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“I like to mix it up a little bit,” said Petan, who can count on one hand the number of fights he has been in, with a thumb and pinky finger to spare. “But obviously I’m not a big guy.”

Indeed, Petan might be playing a fourth-line role for the Winnipeg Jets this season, but unlike the big-bodied enforcers who came before him, his job is not to sit on the bench and wait around for the green light to fight. Instead, when head coach Paul Maurice taps the 20-year-old rookie on the shoulder, it is because the Jets are on the power play and need a goal.

“A bit of a change in the league, I think,” Maurice said of Petan’s unique role. “He’s a skilled guy, can move the puck around, plays the power play coming off the fourth line. He’s going to have to earn enough minutes there in that role on the line in the games that he’s in to make us feel like he’s developing, that it’s a good option for him.”

It is not just Petan. And it is not just young players. While Washington’s 20-year-old Andre Burakovsky has been splitting time between the fourth line and power play, 33-year-old veteran Brad Boyes has been anchoring Toronto’s top unit on the power play when he is not logging single digits on the fourth line.

“I think what you like to do is you like everyone on your team to be important,” said Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. “If everyone on your third and fourth line can be on the special teams, that really helps … you can play more tempo and everyone feels like they’re part of things.