Shore excited for new opportunity in Winnipeg

DALLAS -Wednesday was a busy travel day for Nick Shore, but for a guy who has played in Russia and four National Hockey League teams prior to being claimed by the Winnipeg Jets, it wasn't so bad.
"(I'm) ready for anything. Don't take anything for granted," Shore said of the lessons he's learned along the way in his career, which started professionally with the Manchester Monarchs of the Los Angeles Kings organization in 2013-14.
Since then, he's played 257 NHL games with the Kings, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, and now the Jets.
"It's a great place to play. It was always fun playing in that building," Shore said of the Jets and Winnipeg. "I've only heard really good things about the guys in the room and the staff. So I'm excited to be a part of it."

The 27-year-old met the Jets in Dallas and took part in the morning skate, but his debut will have to wait. The newly minted number 21 will watch tonight's game against the Dallas Stars with a member of the Jets coaching staff.
"We run some different things than he's been used to in the neutral zone. Some of our systems are different," said head coach Paul Maurice. "Then we'll get a full practice with him. We'll get him in the line-up as soon as we feel he's comfortable with what we run."
That suits Shore just fine.
It's the opportunity that means the most to him.
"When you find out you got claimed, especially by a team like Winnipeg, I think it's just excitement. That's one word I use. I'm looking forward to getting started here," Shore said. "They're a team that has been in contention the last couple years. You can't say enough about that."
While the Denver, CO product has played primarily centre, he's been rotated in on the wing during some of the 21 games he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.

He spent the 2018-19 campaign with Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he spent some time on a line with current Manitoba Moose forward Andrei Chibisov.
"He's a big strong power forward. I haven't been able to see him play over here, looking forward to see how that goes," said Shore, who said he had some help in during what he described as a "bit of a culture change" playing in Russia for a year.
"You have your five imports on the team. Viktor Kozlov was the assistant coach there so that helped a lot. He was able to walk me through some things. (Nikolai) Kulyomin was on my team as well. If you have guys like that, it makes it a little easier because other than that, you're kind of out in the wind."
Shore has spent time killing penalties in addition to his play at even strength. His last game was on November 23 against the Colorado Avalanche, a night where he scored once in 5:25 of ice time.
He's hoping to bring his same style of play to Winnipeg.
"You look at this team they've been really successful over the last couple number of years," said Shore. "They've had a core group that has done really well. I'm just hoping to bring a good strong 200-foot game and contribute in both ends of the ice and just be ready when my number is called."