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Winnipeg Jets Prospects Report

Taking a look at how the kids in the pipeline are doing.

As most folks who follow along with IC know we like to give you updates on how the kids in the Jets pipeline are doing whenever they are playing games. Rather than break it down by draft year we will look at the various leagues and provide you with the latest on them. For purposes of this report we will look at the picks from 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

OHL:

Colby Barlow (2023 1st): After leaving Winnipeg’s training camp with this message from head coach Scott Arniel he was assigned back to junior but the rumours that he wouldn’t be going back to Owen Sound were confirmed as he was dealt to Oshawa. He would be held off the scoresheet for the first six games and it would take to game 8 before he scored. In late October he had a pair of goals which kick started him finding the back of the net more frequently to the tune of six goals in his last nine games. His points per game are down from 1.16 to 0.53.

Jacob Julien (2023 5th): After a slow start to his season he began to heat up in early November with back to back solid games for London. Took him until mid November to get his first multi-goal game of the season. In 19 games for the Knights he has five goals and eight assists for 13 points. His points per game are down from 1.16 to 0.68.

Kevin He (2024 4th): There was plenty of interest in He at Jets Development & Training camps as he really seemed to have a tenacity that caught folks attention. That bled into his third campaign in Niagara as he has been a prospect we’ve been mentioning every time his IceDogs hit the ice. He kicked off his season with 1G 1A in the season opener, followed that up with a two goal game, was limited to an assist in game three before having a monster six point (3G 3A) night in the fourth game of the season. And he really hasn’t stopped since just continuing to produce night after night after night after night after night after night for his hockey club. He was also named captain. In total he’s got 17 goals (3rd most in OHL) 12 assists for 29 points in 19 games. He’s up to 1.53 pts/g (last year he was at 0.83).

Kieron Walton (2024 5th): The big (6’6) winger is looking like a nice late round find by Winnipeg based on his season to date. He began the season off on the right foot including a four point game back on October 20th. He continued to produce for Sudbury which included another four point game. He leads his Wolves team in scoring with 27 points (9G 18A) in 20 games. He sits 16th in OHL points race. He’s at 1.35 pts/g (up from 0.66 pts/g last season).

WHL:

Brayden Yager (2023 1st): While he wasn’t drafted by Winnipeg (acquired in the Rutger McGroarty trade) he still very much counts as a prospect and based on the impression he left after training camp, one that many folks would be keenly watching this season. He was named captain of Moose Jaw shortly after being assigned by the Jets to his junior club. Of course this wasn’t the same Warriors team that won the WHL championship last season. He opened the season with a pair of goals (here & here) which he followed up with a three point night the next game. He had his most productive night to date (2G 2A) back on October 19th. His vision is quite good. He’s sitting with 10G 14A for 24 points in 17 games. His pts/g is slightly below last year’s total (1.41 vs 1.67) but again this team is well below that one. Seems like folks who follow the W closely believe there is a good chance he gets dealt at some point this season.

Markus Loponen (2024 5th): When he was drafted by the Jets this past June the expectation was he’d be playing in Finland this season although he was selected by Victoria of the WHL in the import draft. His Finnish club announced they had terminated his contract at his request and he’d be playing for the Royals this season. He scored in his first WHL game, had his first multi goal game in early November and currently has 6G 5A for 11 points in 19 games.

Connor Levis (2023 7th): The Vancouver product is getting a chance to play for his first full season for his hometown team in the Giants after he got dealt there last year from Kamloops. He’s producing at a point per game rate this season which included a three goal one assist evening. In 17 games he’s got 7G 10A for 17 points.

NCAA:

Garrett Brown (2022 4th): After only playing eight games last season due to injury one thing you’ll note about the big right-side defender is he does not show up on the scoresheet. In 18 games for the University of Denver he remains pointless. Of course there is more to hockey than points. Playing on a championship team is probably helping with his development. Here was an interesting article from earlier this month about him.

Zach Nehring (2023 3rd): From Minot, North Dakota to Western Michigan is where the big (6’5) freshman is spending the 2024-25 season. He has three goals and three assists for six points in eight games for the Broncos. He was named the NCHC rookie of the month for October.

