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If memory serves correctly, Winnipeg Jets goalkeeper Arvid Holm would not have stepped on the Winnipeg ice since shortly after he was drafted by the club in the sixth round of 2017.

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Since then, the high 6-foot-4 net memory has developed in the Swedish Hockey League, one of Europe’s best professional leagues at the top.

Now, with an initial contract in hand – a three-year pact signed in 2020 – Holm is making the jump over the dam after a final season at home in Sweden.

“I just felt last summer when I wrote that I wanted to mature a little more and make a name for myself, so to speak, at home and get a year back there,” Holm said after day 4 of Winnipeg’s future minicamp at BellMTS Iceplex on Sunday. “After that year, I felt I was ready to go over and try to do something here as well.”

During the last two seasons that played with Farjestad BK, Holm collected 33 wins in 55 matches and a save percentage of .914 together, and put out a couple of suspensions along the way.

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“It has been a steady upward curve,” Holm said of his development trajectory. “I feel that I am improving every year and matured into the professional game at home. I also got great opportunities at home to play many games, which you can not take for granted. I’m very grateful for that. I feel like I’m ready to come here and play a lot of games too. ”

There is a kind of log for Holm and other netmasters Mikhail Berdin and Philippe Desrosiers for the coming season.

All three have contracts, and Berdin is a de facto starter on merit alone and with Eric Comrie as back-up for Connor Hellebuyck in the big league.

That leaves Holm and Desrosiers, who come with a pile of AHL experience under their belts, fighting for the second string job with the moose.

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“I try not to think about it,” Holm said. “I let the coaches do that job. I try to come in and learn as much as I can during the camp and show what I have learned during the years I have been back in Sweden. If you play well, you usually play many games. I’m trying to go after it. ”

Holm, who calls Ljungby home in Sweden, has several idols when it comes to folding. The easiest to calculate is Henrik Lundqvist, a hero in Sweden. The other is Tuukka Rask, who Holm identified as a goalkeeper, like himself, who likes to use his hands.

And of course he has liked the Vezina winner 2019-20 and teammate Connor Hellebuyck.

“I’ve been watching him for a few years … and how technically good he is,” Holm said.

Gawanke can not hide Olympic aspirations

While there is a half-season host for hockey in the AHL to play before he settles on a pitch destined for Beijing, it is a thought that is firmly implanted in the German defender’s mind.

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“Olympics, I’m not on the team yet,” Gawanke said. “I hope I can do it. It will be a special event. Just talking to all these guys who already went four years ago and won silver there, it has been one of their greatest memories of a lifetime. If I can achieve that, that would be really nice. ”

Gawanke may not think too much, but he is a lock to get the national team injured. He played this summer in the team’s top four at the IIHF WC.

Meanwhile, Gawanke is looking forward to taking another step forward with the moose. The Berlin child had one goal and seven assists in 26 games last season.

He is also in the final year of his three-year contract.

“It’s going to be one of the biggest years of my career,” he said. “It’s my last year of (my) contract, obviously it’s a big deal too. I want to earn another. ”

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Maurice in print

Here’s a nugget from Jets head coach Paul Maurice’s near 30-minute availability last week.

This one was under pressure and what he feels considering the upgrades on the back and Winnipeg’s win-now direction.

“Yes, we are guaranteed, hey?” he joked. “I do not know how I feel about it, the pressure. I know I’m eager to get to the rink. I feel that. So that’s about how I feel. I’m happy. I’ll just tell you the truth, we did an incredible job last year with that hill. There were four teams that had a better season than we did – a really painful end and it hurt, but I like this group. I like where we came from, I like where we came from through the seven-match losing streak and I think there is a balance there now that we have not had that we can do a lot of different things on the ice that we have not done before and I is excited about it.

“I’ve been here a while now and I want to win with this team, especially in this city. So I want to stay as long as I can. I love this. I also coach for life and I know how this works. But I do not feel it. I feel no excitement from that purpose. Given the choice, I would coach this team all day. I think it’s ideal. ”

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Twitter: @scottbilleck