Note: What a busy Friday night as we covered all things Jets at the live Draft party in downtown Winnipeg. There was a lot of excitement when the Jets selected Viggo Björck with the 8th overall selection. He spoke shortly thereafter for the first time as a drafted prospect. Check out the analysis of the pick from the folks at Sportsnet (watch here) and TSN (watch here). Day 1 of the Draft concluded with comments from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff which you can watch here.
Note II: Join us for an extended edition of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show to kick off our Day 2 NHL Draft coverage, with analysis of the Jets’ selections, league-wide reaction and everything you need to know from one of the busiest weekends on the hockey calendar.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Free Press: Speedy Swede could be answer for squad’s second-line centre problem. (Paywall). If this kid was two inches taller he would have gone in the Top 5 and given he’s 18 years old there is always a chance he can get there. Even if he doesn’t size doesn’t appear to be an issue for him.
NHL.com: Jets see more than talent in Bjorck. It was pretty evident when you heard from Kevin Cheveldayoff how excited their group was to draft him.
The Athletic: Winners and losers from 2026 NHL Draft first round. (Paywall). Scott has the Jets as winners with their selection from last night.
Sportsnet: 2026 NHL Draft winners and losers. I really find it amusing to read these given it will be a long time before we know who are the winners and who are the losers.
Sportsnet: What you need to know about Jets No. 8 pick Viggo Bjorck. Get up to speed with the newest prospect in the system.
TSN: Jets bolster forwards group by taking Bjorck eighth overall in NHL Draft. This team desperately needs more centre depth and they got it with this addition.
Jets video:
TSN: Could the Winnipeg Jets reconsider Connor Hellebuyck’s future? The segment kicked off with talk about Connor Hellebuyck as the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft passed without any movement regarding the netminder’s future. Darren Dreger was asked what the Jets do moving forward? The hockey insider indicated a lot of time and effort was invested in trying to appease 37 and “move him along”. Said the primary target were the Sabres but that Buffalo pulled back because they weren’t comfortable with the package wanted by Winnipeg. He then floated a theory that the Jets could “bolster their lineup” which would allow them to go back to Hellebuyck to see if that would change his mind.
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