For Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice, size doesn’t matter. At least when it comes to forward Nic Petan, who at 5-9, 181 pounds is one of the smallest guys in training camp.
Although Petan joins a number of other guys at camp who still don’t need to shave every day, and sticks out like a sore thumb when placed between a duo such as Chris Thorburn (6-3, 230) and Thomas Raffl (6-4, 215) as he did in Winnipeg’s first pre-season game against the Minnesota Wild Tuesday, he is perhaps the most intriguing.
Ready or not, Petan is about to embark on his first season of professional hockey after a stellar campaign with the Portland Winterhawks, where he scored 452 points in 345 games.