Practice Day Notebook: Mar. 5, 2021

MONTREAL - Derek Forbort turned 29-years-old on Thursday, and the only gift he received were bruises from blocking a franchise record 11 shots in the overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens.
"I don't really think I had that many," said Forbort. "Very generous stat keeper."
Perhaps the generous stats were the gift?

Either way, Forbort has now blocked a total of 55 shots in the 23 games the Jets have played this season, putting him fourth in the National Hockey League in that stat.
"The courage it takes is always valued in a room," said head coach Paul Maurice. "You're jumping up and down when a guy scores a goal, but if you listen to NHL benches, every time somebody blocks a shot everybody is banging their stick on the boards - it's a big deal. He's elite at it."
It's a skill Forbort has worked on for years.
In fact, he remembers practicing it while he was with the Los Angeles Kings for parts of five seasons.
"John Stevens was the D coach and he would bring out these kind of foam pucks and he would fire them at us," said Forbort. "So we'd kind of work on technique that way, kind of getting your angle right from the net-front up to the point. It's definitely a skill you can work on. Him and Matt Greene were great as far as teaching me how to do that."
Even with all that practice, shot blocking can still go wrong.

Nathan Beaulieu's 2019-20 campaign was limited to 38 regular season games, partly due to the 47 shots he blocked in those games.
"Beau last year broke three bones shot blocking, it's not a fun job," said Maurice. "What Derek Forbort has brought to our team is a really skilled shot blocker and I think you're starting to see that kind of wears off on everybody."
Forbort admits that a puck blasted by Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber feels significantly different from, say, a forward that he's a bit closer to.
But the identity of the person shooting never factors into his decision, regardless of the circumstances.
"When you're playing the game, you're not really thinking about it. It just kind of happens naturally," Forbort said. "It's kind of what you have to do to help the team win. You just have to do it."

GETTING SOME GAME ACTION
Prior to Thursday's game in Montreal, the Jets assigned forwards Kristian Vesalainen and David Gustafsson to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.
The 21-year-old Vesalainen has played in eight games for the Jets, recording one assist. His last outing was on Feb. 17 while Gustafsson hasn't seen game action since Feb. 4.

"We've got to get them playing and we've got to get them into games," said Maurice, who was complimentary of the work both Vesalainen and Gustafsson have put in.
The Moose play Belleville on Friday night and Saturday afternoon before beginning a whopping 17-game home stand between Mar. 8 and Apr. 29.
"It's fantastic that we'll be able to be in the same city for a little bit of that long home stand. We'll be able to move guys, probably, a little easier back and forth," said Maurice. "We want to get these young guys games and get them playing, and they can help that team."
So far, the Moose are 4-6-0-0 in a season that saw them put together a four-game win streak with two victories over the Toronto Marlies and another couple over the Laval Rocket.
"Those are two really strong players that are going to go down and make them better," said Maurice. "They've earned it. They're working hard, the Moose are playing hard and battling with that line-up. There's lots of good going on down there so we're pretty excited to send two more real good players there."
REMEMBERING A HOCKEY LEGEND
When Josh Morrissey heard the news of Walter Gretzky's passing, he immediately shared a graphic on his Instagram story as a small way of remembering an icon in the game.
"When you think of the game of hockey, it's the Gretzky family," Morrissey said after Friday's practice. "Obviously, Wayne is the best player of all-time, and his dad and his family is sort of synonymous with that."

Gretzky battled "Parkinson's and other health issues these last few years," according to a statement shared by Wayne Gretzky late on Thursday night.
Hockey fans from all over the world have been sharing their memories of Gretzky on social media. While Maurice never met the man, he almost felt like he did.
"I would have the same relationship most Canadian hockey fans do - never met the man and somehow feel like you know him because he's part of such a great story of our game," said Maurice. "Certainly saddened to hear the loss, and condolences to the Gretzky family on behalf of all the people with the Jets. It's a sad day, I think soon to be replaced by a lot of storytelling and a lot of great memories."
Morrissey's memory dates back to his younger days.
"I had a chance to meet him at a hockey tournament and it was like - I think it was in Vancouver, I was pretty young - and it was like a celebrity was there. He was a celebrity. It was Wayne Gretzky's dad," Morrissey said. "The whole arena was full, the lobby was full, with kids and parents and everyone wanting to meet him.
"There could have been an NHL player walking through the lobby and the people wouldn't have notice, but they noticed Walter. Sad news. Condolences to his family and everyone. He was a great part of the hockey community for a long time, and he will definitely be missed."