It feels like Kristian Reichel has been in Manitoba for a long time. And when you factor in the development camps he would attend as an undrafted invitee of the Jets it has been some time. He just completed his fifth season as a pro in Winnipeg. Like last year the hard-working, right-shot winger got a taste of the NHL although unlike in 2021-22 when he played 13 games for the Jets, he played two games (1A) up in the NHL with Winnipeg this season. He suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the final road trip of the regular season which required the Czech forward to have surgery. Despite this he was still able to set career highs for games played (61), assists (15) and points (24) with Manitoba.
In his end of season media availability we discussed how surgery cost him the playoffs, the positives he drew from the season, playing more games in the NHL this year, the mindset needed during recovery from injury, watching playoffs from above and being part of the organization for five years.
