Barlow heating up at the right time

Colby Barlow had his patience tested, so naturally, his confidence was occasionally wavering.

But on the eve of his first taste of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Manitoba Moose forward prospect is riding high after regaining his scoring touch.

Barlow, who was chosen 18th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2023 draft, battled his way through some lengthy dry spells and has been firing on all cylinders as the Moose welcome the Milwaukee Admirals to Canada Life Centre on Wednesday to open a best-of-three series.

“Yeah, it can get frustrating, for sure,” said Barlow, who finished his first full professional season with eight goals and 16 points in 65 games.

“You go back and think about it and you’re like, ‘I could have done this and I should have done that.’ But I’ve definitely switched that (mentality) to just taking it day by day, trying to get a little bit better each day, no matter what area it is that I’m trying to work on. Not dwelling over it. Just sticking with it, sticking with the process and, ultimately, believing in yourself. You’ve played the game your whole life and just believe in yourself.”

The temptation is to write off the campaign as a tough one for Barlow, who is known for his heavy shot and ability to rack up goals at a high rate through his Ontario Hockey League career with the Owen Sound Attack and Oshawa Generals.

However, the ability to persevere through some challenging times is something that should serve him well, both in the long term and as he embarks on the highest stakes games of the season.

“At the start of the year, I was caught up in a lot of just learning and trying to be perfect and not making a mistake. But you have to make mistakes (to) grow and you have to play your game and do what got you here,” said Barlow. “There’s less space, it’s harder to get into those scoring areas. There’s less time to get your shot off, so it’s all of the things I had to adjust to at the beginning of the year, in the first half. Those are things that have gotten better as the year has gone on.

“It’s starting to pay off. I’m starting to find quiet ice and learning how to spin off of checks in front of the net to get body position, to screen the goalie, half wall work. All of that stuff has been growing over the season and it’s starting to come together now.”

The proof is in the results.

Not only did Barlow record his first multi-goal game in the regular-season finale against the Iowa Wild, he racked up four goals during the previous four games and had another taken off the board after a debatable goalie interference call.

Barlow’s growth over the course of the season has been evident to Moose head coach Mark Morrison.

“You can see him handling the puck more. He’s on the forecheck, stripping pucks. He just wants to puck more. That’s been a good sign,” said Morrison. “He’s taken different steps at different times for me. It started with the D-zone and being responsible. And by Christmas, I thought he had that down. Then, his offensive game started to come. In the last month, he had a couple games with seven and eight shots a game and now, those shots are going in.

“His shot is good, but it’s about him getting into that space inside. It’s about him learning to get open and get an open stick in there, and his timing of getting inside that box. And, that’s all experience.”

Moose captain Mason Shaw was impressed by Barlow’s ability to take strides after making some important adjustments.

“Your first year of pro is a really hard season and I remember going through it when I was 20. There are a lot of ups and downs and it is a different grind, something you are not used to,” said Shaw, who led the Moose in scoring. “So, ebbs and flows to a season but he has heated up at the best time of year and he is playing really well.

“More importantly, he is a great teammate to us. He just put his head down and worked all year, so I am not surprised the results are coming now. It was just a matter of time.”

The Moose, who posted a record of 35-29-5-3, picked up at least a point in each of the final five games (3-0-2) of the regular season, allowing them to secure home ice advantage against the Admirals, who are the primary affiliate of the Nashville Predators.

These two teams have already faced each other eight times, so there’s plenty of familiarity going into this series.

“There really are no secrets to each side,” said Shaw. “So, the biggest thing is getting to your game first. You can’t wait around or tiptoe in. We know what to expect and we know what they are good at, but we also know our strengths and we are going to try and execute those.”

The Moose should get a boost from the return of forwards Brad Lambert and Brayden Yager from the Jets and if defenceman Elias Salomonsson (concussion protocol) and/or winger Nikita Chibrikov (undisclosed) get medical clearance in the near future, that would also be beneficial.

Manitoba’s roster (even without Salomonsson, who appeared in 32 games with the Jets) has four players on it that made their NHL debuts this season, including goalie Thomas Milic (two games) and forwards Danny Zhilkin (six games) and Yager (three games).

The Jets made a commitment during the off-season to bolster a roster that missed the playoffs, adding a bunch of veteran contributors for the Moose, including defenceman Kale Clague and forwards Sam Fagemo, Walker Duehr, Jaret Anderson-Dolan (who appeared in a Jets playoff games last spring) and Phil Di Giuseppe, who helped the Abbotsford Canucks capture the Calder Cup last spring.

Milic is expected to get the call in net after being named the Most Valuable Player for the Moose this season.

The Admirals had some player assignments of their own from the Predators — including forwards Reid Schaefer and Zach L’Heureux — so there are plenty of prospects on both teams to keep an eye on.

Moose tracks

Moose forward David Gustafsson (lower body) participated in Tuesday’s workout and is on track to suit up for the series opener, according to Morrison

Jets defence prospect Garrett Brown, who recently captured the NCAA Frozen Four title with the University of Denver Pioneers, was on the ice with the group and would be eligible to be in the lineup this round after signing an amateur tryout offer.

Jets forward prospect Kevin He is dealing with an undisclosed injury that knocked him out of the final game of the Flint Firebirds run during the OHL playoffs, but he skated on Tuesday morning and is progressing nicely.

Morrison said that forward prospect Kieron Walton (undisclosed) was probably a week or so away from returning to the ice after he got banged up in his OHL playoffs with the Peterborough Petes.

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