players, when we can, to witness that.”
If the Jets, down three games to none, stave off elimination, Maurice didn’t rule out Ehlers being a “legitimate” option to play later in the series.
READ MORE: Winnipeg Jets so close to Anaheim Ducks but facing elimination
“From a contract standpoint point of view, we could put him in the lineup,” Maurice said. “He starts to skate when we get that chance.”
Ehlers was the Jets’ first-round pick, ninth overall, in last year’s draft. He had 37 goals and 64 assists for 101 points in 51 games for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
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