New NHL team will play as Winnipeg Jets again, take Scheifele with seventh pick
Posted June 24, 2011 8:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Winnipeg Jets are back and they’re taking Mark Scheifele with the seventh overall pick of the NHL draft.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff made the selection after True North chairman Mark Chipman announced that the Winnipeg franchise will again be named the Jets.
Earlier, a source indicated the team will use a new logo. However, fans didn’t get to see the new sweater at the draft at the Xcel Energy Center. Instead, a generic jersey was given to the Barrie Colts centre.
A few dozen Winnipeg fans were on hand in the upper reaches of the arena. They chanted “Go Jets Go” throughout the evening with a few even shouting “Gary! Gary!” with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the stage.
Members of the organization dodged questions about the team name at a Friday morning news conference to unveil Claude Noel as coach. Chipman said it was “possible” that an announcement would come at the draft.
True North Sports and Entertainment considered other nicknames after purchasing the Atlanta Thrashers and moving them to Manitoba. However, they were under tremendous public pressure from fans to return the Jets _ the name that was given to the city’s World Hockey Association team in 1972 and continued during their NHL years from 1979 to 1996.
Once that franchise was moved to Phoenix, the NHL took control of the name and trademarks.
The new Winnipeg name has been the source of continued speculation since the Thrashers sale was announced May 31. Falcons, Moose and other team names were suggested but fans were clearly in favour of seeing the Jets name return.
It was even a popular topic of conversation when Cheveldayoff sat down with prospects ahead of the draft. He ended those meetings by asking the players if they had any questions about the franchise and almost all of them were curious about the name.
“They’re all excited about that, they’re all amped up, their friends are all asking them,” Cheveldayoff said earlier in Minneapolis.
