Best of the next set to battle for the Jets Prospect He excited to play Showcase at rink that inspired him By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 3:36 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 12, 2025

There was a time not long ago when Kevin He found himself sitting in the seats at the Bell Centre, cheering on the bleu, blanc et rouge, dreams of one day playing in the NHL dancing through his mind.

The Winnipeg Jets forward prospect isn’t quite ready to make that dream a reality, though he is among the group of players that are expected to suit up on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens prospects before a sold out crowd in the same arena that inspired him.

“We’ve got a pretty cool opportunity to play back in Montreal. I grew up there for six years, so I have a lot of friends and a few family members coming down too,” He said earlier this week. “I started playing hockey in Montreal. I remember going to Habs games with my dad, too, so it will be pretty cool.

“It brings back good memories, but we’ve got to put our best foot forward going into Saturday.”

The Jets will also face the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night (also at 6 p.m. CT) to round out the prospect showcase that replaces the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C., that Winnipeg routinely participated in.

Those six years that He spent in Montreal were formative ones — and were where his passion for hockey was ingrained.

“A lot of cold nights at the ODR (outdoor rink) with my buddies,” He recalled. “Playing pick up shinny when I was growing up. It was a pretty tight-knit community. Everybody knew everyone.”

He was one of the most pleasant surprises at Jets’ training camp last fall, showing extremely well after the organization chose him in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2024 NHL draft.

Being able to get into some game action with the prospects allowed He to build some positive momentum going into training camp last fall and he’s hoping to do the same this time around.

The speedy winger is coming off an outstanding season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Niagara IceDogs, one that saw him produce career highs in goals (36), assists (39) and points (75) in games.

He was leading the OHL in scoring for a chunk of the season and ended up finishing 25th overall before adding five points in five playoff games.

Given the rules in the current collective bargaining agreement, He isn’t one of the players eligible to play for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League.

It’s either make the Jets or be returned for one final season of junior hockey.

He recognizes there aren’t a lot of open spots on the Jets’ roster, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to turn some heads and make things interesting during the coming weeks.

“Make it hard on (management and coaches). Something of that sort,” said He. “I just know that I’ve got to go out there and work for it. Nothing is going to be handed to me. I’ve really just got to put my best foot forward.”

He, who was born in China but raised in Montreal and Toronto, wasn’t among the players invited to attend the Team Canada world junior evaluation camp, but he would love to put himself in position to compete for a job on that team come December.

“Yes. 100 per cent,” said He. “That would be a huge goal of mine.”

There are some other interesting storylines to monitor during the weekend, including Nikita Chibrikov’s first game action since suffering a season-ending knee injury in January.

There are a number of other prospects getting ready to turn pro this season, including forwards Colby Barlow (first round, 2023), Brayden Yager (first round, 2023) and Jacob Julien (fifth round, 2023).

It will also be a fun weekend for the Walton family, as Jets draft pick Kieron Walton will be joined on the ice by his twin brother Conor.

Kieron was chosen by the Jets in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL draft, but had a breakout season with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL, delivering 38 goals, 54 assists in 92 points in 66 games to finish ninth in OHL scoring.

Conor is a big blue-liner who plays for the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL and he’s one of the invitees for the rookie camp and showcase.

The two brothers played four games together with the Wolves during the 2022-23 campaign before Conor was traded in the summer of 2023.

Speaking of defence, a lot of eyes will be on top defence prospect Elias Salomonsson, who flourished in his first season playing in North America.

Salomonsson, chosen in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft, is getting close to pushing for full-time NHL duty — though he’s likely going to require some additional seasoning given the veterans on the right side that are ahead of him on the organizational depth chart.

Despite suffering an upper-body injury, Salomonsson was chosen to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic and finished with five goals and 27 points in 53 games for the Moose — fully embracing the role of a top-pairing blue-liner.

“The way the Moose were structured, or the way the Moose were built, it just happened to be that he ended up to be our number one defenceman right away, number one power-play guy,” said Moose head coach Mark Morrison, who will be running the Jets bench this weekend.

“He got a lot of ice time. He handled it really well. Got better. He got injured and he came back like he was never injured. But I think the amount of ice time and amount of positions that he got put in helped him.

“He ended up to be the most improved player on our team, for sure. And his trajectory just keeps going up, so we’ll see where he goes.”

Fellow blue-liner Edison Engle (chosen by the Jets in the sixth round of the 2025 NHL draft) is another D-man to watch, given his outstanding skating ability.

Jets goalie prospect Dom DiVincentiis, who is ready for his second pro season, is likely to be between the pipes for Saturday’s game against the Canadiens prospects.

Morrison is eager to see how the group is able to absorb the systems while also letting their skill set shine through.

He will be looking for one thing above all else once the puck drops.

“There’s a lot of things thrown at them right away,” said Morrison. “For me it’s just wanting them to compete in battles, on loose pucks, on races to pucks, net-front battles. They can do that.

“We know they’re going to make some mistakes, we’re not going to be yelling at them. We just want them to compete.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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