Winnipeg Jets : 2021-22 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mason Appleton

After being selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Appleton spent two years finishing up his collegiate career with the Michigan State Spartans before joining the ranks of the (Winnipeg Jets AHL affiliate) Manitoba Moose for the 2017-18 season. He had a stellar year, and was named the AHL Rookie of the Year, winning the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award. On December 1st, 2018, he made his debut with the Winnipeg Jets, playing out the rest of the 2018-19 season with the team.

Coincidentally, after playing most of the 2021-22 season with the Kraken, Appleton was traded back to the Winnipeg Jets just a day before the trade deadline in March of 2022, for a 4th round draft pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Answer: Chaz Lucius (C)

After being drafted by the Jets in 2021, Chaz Lucius spent the subsequent hockey season finishing up his collegiate career with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He concluded the season by signing an entry-level contract with the Jets in April of 2022, after which he was assigned to the Jets' AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

Lucius made his professional debut with the Moose in the fall of 2022, playing 12 games before being assigned to the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League for development.

The other Jets draft picks were chosen as follows:

Round 2 - #50 - Nikita Chibrikov (RW), Russia
Round 3 - #82 - Dmitri Kuzmin (D), Belarus
Round 5 - #146 - Dmitri Rashevsky (RW), Russia.

Answer: Neal Pionk

Neal Pionk was never drafted by an NHL team, going unselected in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft year when he was eligible. After spending two years with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, he forfeited the remainder of his collegiate career to pursue professional hockey, signing a two-year contract with the New York Rangers on May 1st, 2017.

During his time with the Rangers, Pionk started with their AHL affiliate team, the Hartford Wolfpack, playing 48 games of the 2017-18 season with them before being promoted to the Rangers for his NHL debut on February 8th, 2018.

Fast forward a year, and Pionk found himself traded to the Winnipeg Jets (along with a 2019 first-round pick) in a deal that sent defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Rangers on June 17th, 2019. With his trade, Pionk signed another two-year contract extension.

With the 2021 offseason, Pionk was once again up for contract discussions, and this time around, he signed a new four-year contract, with a raise that essentially doubled his per annum salary.

Answer: Dave Lowry

Paul Maurice was hired as the Jets coach in 2014, and announced his resignation from the team on December 17th, 2021. His record with the Jets during his tenure was 315-223-62. At the end of the season, it was announced that Maurice was the new head coach of the Florida Panthers.

With the vacancy in the top job, Assistant Coach Dave Lowry was named the Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the season. During his time in the job, Lowry managed a record of 26-22-6. Before taking over the job, Lowry's coaching history included working as an assistant coach with both the Calgary Flames (three seasons) and Los Angeles Kings (two seasons), and, of course the Winnipeg Jets (one season). His coaching credits also include stints with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals, and Brandon Wheat Kings.

Before making the jump to coaching, Dave Lowry spent 20 years as a player (left wing) in the NHL, from 1985 to 2004, playing for the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, and Calgary Flames.

Answer: Mark Scheifele

Mark Scheifele was the only one who managed the feat of scoring a hat trick (three goals during a single game) during the season. He accomplished it twice, with his second one actually a natural hat trick (three CONSECUTIVE goals in one game):

Dec. 3rd against the New Jersey Devils in an 8-4 win; and
Feb. 16th against the Minnesota Stars in a 6-3 win.

Note - while Josh Morrissey is an alternative Captain with the team, he is a defenseman, and not a forward.

Answer: True

In a subpar year, the Jets still managed to 'own' a few teams, winning all games played against the Montreal Canadiens (two wins), the New Jersey Devils (two wins), the Vegas Golden Knights (three wins) and the Seattle Kraken (three wins). On the flip side, the Jets were kept winless by a few teams as well, including the Boston Bruins (two losses), the Carolina Hurricanes (two losses), the Florida Panthers (two losses), the New York Islanders (two losses), and the New York Rangers (two losses).

Answer: Connor Hellebuyck

2020 Vezina-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played the bulk of the season for the Jets (66 games), managing a mediocre record of 29 wins, 27 losses, and 10 overtime losses, with a save percentage of .910. In spite of that, he still achieved a respectable four shutout games during the season, tying for 6th in the league alongside six other players.

Eric Comrie played 16 games during the season, finishing with a record of 10 wins, 5 losses, and 1 overtime loss, with a save percentage of .920. He also had one shutout amongst his games.

Answer: False

While the Jets certainly underperformed after making it to the NHL Playoffs in three of the four previous seasons (they didn't make the short list of teams that competed in the altered COVID 2020 Playoffs), they didn't fare so poorly as to finish in last place in the Central.

In fact, they finished in 6th place in the division, eight points behind the Wildcard 5th place Nashville Predators, 21 points ahead of the 7th place Chicago Blackhawks, and 32 points ahead of the last place Arizona Coyotes.

Answer: Kyle Connor

Kyle Connor was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in 2015 in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, 17th overall. After finishing his collegiate play with the Michigan Wolverines, Connor signed his first three-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets in April of 2016, making his NHL debut the following season on October 27th, 2016.

After completing his first contract, Connor signed a new, pricey seven-year contract on September 28th, 2019, securing a long-term future as part of the core of the Jets offense. In his first year under his new contract, Connor claimed the team's scoring title for the first time, tying Mark Scheifele for overall points, but claiming the title with more goals scored.

In the shortened 2020-21 season, Connor finished second to Scheifele (by 13 points), but he redeemed himself with his best-ever season, claiming the scoring title by a 23 point margin over Mark Scheifele, who claimed 2nd spot on the team list. With his 47 goals this season, Kyle Connor achieved 3rd place on the all-time franchise goal-scoring list. The record of 52 goals is held by Ilya Kovalchuk, who accomplished it while the team was the Atlanta Thrashers.

Answer: Kyle Connor

The Lady Byng is awarded "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." Not only did Connor demonstrate that sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct with his play, but he also showed his playing ability by finishing 13th overall in scoring in the NHL, on a team that did not qualify for the playoffs.

The other three options all finished the year with high penalty numbers:
Pierre-Luc Dubois - 106 penalty minutes
Brenden Dillon - 67 penalty minutes
Josh Morrissey - 66 penalty minutes.