"The best thing is he hasn't made any mistakes," Gulutzan said, following Saturday morning's practice. "So he's been good defensively, he's been aware, he's been where he's supposed to be in spots on breakouts and on the defensive side, and that's where you build your game from.
"Because let's be honest, the reality is you get confidence in your coach, and maybe offence isn't as high as it used to be, but you keep getting out on the ice and keep getting into good situations … Smart players, the offence will come. But he's starting on a good platform and I think he's going to start to generate more and more chances as he gets more and more comfortable in the league."
Jankowski has been playing on a line with Sam Bennett and Curtis Lazar, two other younger players working to break out.
"I think we've developed a little bit of chemistry in our time playing together here," Jankowski said. "It's been good playing with those guys. I feel like we've created some energy for the team when we go out there and we're all fast, we're hard on pucks, and we work their D. Like I said, we're starting to get some chances, too, so I think if we keep playing the way we're playing then the scoring will come."
Gulutzan has liked what he's seen out of his young trio.
"We have a veteran line there too, and there's a little internal competition to get on the ice more and it's good healthy stuff. Because those are really good young kids in our locker room, they're well-liked, and they're pushing. We all talk about that internal push, and they're pushing on some veteran guys who are good veteran leaders, and that's how you get your team to grow."
