Jets Coach Arniel Details Injury Concerns to Stanley, Samberg and Heinola

It has only been three pre-season games, but the Winnipeg Jets have already found themselves down three defensemen.

On Thursday, first year head coach Scott Arniel provided a number of injury updates to three missing parties at training camp.

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It just so happens that all three players are blueliners, and relatively veteran defenders at that.

Logan Stanley - who was pulled from Wednesday's exhibition game lineup, Dylan Samberg - who didn't skate with his group at training camp on Thursday, and Ville Heinola - who hasn't been on the ice since the first organized skate, were all brought up in the recently-promoted coach's discussion.

Stanley is the major concern, whose injury seemingly came up out of nowhere. Samberg should only miss a few days, at best, while Heinola's update expanded on Arniel's previous injury revelation from earlier in the week.

“Right now, it’s not good," Arniel said when asked of the current update.

Stanley will have surgery on his meniscus and is expected to miss at least four weeks - on an injury suffered during his off-ice pre-game warmup on Wednesday.

“Stan tweaked something there," Arniel added. "We are going to get a little more of a look at him. He won’t be available to us for the next few days here. We’ll see where we’re at.”

For Samberg, the prognosis is significantly better, as Arniel says he should be good to go on Friday night in St. Paul for Winnipeg's contest against the Wild.

“That was more maintenance after last night," Arniel shared. "He got a little bit of a bump from last night, but he’s playing tomorrow, so I just want to make sure he’s good to go. He’s not hurt enough that he’s going into tomorrow’s game not 100 percent.”

Heinola, on the other hand, will be out for a stretch of weeks, not months... but also not days.

“They took the pin out of his ankle," Arniel revealed. "I’m not a doctor, so I’m not 100 percent sure how long it will take. It will depend on there being no swelling or infection. Then we go from there.”

The pin is from the procedure related to the fracture the young defender suffered last preseason - which kept him off the team all year, despite a strong training camp up until the injury.

It was this training camp to which Heinola was pulled from action with swelling in his ankle. His pre-training camp bloodwork revealed an infection, stemming from the pin in his ankle.

The past off-season saw GM Kevin Cheveldayoff bulk up his blueline depth following the departures of Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt.

He brought in Dylan Coghlan and Haydn Fleury, who had previously been in line to battle Stanley and Heinola for the two final positions on defence.

With the possible 'longer-term' injuries to Stanley and Heinola to open the season, openings have come up on the back-end, and Arniel knows he has options to consider.

"Coghlan and Fleury, now it’s another opportunity for those guys to step up," he said. "I don’t have to say anything to them, they’re seeing the injuries and all of a sudden now their eyes are probably getting a little bigger."

Fellow youngsters Simon Lundmark and Elias Salomonsson have also been in the mix as stud defensive prospects.

“We wanted to have depth in all positions just in case," Arniel said. "I wasn’t hoping it would happen this quick, but now, for those two, it’s a chance. Go and put your best foot forward, show us what you’re good at, be consistent in what you do and, hopefully, the results will help you make our hockey team.”

Winnipeg takes on Minnesota on Friday night from Xcel Energy Center. That game can be streamed live on the official website of the Winnipeg Jets.