Training Report – Villardi works on his game

For his defense, Villardi is working with a new center (Sean Monahan) and a winger who hasn't played much in Cole Perfetti. The Jets held their second full practice on Tuesday as they face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night at the Canadian Life Centre. As beneficial as the extra training time is, the 24-year-old prefers to play the game.

“Honestly, I just want to play and get into the flow of things. Our schedule has been favorable for most of this season. We have March coming up with a lot of hockey. But it depends,” Villardi said.

“For me right now, I'd rather play hockey every other day, just get into the flow and feel it out there and build confidence through the game. Yeah, it's good to come here and practice and get into a rhythm with Shawn and Fetts, two guys that I haven't played with that much this year. There is a side to it. But there's an aspect where I just want to play hockey.”

Villardi missed a lot of time early in the season with a knee injury and, as previously mentioned, two more games before the break. Rick Bowness says he talked to Villardi about a few things he wanted to work on.

“We want him to use less ice, open ice a little better. It gets stuck in corners. So we're working with him, trying to reduce the pressure on him,” Bowness said.

“So, last game, there were a couple of times when he took it out, turned on the D and went up for a shot. It's just stuck in the corners, so we're trying to get it out of there. He's very good now and he's big and strong out there, but at this time of the year those battles are going to be harder to win.”