Jets prospects have potential to be special

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This article was published 07/07/2023 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They are two of the most intriguing prospects in the Winnipeg Jets pipeline. A pair of second-round picks, taken one year apart, who are now getting their first taste of North America.

Russian forward Nikita Chibrikov (50th overall in 2021) and Swedish defenceman Elias Salomonsson (55th overall in 2022) are loaded with high-end skill which will need some time to develop but has the potential to be special.

Both have made favourable impressions at development camp this week.

Chibrikov, 20, is an absolute buzzsaw, flying around the ice and looking at times like has the puck on a string. Although he stands 5- 9 and weighs 160 pounds, he hasn’t shown any fear when matching up against some of the organization’s biggest young forwards and defencemen during drills.

“I like this camp, Everybody is good people here,” said Chibrikov, who has been taking English lessons since arriving in Winnipeg three months ago and has made major strides in that department.

“It’s nice to meet new guys in this organization. It’s a good step for me and a good experience for all guys who are here.”

Chibrikov was a bit of a wild card when Winnipeg picked him, as it wasn’t clear how quickly he might leave Russia — he was under contract in the KHL — and come over.

The answer, it turns out, was less than two years.

Chibrikov is expected to start with the Manitoba Moose this fall. He actually joined the organization in the spring, watching its first-round playoff series from the press box.

“I saw a difference with more small rinks. A lot of finishing hits,” Chibrikov said of his initial thoughts. “I think the game is more faster here, but I think I can do my game here, like smart play. It’s a good game which I will show in this season.”

It helps to have a few friendly faces in the fold here. Danny Zhilkin was drafted in the third round last year. The Moscow-born forward has been in Canada for more than a decade, but still speaks fluent Russian. Belarusian defenceman Dmitry Kuzmin (third round, 2021) and recent trade addition Artemi Kniazev are all at camp, and could be joining him in the AHL this fall.

“Step-by-step, every day I’m learning more about North America. I feel more comfortable here now,” said Chibrikov.

Although there were some early nerves about leaving everything he knew back home for this strange new world, it was an important step as he chases his dream of playing hockey at the highest level.

Salomonsson, 18, is a smooth-skating blue-liner who also has some size at 6-foot, 172 pounds. You may recall Winnipeg used draft picks obtained from the New York Rangers in the Andrew Copp trade to select him and Finnish centre Brad Lambert (1st round), in addition to landing forward Morgan Barron.

“It’s been awesome. To meet the players and the staff, see the facilities and the city, it’s been great so far,” Salomonsson said of this week.

If Salomonsson eventually turns into an NHL regular and Lambert and Barron continue on their current paths, this has the potential to be a landslide trade victory for the Jets, especially since Copp ended up just being a rental for New York and left in free agency to sign with the Detroit Red Wings.

Unlike Chibrikov, this is just a short visit for Salomonsson. He’s headed back to Europe to play at least one more year in the top Swedish men’s league, where he had three goals and two assists in 25 games last year. Unfortunately, an injury he suffered a couple weeks before the World Juniors prevented him from playing in the prestigious tournament.

“It was really disappointing. But I’ll have a chance to play this year,” he said.

His team ultimately went on a long playoff run, making it to the final, and he’s hoping to get a full, productive season under his belt this year.

“I think I had a good development. Have great coaches there. It’s just keep working hard, keep being humble,” he said. “I think it was a great experience to have that kind of run in the playoffs. So I’m going to take that with me and build on it. My goal is to take more steps. Work on everything, be stronger, be a top pro back home in Sweden and then we’ll see what happens.”

Salomonsson also has some local flavour joining him in Winnipeg this week, as countrymen Anton Johannesson (fifth round, 2020) and Fabian Wagner (sixth round, 2022) are among the 27 skaters at the camp.

They’ll hit the ice one final time on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. before going their separate ways for the rest of the summer.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg