Brooks hoping to make most of opportunity in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG - Adam Brooks' welcome to the Winnipeg Jets came quickly on Sunday, as the 25-year-old was put on the right wing with NHL All-Star Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois in his first practice in Jets colours.
"They're two guys that really electrify the city, every time they're on the ice they do something special," said Brooks. "If at some point here I get a chance to play next to those guys, I'm just going to try to do whatever I can to help them."
Whether interim head coach Dave Lowry keeps Brooks in that spot when the Jets open a four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Monday afternoon is another story.
Lowry has said repeatedly he wants to put players in a position to succeed.
That's why when Dubois returned from COVID-19 protocol in Dallas against the Stars, the centre started on the wing on a line with slightly lower minutes than the 18:56 he averages per game this season.

Once both player and coach were assured that Dubois - who had only skated once in nine days leading up to the game - could handle the workload, he was moved back.

Lowry will have a conversation with Brooks prior to the game about what he feels comfortable with.
"He hasn't been on the ice very much. I wanted to get a look at him there," said Lowry. "It's 19 minutes of work that we're talking about and the biggest thing is that I want to know how he feels as a player."
Brooks has played in 11 games, with seven of those coming with the Vegas Golden Knights this season. Both of his two goals came with Vegas, while his one helper this season came during his four games with the Montreal Canadiens.
His last game was on New Year's Eve against Anaheim, where he scored once in 10:54 of ice time. Then he suffered an undisclosed injury.
"I started skating again during the all-star break," Brooks said. "We had some ice there so I was out there by myself. I think I had one or two practices with the team and then all the waiver stuff started happening."
His season has been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least.
In October, he was placed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs and claimed by the Canadiens. Just over a month later, he was placed on waivers by the Canadiens and the Golden Knights grabbed him from there.
Then, in February, he was once again on waivers and claimed by the Maple Leafs. When Toronto tried to assign him to the American Hockey League - and had to get him through waivers again - he was claimed by the Jets.
"I think any time you go through situations like this where there is a lot of adversity thrown your way, you either fold or you try to work through it," said Brooks. "I learned at that time how to deal with it and that stuck with me. Hopefully, now I can do that in this situation as well."
He wants to take advantage of the opportunity of playing for his hometown team.

The Winnipeg product was born in May of 1996, around the time the 1.0 version of the Jets relocated to Arizona.
"Growing up, I was a huge Moose fan. Every time they did something in the community, I was there," said Brooks. "(I'm) going to try and make the most of the opportunity and try and rep the jersey really well because I'm really passionate about this team and this city."
Now he's joining the team in the thick of a playoff race, so no matter where he slots in line-up wise, the Jets will be looking for him to do exactly what Lowry saw from Brooks in the Western Hockey League.
When Lowry coached the Victoria Royals from 2012-2015, Brooks played for the Regina Pats.
"He was a skilled guy," said Lowry. "He's been a skilled guy in the American Hockey League and now, what we're looking for is to see how it translates in the NHL."
Winnipeg's full line rushes during Sunday's skate at Bell MTS Iceplex looked like this:
Stastny-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Dubois-Brooks
Vesalainen-Lowry-Reichel
Harkins-Toninato-Poganski
Svechnikov
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Schmidt
Following Saturday's loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Jets sit seven points back of Los Angeles for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
This four-game road trip will take them into Calgary (winners of nine of their last 10), Dallas (four points ahead of the Jets), Colorado (the Central Division leaders who are 8-1-1 in their last 10), and finally Arizona.
It's a tough schedule, but the only other time the Jets have played the Flames this season, Winnipeg came out on top by a 4-2 score on November 27.
"There's pressure to win every night," said Lowry. "We have to keep a singular focus and we just have to prepare, number one, for tomorrow and this trip."