AHL:

Chaz Lucius (2021 1st): We’ve come to learn use ‘ice time management‘ this season for the Minnesotan who had ankle surgery that cut his 2023-24 campaign short. By early November he had only played in half of the Moose games (three of six) but he looked good when he was out there. He had two assists in those games. There was even some hope at the end of October they could start to get him into some back-to-backs. However he missed the final two home games against the Admirals and I didn’t see him out on the ice the following week for practice. Before Manitoba left for their five-game road trip I asked coach Mark Morrison if Lucius would be on the trip and he wasn’t certain. He would end up missing all five games which means he’s played three of 13 games. Will try to get an update on him tomorrow.

Nikita Chibrikov (2021 2nd): The shifty winger was looking to build on a strong first season in North America and he’s done that as he currently leads the Moose in points with 11 (3G 8A) in 13 games. I’m pretty sure if Manitoba needs someone for the shootout he might be their top option as he’s shown in practice and in a game. His points per game has risen from 0.67 to 0.84.

Dmitry Kuzmin (2021 3rd): After splitting last season between the AHL & ECHL this year the offensive defenceman has stuck with the big club getting into nine games so far for Manitoba. He has just the one assist to date.

Brad Lambert (2022 1st): After really producing in his first full AHL season it has been a bit more of a struggle as the team collectively has struggled to produce much offence. Manitoba sits 29th in the AHL in goals for. Lambert has just one goal and six assists for seven points in 12 games and a lot of that production for him (and Chibrikov) has come on the power play. Credit though he works hard in practice, while also showing off his silky smooth moves and it’s clear he’s focused on getting his game to the next level.

Elias Salomonsson (2022 2nd): The right-shot defender has looked more and more comfortable as he adapts to playing on North American ice for the first time in his career as a pro. He is currently second on the team with nine points (3G 6A) and before last game’s 5-3 win he has been in on every single power play goal his team had scored. You can see why folks were excited for him to come over to Canada.

Danny Zhilkin (2022 3rd): In just his second game of the season it looked like he has scored a goal of the year highlight (although it ended as an assist as his winger helped it get across the line). That’s been his only point this season as, like the rest of the Moose, there have not been a lot of goals scored. He missed practice last week and the update from his coach was he was dealing with a knee issue that will keep him out of the lineup for 3-4 weeks.

Fabian Wagner (2022 6th): The expectation was the Swedish forward would spend this season with Linkopings HC in the Swedish Hockey League before heading to North America. Turns out that time is now. After playing 16 games and registering no points the Jets announced he had been assigned to their AHL affiliate.

Domenic DiVincentiis (2022 7th): The expectation was the big netminder would turn pro this season and start in the ECHL along the same sort of path that Thomas Milic did last season. Instead Kaapo Kahkonen was claimed by the Avs which meant Manitoba would have the youngest goalie tandem in the entire AHL. He made his pro debut in Iowa in front of his dad and was fantastic making 37 saves on 39 shots for the win. He’s played five games for the Moose sporting a 2.24 GAA and a .930 save%.

Thomas Milic (2023 5th): After being the backbone of the team last season and propelling them from last in AHL to a playoff spot it hasn’t been quite as smooth this season for the second year pro. The team’s lack of scoring punch makes a goalie’s margin for miscues a lot smaller. In seven games for the Moose he’s sporting a 3.47 GAA and a .865 save%.

Of course with the Jets reclaiming Kahkonen it seems likely one of these two may be heading to the ECHL.

SHL:

Alfons Freij (2024 2nd): Can’t really say I’ve seen much of the Swedish defender this season aside from a few clips here or there. He’s got one goal and three assists for Bjorkloven IF so far this season. He did play for Sweden’s U20 team earlier this month.

KHL:

Dmitry Rashevsky (2021 5th): After putting up 24 goals 19 assists for 43 points in 67 games last season for Dynamo it has been a much slower road for the winger who has five goals four assists for nine points in 24 games. That’s a drop from 0.68 pts/g to 0.38 pts/g.

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