Manitoba Moose

It worked last season but the stakes would appear to be higher for Jannik Hansen during this season's conditioning stint with the Manitoba Moose.

Hansen dropped into the AHL for a pair of games in 2008-09 and it helped refresh him en route to contributing 21 points to the Vancouver Canucks in 55 games.

In 2009-10, he has been just a part-time player for Vancouver and the clock is ticking until he's a restricted free agent at the end of the campaign.

"I haven't been playing a whole lot of hockey lately," Hansen said after Tuesday's practice at the MTS Centre. "It's a matter of getting back on the ice.

"I had the broken hand early and I've been battling back from that."

Hansen's role has clearly been diminished in Vancouver. In his last appearance Jan. 20, he played only four minutes forty-six seconds against the Edmonton Oilers.

The 23-year-old Dane, Vancouver's ninth-round pick in 2004, is averaging 11:45 of icetime per game this season but he hasn't played that much on a single night since Dec. 10.

Including missing the first month of the season, he has been in just 24 of the Canucks' 55 games.

"It's obvious his game isn't where he'd like it to be," Moose coach Scott Arniel said. "Some people have jumped by him.

"He's got to get his all-round game going. That's energy and smooth play without the puck."

Hansen made it clear Tuesday he's not here to mope. He said he's fortunate to be around many familiar faces in Winnipeg, where he has played two full AHL seasons with the Moose.

He also said he values Arniel's observations and input into his game and that the focus of his stay here is making the most with the ample icetime he'll receive. Last week, for instance, he was promoted to top-line duty with Marco Rosa and Michael Grabner.

"In Vancouver I was not playing with the twins (Daniel and Henrik Sedin) or on the power play, so my role's a bit different down here," he said. "It's tough when you're not in the top four, five or six forwards. When you get the chance, you have to play well. You need to be prepared to do pretty much anything to stay in the lineup."

Arniel said Hansen's best has not yet been displayed. He played the final three games of last week's road trip, earning two assists.

"I think he was trying to do too much against Worcester," the coach said. "Those weren't the best three games you'll see Jannik Hansen play but there's some rust there. He's got to be moving his feet."

Coach skates 'em hard, lectures harder

The first questions were about the end of Tuesday's practice, when Manitoba Moose coach Scott Arniel put his team through a frequently seen early-week conditioning skate that lasted 20 minutes.

"We have a light schedule (the next two weeks) and conditioning is important," the coach responded.

Some reporters wondered about a message in that skate but the message was delivered earlier, when Arniel began the day's on-ice workout with a calm soliloquy of more than five minutes.

No skating, no shooting; just the coach talking.

"A mental reset," was how the coach characterized his lecture to a team that has lost seven of the last eight games and given up 44 goals in the process.

"We've played better in the last four (games) but only got two points. Nobody else (in the division) has taken off ...but we don't have a lot of games this month and we have to look at going 11-0, look at making the most of our opportunities."

While the coach likely knows his team won't go 11-0 in February, he said he was imploring his troops to get thinking now about being ready for the San Antonio Rampage, this weekend's visitors for Friday and Saturday games at the MTS Centre.

After taking Monday off following the six-game, 11-day road trip, Arniel said he asked his players to begin this week on the right note -- with a crisp practice.

"There was tempo to that practice," he said. "I wanted them to have the idea of getting on our horse. I don't think we've skated so well at times in the last eight games."

DOWN ONE: The Moose released winger Chad Painchaud on Tuesday. He played two games during the recent road trip, without a point, and will return to Victoria of the ECHL. 

LONGER: Arniel said Tuesday that defenceman Mathieu Schneider, earlier thought to be out one to two weeks after tweaking his knee in practice last week, will be out four to six weeks.

The veteran NHLer had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. He had played eight games (three goals, five points) since being sent by the Canucks in late January.

Moose join Haiti relief

AHL teams and coaches have been busy on this for a couple of weeks, but the Manitoba Moose plan to join the program this week to help the league raise money for earthquake relief in Haiti.

The Moose, who haven't played at home since Jan. 16, have prepared a video message from coach Scott Arniel that will be played during this weekend's home games, urging fans to contribute to the league's fund-raising effort. The AHL and its coaches hope to generate $500,000 for the Red Cross.

Fans will be able to donate $5 by texting the word "REDCROSS" to 30333, or by visiting www.redcross.ca. The team will also have tables set up in the concourse to facilitate the giving.