Music: {allcanada} WHEELER IN WINNIPEG: 'SKY IS THE LIMIT'

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

{allcanada} WHEELER IN WINNIPEG: 'SKY IS THE LIMIT'

When Blake Wheeler looks into the crystal ball, he tells The Winnipeg Sun he sees a higher ceiling.

Although Wheeler took an important step in his development last season, the budding power forward knows that he can still take his game to another level, whenever the lockout comes to an end and he gets back on the ice as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.

"I don't think that I've plateaued," Wheeler said Tuesday afternoon. "I think I can score 30 goals, that's a good goal for me. But you have to get 20 before you get 30. It's the start of something really good. I feel the sky is the limit for me in Winnipeg. It's just a really good fit for me. That's why I'm really excited to get back at it, as soon as possible."

Despite a slow start that saw Wheeler go without a goal during his first 18 games, he led the Jets in scoring with 17 goals and 64 points in 80 games.

Oddly enough, part of his turnaround had plenty to do with an aspect of his game he's been known to ignore over the years — body-checking.

"That's one of the key ingredients that got me going last year," said Wheeler, 26. "My dad (Jim) would attest to this and it drove him crazy because I was never the most physical football player or physical hockey player. I liked to score touchdowns and I liked to score goals and stuff like that. But he was more of a physical guy growing up, so he couldn't understand why his son wasn't sticking his nose in there all the time.

"I started being more physical, finishing checks and doing some of the little things that I wasn't doing, because I was focused on scoring goals and whatever. That's an area that got considerably better. I think I doubled my hit total from the year before and I'd like to increase that more this year. I've realized that if I want my game to continue to rise, I need to keep doing stuff like that. It makes you more of a complete player."

After enduring those early offensive struggles, Wheeler opened some eyes and went through a stretch where he basically averaged a point-per-game.

"I expect that out of myself now," said Wheeler, who was chosen fifth overall by the Phoenix Coytoes in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. "If I'm doing that and that's my job on this team, it's going to help us be successful. That's the ultimate goal. The individual points are great and you want to contribute, but you want to contribute to wins. There's nothing worse than having points and losing, that's no fun.

"My role has increased, but I wouldn't say it's been more fun the last two years because I've played more. It's more fun playing in the playoffs and having a chance to win the whole thing.

That's what makes this game fun."