Armed with plenty of picks, Jets have room to move up

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2015 (3728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Kevin Cheveldayoff has learned anything in his four years manning the helm of the Winnipeg Jets draft table it’s this:

When the names start flying it’s imperative to keep your eyes and ears wide open, listen to absolutely everything and anything and be ready to pounce. After all, those NHL movers and shakers that stick their heads in the sand and don’t trust their own draft boards can be cursing their mistakes for years to come.

Granted, that’s always been the approach the Jets have taken to the draft, but it will be even more important this weekend with the club picking lower in the first round that at any point in their existence — 17th and 25th overall — and holding three picks in the top 47.

And it’s that second first-rounder, acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in last winter’s blockbuster trade, that could impact the Jets strategy when the Top 30 players are selected Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.

“It’s made the (draft) meetings very interesting,” said Cheveldayoff this week from Las Vegas. “The draft is always exciting and a unique situation as it happens in front of you, where you don’t know what other players teams covet in the picks ahead of you, and it can lend itself to some intrigue.

“Having those picks at our disposal will certainly give us a lot of different options and thought processes moving forward.”

Yes, it’s here where the possibilities get very juicy for the Jets.

Do they stick with the 17th and 25th picks and stockpile their already-impressive list of prospects with two more?

Or do they package those two selections, perhaps with another asset, in an attempt to move up in the draft?

“We would think about moving up,” said Cheveldayoff. “Those conversations do happen throughout the course of time. With the picks that we have and the way they’re clustered, does that give us some added currency to maybe try and move up if the opportunity presents itself? But it has to present itself, too. You don’t just move up for the sake of moving up. You have to have a purpose.

“With the uncertainty after the first two picks of who may go where and when there always is that possibility to try and see if you can package. There’s the idea of continuing to stockpile your prospect pool with quantity is also something that a lot of teams need and covet, but if you have an opportunity to maybe take a swing at a guy you really like and it unfolds in front of you then you have to be prepared to want to do it.”

The Jets won’t be alone when it comes to potentially packaging and shopping early picks. Six teams have more than one first rounder — the Jets, Edmonton (1 and 16), Buffalo (2 and 21), Arizona (3 and 30), Toronto (4 and 24) and Philadelphia (7 and 29) — meaning the jockeying for spots could be intense.

As well, the six teams without a first rounder — Chicago, Nashville, the New York Rangers and Islanders, St. Louis and Pittsburgh — may be wheeling and dealing to get back in, especially with the 2015-16 cap set and teams looking to shed salary.

There’s also this adding to the drama: while Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are the decided 1-2 picks, every team’s draft rankings change dramatically after that. Erie Otters centre Dylan Strome is now listed third on many mock draft lists, but it was a spot also held for much of the winter by Boston College defenceman Noah Hanifan. Mitch Marner, a centre with the London Knights, is also in the mix.

And the less of a consensus there is after McDavid and Eichel, the more likely there will be movement.

“You’ve got the Top 2 players that everyone talks about and then at No. 3 all of a sudden you start hearing different opinions on players,” said Cheveldayoff. “Where our picks are situated there’s not a lot of certainty of what you’re going to get or who you’re going to get. But that can add to the intrigue as well. And when you have two picks that close (17 and 25), your list governs and guides what you are going to do so it does make for an interesting time.”

Chatting with Cheveldayoff on the phone, it sounded like his face was dominated by a huge grin as he uttered that last line. Heck, he might have even been rubbing his hands together at all the possibilities ahead.

He’s always been adept at keeping his poker face, after all. And now the game is about to begin.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

Decisions, decisions

WITH THE 17th PICK IN THE FIRST ROUND (AND THE 25th) THE WINNIPEG JETS SELECT…

The Jets scouting staff plan to spend the hours leading up to Friday’s first-round conducting secondary interviews with some of the prospects they feel might be sitting at 17 and 25 — if they don’t package the picks to move up in the draft.

Here’s a list of the last 10 picks at the 17th and 25th spots:

No. 17

2014 – Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia

2013 – Curtis Lazar, RW/C, Ottawa

2012 – Tomas Hertl, C, San Jose

2011 – Nathan Beaulieu, D, Montreal

2010 – Joey Hishon, C, Colorado

2009 – David Rundblad, D, St. Louis

2008 – Jake Gardiner, D, Anaheim

2007 – Alexei Cherepanov, RW, New York Rangers

2006 – Trevor Lewis, C, Los Angeles

2005 – Martin Hanzal, C, Phoenix

No. 25

2014 – David Pastrnak, RW, Boston

2013 – Michael McCarron, RW, Montreal

2012 – Jordan Schmaltz, D, St. Louis

2011 – Stuart Percy, D, Toronto

2010 – Quinton Howden, LW, Florida

2009 – Jordan Caron, RW Boston

2008 – Greg Nemisz, RW, Calgary

2007 – Patrick White, C, Vancouver

2006 – Patrik Berglund, C, St. Louis

2005 – Andrew Cogliano, C, Edmonton

FIVE NAMES WHO COULD BE AVAILABLE AT 17

• Nick Merkley, RW, Kelowna Rockets: Playmaking winger; not big (5-10, 187), but great vision.
• Paul Bittner, LW, Portland Winterhawks: Played alongside Jets draft pick Nic Petan and put up good numbers.
• Yevgeni Svechnikov, RW, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles: Russian sniper who could also play centre.
• Thomas Chabot, D, Saint John Sea Dogs: Not big yet (6-2, 179), but he’s been praised for his skating and his work ethic.
• Colin White, C, USA U-18: Fought through mono and a wrist injury, but moving up a bit on some mock drafts. 

FIVE NAMES WHO COULD BE AVAILABLE AT 25