Winnipeg Jets

[bomberjet]

^ Dale's in town right now. His kid Eric is golfing in the Players Cup being held right now at Pine Ridge.

[EagleHawk]

Anyone taken a stroll past the MTS Centre lately? I drove past MTS Centre approx 9pm and notice a new string of lights that completely changes the concourse look and feel with a very bright lazer blue lighting. They had it all out on the main concourse/atrium and small ones under the concession counters.

[esquire]

^ Sounds awesome... I'm glad that the MTS Centre is getting a nice overhaul that incorporates features that are pretty affordable now, like those kinds of lighting effects.

Speaking of MTS Centre, I was walking down Graham today and it occurred to me that it's a much more bustling place now than when the Powerhouse building was expanded in 2003/04 and will only get busier once TNS is finished. If TNS gets fully leased out it, I wonder if they'd ever consider converting the sunken CTV parking area into CRU space and move the CTV parking into their adjacent parkade? It would certainly enhance the feel of that corner...

[bomberjet]

Isn't the sunken area behind the powerhouse the entrance to Bell MTS Place event level?

I was thinking they could build overtop a portion of that ramp at some point.

Edit: Just realized there is a parking area along Graham under the building. Disregard.

[esquire]

^ Yeah, that's the space I'm talking about, where the CTV news vehicles are. It's going to be such a rare corner by Winnipeg standards, 4 buildings right on the corner, all relatively new. It would be great to see street-level activity on all 4 corners. That would require the Rudy's kitchen to move somewhere and for TNSE/Longboat to reconfigure the Powerhouse to put some enclosed space on the main floor instead of the current atmosphere-deadening parking.

[esquire]

I had a chance to check out the MTS Centre and I'm very impressed with the renovations so far. There's still clearly a lot of work to do, but what's been done so far is for the better. It feels like we're getting the rink we should've had all along.

[buzzg]

I don't think we should've had what we will get all along... it was built as an AHL arena and for concerts. Didn't warrant all the money and upgrades being poured in. They upgraded it with highest priorities first. Aside from some improvements to bars and concessions (all portable bars including the Budweiser stands are becoming permanent), this is fully cosmetic.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I don't think we should've had what we will get all along... it was built as an AHL arena and for concerts. Didn't warrant all the money and upgrades being poured in. They upgraded it with highest priorities first. Aside from some improvements to bars and concessions (all portable bars including the Budweiser stands are becoming permanent), this is fully cosmetic.

Yes, it's cosmetic but that's the point... the MTS Centre's interior was originally done on a shoestring. Even when the building was brand new, I think the most generous assessment was that it was adequate. But that's about it. Now it's actually going to a level where it's going to look nice.

That said, you can still have a venue without major league tenants where the interior looks good. BOK Center in Tulsa is a spectacular venue, possibly one of the best looking arenas ever built, 17,000 seats. Apart from a WNBA team that played there for 5 years, the main sports tenant is an ECHL team... literally the Manitoba Moose's farm team. Same with the Sprint Center in KC or Centre Videotron in Quebec.

[Bluenote]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I don't think we should've had what we will get all along... it was built as an AHL arena and for concerts. Didn't warrant all the money and upgrades being poured in. They upgraded it with highest priorities first. Aside from some improvements to bars and concessions (all portable bars including the Budweiser stands are becoming permanent), this is fully cosmetic.

Because the most important thing is how you get beer ? Sorry. I am very happy with what they are doing.

[Jets4Life]

For all Jets fans:

Logan Stanley is the next Boris Valabik.

Both are exactly 6'7/231. Both are tall imposing defensemen, but the game has passed them by, since they are pylons. I guess nobody told the Jets scouts about this. However, our 2015 prospects and our 2017 draft class look great. With the exception of lucking out in 2016, and picking Patrik Laine, most of the picks are duds.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by Bluenote

Because the most important thing is how you get beer ? Sorry. I am very happy with what they are doing.

Sorry if that was unclear, I'm thrilled with what they're doing and have done since the Jets return.

I was replying to an earlier comment saying that all the upgrades they've been doing should have just been there from the start, which I disagreed with. It was built for what it was needed for in 2004. Now they're upgrading as necessary due to increased demands on the building. It's great.

