Nary a week goes by when Evander Kane doesn’t make headlines in Winnipeg, and many of those headlines have nothing to do with what he does on the ice.
Controversy seems to follow the star winger, but defenceman Zach Bogosian believes there are some misconceived notions about his teammate.
“I think if you sit Evander down and have a one-on-one conversation with him, I’d guess the people that would probably say a lot of those [negative] things about him, their minds would change because they realize he is a kind person. He is a good guy, and I think he’s just a little misunderstood,” Bogosian told Brady and Walker on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Friday. “I think he’s handled [criticism] great. Not a lot of personal stuff gets to Evander. I’ve played with him for six years now, and it’s something that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”
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Kane and Bogosian missed a combined 46 games last season, and they’ll be counted on to have big years if the Jets have any hope of making a run at the post-season in 2014-15.
The Jets finished in 11th place in the Western Conference last season and missed the playoffs by seven points. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was quiet in the off-season as his roster from last season—minus Olli Jokinen—remains virtually intact.
“The team that we’ve put together, I think we’re going to have a good shot at getting in the playoffs. Not only getting there but doing some damage as well,” Bogosian said. “If you look at our team, everyone has another year of experience… We’re a fairly young team, so we’ve had a lot of young guys in big roles, and I think just growing into that and taking that next step will be a big thing for our team.”
The Jets open the regular season Oct. 9 on the road against the Arizona Coyotes.
