Jordan Schroeder and Andrew Ebbett speak about their big opportunity

Jordan Schroder’s got his eyes open (Photos: Patrick Johnston)

Every player skating at UBC this week has a spring in their step and a visible relief that hockey is back etched on their faces. It’s training camp all over again, that burst of excitement that everyone feels – fan, player and writer alike – (usually in the later Summer) about new beginnings and a chance to do something special. Just ask Jordan Schroeder and Andrew Ebbett.

The news has come down: Alain Vigneault said in his Friday morning press conference that those two will be going head-to-head for the second line centre job.

For Schroeder, with Ryan Kesler still out and timetable-less for a return, the young Minnesotan’s time is clearly now. Only Andrew Ebbett stands between him and starting the season in Vancouver’s top-six. Despite concerns about his size, Schroeder has always been known as a two-way player, with strong puck sense and powerful skating. 

Ebbet spent a lot of time last year out injured. But when he was in the lineup, he was a positive possession player and could be a serious darkhorse contributor in this lockout-shortened season.

Click past the jump for a Q&A with Schroeder and Ebbett on their own seasons so far, what they’ve been working on and their paths forward.

Jordan Schroeder: "I’m not sure, we had to contend with a bit of inconsistency. As a team, we had some ups and downs but when we were on, we were on. That’s part of growing and learning as a young guy."

JS: "Well obviously I want to be up here [with the Canucks]. But I put in the back of my mind – if the lockout ended, maybe I’d get a shot up here. My main focus was to come to practice everyday, to listen to the coaches, to learn as much as I could from them, to become a better player."

PJ: In your off season preparation was there something in particular that you focused on? 

JS: "Not really, it’s the same thing every year, you need to get stronger, quicker. I really worked on my shot some. I’ve got to shoot the puck more, I think I have a pretty decent shot; put the puck on the net and good things happen."

JS: "I think so, gaining the experience over the past couple years, learning. I’ve got to have confidence in my shot because when I do, it’s on. I’ve just got to get pucks to the net."

JS: "You know, I think they’ve tried me there in the past, maybe my first year I think, but I didn’t really know how to play the game then. In the past couple years, I’ve learned so much more, that I think I could play right, centre or left and I’d be just fine."

JS: [grins] "Nah, for sure, winning that gold, on Canadian soil [chuckles] that was an honour. I’ll never forget it. Definitely the best memory so far."

JS: "[chuckles again] Ya for sure, a lot of Canadians down there too so I was definitely busting their balls."

JS: "You know, my first year as a pro, it was an up and down season. A lot of learning. Trying to figure out what I needed to do to become successful. You know i look back on it, I had Claude Noel as a coach. He said ‘one day, maybe this summer, you are going to realize that what you need to do and that this year will help in the long run, even though sometimes it was tough. And he was right, I give him a lot of credit for saying that. I think I learned a lot from him."

JS: "It was learning how to be a pro and how to play consistently every night. With us coming from major junior or college, we had to adapt. It was a tough learning curve for us. If you talk to him [Connauton], he going to say it was a tough year, but he learned a lot and he’s a better player for it."

Andrew Ebbett also has the chance to make an impact on a top NHL team in the early going this season. The 30-year-old had a solid season in Chicago so far this season, playing first line minutes.

AE: "I think it was huge for me, it was a chance to play. I didn’t play very much last year, with the injuries. It was nice to get some confidence even if it was a bit of a slow start for the team down there but we’ve been really picking it up down there."

AE: "[Laughs] I think it’s a lot of just hockey sense. I’ve always been one of the smaller guys, I’ve had to learn to adapt, to use my teammates, to use my speed. I think when I play centre I can help my wingers get the puck. I like to control puck possession and get the puck out of our end and into their end as much as possible."

AE: "It’s nice to come back to the same team; I’ve bounced around a lot the last five, six years. So it’s good to come back to familiar surroundings. I know what the players are like and what the coaches expect of me."

AE: "It’s just versatility, be ready to adapt to any situation. I got that down in Chicago, playing penalty kill, power play, some big minutes down there. It helps me be ready for anything."

AE: "Probably my first NHL start – I got to stand beside Teemu Selanne for the national anthem, that was pretty special.

AE: "That same year in anaheim, we lost in game 7 in the second round to Detroit, that one stung."

AE: "I used to say the gym but just the workouts, I actually enjoy them now, with the guys I work out with. I think now, it’s just the ‘getting up early’ part, getting up and going to the rink. Once you’re there, it’s all good, but it’s the getting yourself up and out of the house thing that’s hard."

AE: "Yeah, the guys I skate with in the summer and the trainer I’ve had for the past three years are awesome back in Michigan. It makes it fun to go to the gym. A few years back it was tough but now it’s fun place to be."