[bomberjet]

All of the Jets first rounders, except for Stanley as I think that was a mistake, are NHL caliber. Especially trading up to get Stanley. We'll see how he does.

Schefiele, Trouba, Ehlers, Morrissey, Laine in NHL and highly rated. Connor and Roslovic knocking on the door. Done good in first round. After the first round, the chances of playing in the NHL drop off substantially. It's mathematically proven. You kind of get lucky with your picks.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

All of the Jets first rounders, except for Stanley as I think that was a mistake, are NHL caliber. Especially trading up to get Stanley. We'll see how he does.

Schefiele, Trouba, Ehlers, Morrissey, Laine in NHL and highly rated. Connor and Roslovic knocking on the door. Done good in first round. After the first round, the chances of playing in the NHL drop off substantially. It's mathematically proven. You kind of get lucky with your picks.

About Stanley: he doesn't look like that great of a pick right now, but clearly the scouting department saw something they liked in him in order to trade up. I have confidence that the organization will manage his development well and that he could turn out to be a solid NHLer a few years from now.

[Kronos]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

All of the Jets first rounders, except for Stanley as I think that was a mistake, are NHL caliber. Especially trading up to get Stanley. We'll see how he does.

Schefiele, Trouba, Ehlers, Morrissey, Laine in NHL and highly rated. Connor and Roslovic knocking on the door. Done good in first round. After the first round, the chances of playing in the NHL drop off substantially. It's mathematically proven. You kind of get lucky with your picks.

Way too early to call Stanley a mistake or bust, may simply be one of those players who needs more time to develop .....kinda like that guy named Scheifele, who needed a lot more time in junior hockey, and for the first few years in the NHL had tons of fans and media wanting him sent down to the Moose; complained he couldn't stay upright on the ice and looked like Bambi trying to stand up after always being knocked down. Fans as well screamed foul that we didn't draft Sean Couturier instead....is anyone wanting Couturier over Scheifele now?
Jets have had great production from their 1st round draft picks, some will simply take longer than others to develop.

[bomberjet]

I get it. Wait and see. Scheifele was more impressive at that stage. But D are a bit different. I just hope they didn't select Stanley simply because he is a LHD. Addressing immediate needs via the draft is a bad recipe. Jets motto is take the best payer available. I don't think Stanley was the best available, but I'm not an NHL scout either.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by Kronos

Way too early to call Stanley a mistake or bust, may simply be one of those players who needs more time to develop .....kinda like that guy named Scheifele, who needed a lot more time in junior hockey, and for the first few years in the NHL had tons of fans and media wanting him sent down to the Moose; complained he couldn't stay upright on the ice and looked like Bambi trying to stand up after always being knocked down. Fans as well screamed foul that we didn't draft Sean Couturier instead....is anyone wanting Couturier over Scheifele now?
Jets have had great production from their 1st round draft picks, some will simply take longer than others to develop.

Well to be fair Scheif looked great as a junior. You still knew he was a first rounder, semantics of going 7th/8th OA aside vs Coûts

But Stanley was a stretch then to call a bon a fide first rounder and equally as much a stretch now. Not saying he won't pan out, but comparing Scheif to Stanley isn't quite the same.

I agree with bomberjet that the Jets messed that one up. I'll be rooting for Stanley prove me wrong but my stomach turned when he was picked. Never had that feeling with any of our other first rounders. And for good reason. Stanley is a gamble. But then hey one never knows.

[Wpg_Guy]

The concourse upgrades at Bell MTS Place.

With the latest concourse upgrades, True North has invested $48 million into BellMTS Place since 2012.

[buzzg]

Looks incredible. Really puts it up there with the class of the NHL in design. So excited - love all the blue elements.. it's so "Jets."

Reminds me of the feeling of going to see a Wild game at Xcel – you walk in and immediately feel like it's the home of the Minnesota Wild.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Anyone interested in 2 tiks vs Oilers on Wed? $70 for both. Sec 318

[esquire]

The interior of the MTS Centre (seating bowl and concourse) now looks the way I had hoped it was going to look when it opened back in 2004. TNSE did a great job with the renos over the past few years.