"Yeah, it was great to score the hat trick," Laine said after an outdoor practice on Saturday. "And I'm happy people are happy that I scored and we got to win. It's nice to get new fans and new people who are watching and I'm trying to keep going and trying to play well."
Laine, who has four goals in four games, was the fifth 18-year-old in the NHL's past 27 seasons to score three goals in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The others were Jaromir Jagr, Jordan Staal, Nikita Filatov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Former Jets captain Dale Hawerchuk had two hat tricks at 18 in the 1981-82 season.
After those three goals Wednesday, including one in overtime, attention on Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, is increasing.
"I hope he takes it all in," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "This is something that this young man, to get to where he is, has dealt with a version of it. He didn't sneak into the two hole (at the draft) and it's going to be part of his life, his career, that scrutiny.
"That is also sometimes where I am an awe of the great players of our game, how they're able to be that consistent. You guys know every time Tampa [Bay] comes in or Pittsburgh, you say, 'How are you going to stop Sidney Crosby?' And here comes the list. My answer always is, 'We're not.'
"If anybody could, they'd have figured it out already and they wouldn't win the Hart Trophy. That's how good these guys are, but they also have to learn in the first few years, they're not quite as dynamic, unless they're Teemu [Selanne], and it takes them a while to learn that level of consistency."
Maurice said the Jets monitor Laine closely, but they try not to smother him.