Dillon making an impact early on in Jets camp

WINNIPEG - In his first scrimmage in Winnipeg Jets colours, Brenden Dillon took down Mark Scheifele with a body check - one of three hits Dillon threw on Thursday.
The next day, both Scheifele and Dillon laughed about it. The two have skated together in multiple off seasons and have developed a friendship, so the check didn't bother Scheifele one bit.
"It's hockey," said Scheifele. "He plays tough, he's always in the right spot, he moves well, he moves the puck well. He was a great pick up for us."
That didn't protect Dillon from a few good-natured chirps from his new teammates after the skate, however.
"I tried to tell Scheif, not all of us run the half wall on the power play. We do other things. We have to work on our timing," Dillon said with a laugh.
"We were joking around. I was taking some heat in the dressing room after. It's all in good fun."

It's all in good fun during a scrimmage, but when the puck drops for real next month with points in the standings on the line, the 30-year-old Dillon will be playing with a chip on his shoulder.
He admits that immediately after the trade from Washington, he was - understandably - caught off guard and needed a bit of time to process it.

He's embracing his new city and says he'll be coming into the 2021-22 season with a chip on his shoulder.
"I think Winnipeg is getting a really motivated Brenden Dillon," he said. "When it happens, you're still kind of a little bit caught off guard but knowing that I'm now coming to the Winnipeg Jets, getting out here, getting into town, and just playing hockey, it's been a turning of the page with the excitement of just being here."
Dillon's well known intensity leaves him once he's off the ice, though. Away from the rink, he's known around the National Hockey League as a wonderful human being.
"The overarching comment we've received from anyone that ever coached him, or talked about him in their organization, it's 'yeah that's the type of player you see on the ice, but off the ice he's one of the best players and humans,'" said Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
"You knew what you were getting when you get a guy like that."
After skating with Dillon in the summers, Scheifele knew exactly what the Jets were getting from the veteran of over 650 NHL games.
"He's a competitor. He's a gamer. He comes every single game and he's going to play to the end of the whistle, the end of the game," Scheifele said. "Those are the guys you want on your team. Those are the guys that do well and especially when push comes to shove, he's always there to back you up."
The respect is mutual.
"He was one of the first few people to reach out to me when I got traded here to Winnipeg," Dillon said of Scheifele. "The amount of success he's had as a player and now has grown into a leader on this team over the last few years. He just continues to get better and better each year."

Through his stops in Dallas, San Jose, and Washington, Dillon became more and more familiar with the Jets fan base.
On those nights in downtown Winnipeg, he got used to being on the receiving end of the booing from the 15,000-plus at Canada Life Centre.
Now, barely two weeks into his time in the Manitoba capital, he's seeing the friendly part of 'Friendly Manitoba.'
"Neighbours I'd never met before (were) coming out and you know, 'If you need your driveway snowblowed, we're your people,'" Dillon laughed. "I don't think they knew my name yet but I was the new guy moving in and they were nice enough to offer that stuff.
"To be someone that's fortunate enough to be playing for that kind of market here in Winnipeg is something that I take a lot of pride in. I'm just excited to be here."
Over the first two skates of camp, Dillon has been paired with Neal Pionk.
It's a pairing that head coach Paul Maurice could go with come opening night on October 13 in Anaheim.
Dillon sees potential in the duo, citing the aggressive style both are capable of. In fact, the two of them are sitting beside each other in the dressing room.
"Last year, getting to watch a lot of games in that division, it's not necessarily playing outside of your seven teams last year, you see how he affects the game in all three zones," said Dillon. "We both like to skate, we like to both play aggressively - which I think is something (where) you can read off of one another a little bit easier. Just talking hockey with him in the room, he enjoys it and he wants to get better."
That aggression, whether it be offensively or physically, is great to have on the roster - right, Mark?
"It's awesome to have him on our side," Scheifele said. "Not on the other side for scrimmages, but he's an unbelievable guy and we're lucky to have him."