Winnipeg Jets GM credits 'Prairie pride' for team's run to the top of NHL standings

Kevin Cheveldayoff's pride in how well the Winnipeg Jets are playing comes from different perspectives — as the team's general manager, as a hockey fan and as a Canadian who knows all about small markets.

Cheveldayoff spoke to the media ahead of Thursday night's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Jets (27-9-4) entered the contest trying to stay atop the NHL standings with a victory that would give them a franchise-record eight-game win streak.

"I'm a Prairie boy," Cheveldayoff said. "I grew up north of Saskatoon in a little town called Blaine Lake with 550 people. I played my junior hockey in Brandon [Man.]. I've spent the most time of my life here in Winnipeg.

"There's a sense of pride. When you come from the Prairies, there's always that feeling that you need to punch above your weight."

The Jets have certainly been doing that this season, but while the success feels good, Cheveldayoff is also tempering his emotions.

"We've accomplished nothing yet," he said. "They've accomplished nothing yet. They know that. But you put yourself in a good situation if you play like that night after night."

Captain Adam Lowry backed up that attitude.

"It's been a lot of fun to be doing as well as we are, but at the same time it's only halfway through the season," Lowry said. "We haven't really accomplished a whole lot. We've been in similar situations before."

The Jets had sat atop the Western Conference in mid-January last season, but faltered and only grabbed the second wild-card spot in Game 81 after finishing 46-33-3. They lost the first round of the playoffs in five games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

"Looking at last year, you can take some lessons where maybe we started to believe our own