The Winnipeg Jets have found a diamond in the rough with their 2015 sixth round pick Mason Appleton, and he's stuck around long enough to prove his worth.
The Winnipeg Jets' third line very well might be the club's top unit in the early stages of 2023-24.
As far as well-rounded contributions go, the trio of Mason Appleton, Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter has been a force to reckon with defensively, in the neutral zone and on offence.
Put into effect for the October 24 home game against St. Louis, shortly after the lower-body injury to Gabe Vilardi, the Appleton-Lowry-Niederreiter line has been able to turn many defensive starts into offensive finishes.
“It’s been a blast," Appleton laughed. "We like to go to work together, and we managed to score some pretty nice goals, obviously.
"I think it’s a lot of simple, direct hockey, where we can all read off each other, feed off each other. We really pride ourselves in winning battles and getting first touches on pucks and not giving up on any play. So when those come around, then you score."
In seven games together, the trio has an 82.6 Corsi for over 60 minutes, a 3.72 expected goals for over 60 and a significant 1.86 expected goals against in 60 minutes.
They are also among the very best in the league with an astonishing 6.83 goals per 60 minute rate, just behind the Edmonton trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.
"They're playing with a lot of confidence, and they get all of their success because of their hard work," Jets interim head coach Scott Arniel said of his third line following Saturday's contest.
"They work so hard. One, they're really tight with the system, and they put a lot of pressure on the opposition, especially the defence. They're big bodies that get in there and muck and grind and from there they take over."
Over the course of the season, Winnipeg has scored eight times, while only allowing one goal at even-strength with the three forwards on the ice.
"If you’re willing to do the hard things, like I said, that’s kind of what we pride ourselves in," Appleton said. "We’re going to keep building and keep getting better.”
For Appleton - who now has three goals and nine points in 11 games to start the season - it is a considerable improvement from his start to the 2022-23 season. In 11 games last year, the Green Bay, WI. product had just three assists to open the season.
He finished with five goals and 16 points through 41 total games played due to a three-month injury absence.
Now fully recovered from that unfortunate wrist setback (that implemented a facility change in each of the 32 NHL rinks) Appleton has put forth a strong and steady start alongside his running mates.
Having previously broken his foot while playing some pickup football prior to the 2019 Heritage Classic, Appleton is no stranger to fluke accidents. But, knock on wood, his current health is perfectly up to snuff.
"He's a great overall player," Niederreiter said of his linemate. "He's very smart. He works hard every single night, tries to be the best version of himself every night. It doesn't matter what position he gets put in, he tries to play his game. It doesn't matter if he plays with Scheifs or with our line, he just stays true to his game. I think that's why he's successful."
Having set career highs in 2020-21 with 12 goals and 25 points, Appleton is currently on pace to destroy those numbers. But again, the sample size is rather small, and the NHL season has just begun.
"It’s a really good league, but I pride myself in not always scoring and getting points, but I can do a lot of other good things to help this team win," he reflected. "That’s kind of the backbone of my game. We’ve been pretty dominant offensively, so then you get to showcase it a bit more and I know I’m capable of making plays, scoring goals, and getting assists. So I think our line has been great so far.”
On Saturday afternoon against Arizona, the third line trio put up a combined +3, with Appleton grabbing two assists, Niederreiter scoring his third career hat trick, and Lowry also picking up a singular helper.
Appleton and Niederreiter each have seven points in their last six outings, while Lowry has six.
Appleton and Niederreiter are tied with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele with nine points each atop the Jets' scoring leaderboard, while Lowry (eight points) also trails right behind.
But one of the differences is that the trio owns a combined +17, as compared to Connor (-7) and Scheifele (-5).
“Obviously, we’ve had a lot of guys who have had good starts to the year," Appleton said. "If you look at our entire season, we maybe have had four periods of hockey we didn’t like. I think we’ve been very consistent."