Jets fill prospect pool from local waters

Owen Martin was visibly stunned — and briefly rendered speechless — by what he saw on his television Saturday afternoon as he sat inside his Oakbank home surrounded by loved ones.

The Winnipeg Jets were calling his name as the 2025 NHL draft played out from Los Angeles.

“It’s just super cool to be drafted by the hometown team,” a beaming Martin said during a Zoom interview, shortly after going in the third round, 92nd-overall.

“Right now we’re just all still soaking it in. We’re all getting texts from everybody we know. It’s unbelievable.”

Rare, too. This marks just the third time in Jets 2.0 history that they’ve dipped their toes in the local waters while adding to the prospect pool. Winnipeg goaltender Jason Kasdorf (sixth round, 2011) and Brandon forward Jordy Stallard (fifth round, 2016) were the others.

Neither of those players ever suited up for a game, meaning Martin has a chance to be the first.

“I’ve grown up always going to (Jets) games,” said Martin, who had just turned four when the NHL’s return to Winnipeg was announced in 2011. “This is super cool for me, my family and all my friends. It’s just unbelievable.”

Martin, a former member of the Eastman Selects and Rink Hockey Academy, has spent the past two years with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. The right-shot centre, who stands six feet and weighs 185 pounds, recorded 34 points (13G, 21A) in 39 regular-season games this past year, plus another 12 points (6G, 6A) in 12 playoff contests.

“He’s an intriguing player for us,” said Mark Hillier, the Jets’ director of amateur scouting.

“He has pretty good size. Really good skater, has some skill, but has a good, smart two-way game. Coached by (former Jets assistant) Brad Lauer in Spokane, so he has good development there. He had a really strong playoff this season. We expect those offensive numbers to even pop more next year. A really solid two-way guy.”

Martin’s season was interrupted by a painful injury he suffered in November after blocking a shot, resulting in a fracture and partially-torn tendon which required two months recovery. He returned in January to a deep Spokane squad which made it to the WHL championship before ultimately losing to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

“That (injury) really sucked but it was a good year,” said Martin, who is expected to take on an even bigger role this fall with the Chiefs.

“We had a great team. I think I played a big role in that. Power play, penalty killing, even strength. Everything. And then heading into next year, I think it can be more of the same. Even just elevating that role a little bit.”

He’s also excited to be able to pick the brain of Lauer, who spent two years behind the Jets bench beside Rick Bowness and just came off a terrific first season as Spokane’s head coach.

“Him being familiar with Winnipeg as well is going to be awesome. Even getting to talk to him a little bit about the organization, about the team, about the people,” said Martin.

Lauer was in Los Angeles for the draft and told the Free Press his former team made a terrific pick in Martin.

“He’s a player that takes pride in playing the game the right way,” he said. “As a coach, he’s a player you can trust in all situations. He was a big part of our success this year scoring some big goals for us during our playoff run. Huge upside to his game. Extremely excited to see him go to his favourite NHL team.”

The Jets kicked off the 2025 draft by selecting defenceman Sascha Boumedienne in the first round, 28th-overall, on Friday night. He was born in Finland, then moved to Sweden and eventually the United States where he played last year with Boston University.

“A really good skater, puck-moving defenceman, gets back to pucks quickly, beats pressure and moves the puck,” said Hillier. “He’s a second power play guy probably at the pro level. The new-age defenceman, skating, speed, puck-moving.”

Winnipeg made four additional selections on Saturday, starting with Martin.

Next up was speedy, skilled winger Viktor Klingsell in the fifth round (156th-overall) — a player many pundits figured would go in the second or third round. His fall likely has to do with being undersized by NHL standards at 5’10 and 188 pounds.

“Hopefully he’s a steal,” said Hillier.

“We met him at the Combine and he has a real solid frame on him. He’s a thick and solid 5’10”. He can really skate, he has really good speed. He played in all the international tournaments this year with the under-18 team. He plays in a really good program at Skelleftea. He has good offensive upside, some grit to his game. He’s a dog on a bone on pucks.”

The Jets used their sixth-round selection (188th overall) on another defenceman in the form of Edison Engle. The Illinois-born left-shooting rearguard spent last year in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and is joining the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League this fall.

“Using our analytics a little bit, too, he’s one of the best skaters that we thought was in the draft. So it’s a good opportunity for us to take him late,” said Hillier.

“We think there’s more offensive ability to come from him in the future. Sort of like Boumedienne, he really gets back to pucks quickly, separates from the forecheck and moves the puck quick. We think if he can add a little to his offensive game in the future, we’ve got a pretty good value pick there.”

Engle, who is 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, is expected to play for Ohio State in the NCAA starting in the fall of 2026.

Winnipeg’s final pick in the seventh round (220th overall) was winger Jacob Cloutier. He’s from Ottawa and had a solid rookie season with the Sagina Spirit of the OHL, with 47 points (23G, 24A) in 67 games last year.

“Similar to Klingsell, there’s lots of speed to his game, lots of quickness and lots of skill. And he competes,” said Hillier. “He’s 5-foot-10, but he plays bigger than his size. We like that pick there too.”

It will likely be several years before a fair evaluation can be made, but Hillier hopes the team has found a few potential diamonds in the rough.

“We’re expecting to get players in the top couple rounds. It’s a little tougher at 28 than it is in the top 10, but you do your best. But you should find good players in the top rounds,” said Hillier.

“But it’s a bonus when you can hit on those sixth and seventh rounders. You could say if you thought he was going to be that good you would have taken him higher, but it’s always nice to get those guys that pop after their draft year.”

All five of Winnipeg’s newest prospects will get a chance to see the city and the organization up close beginning Monday, when a five-day summer development camp begins at Hockey For All Centre.

Might Martin take on the role of tour guide, particularly for some of the off-ice team building sessions?

“I’ll try to show them some fun places. It will be cool if sometime soon they get to see Oakbank,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be an unbelievable experience, for sure.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg