Jets could look to help roster, prospect pool at draft

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This article was published 27/06/2024 (438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS — When it comes to building a team, the Winnipeg Jets have traditionally been all about draft and development. The current crop of core players — including Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers — speaks volumes about that mindset.

In recent years, however, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has added a bit more wheeling and dealing to his resumé. High-end draft picks have become trade chips as part of a “win now” mentality that has yet to pay off. As a result, what was once a flood of fresh-faced homegrown talent has become more of a trickle.

Cole Perfetti (2020 first-rounder) and Dylan Samberg (2017 second-rounder) are the only players going back to 2015 who would be considered current full-timers. Logan Stanley (2016 first-rounder) and David Gustafsson (2018 second-rounder) are on the periphery.

The hope is the likes of Ville Heinola (2019 first-rounder), Chaz Lucius (2021 first-rounder), Nikita Chibrikov (2021 second-rounder), Brad Lambert (2022 first-rounder), Elias Salomonsson (2022 second-rounder) and Colby Barlow (2023 first-rounder) could eventually join the mix.

Meanwhile, Rutger McGroarty (2022 first-rounder) looks likely to join Kristian Vesalainen (2017 first-rounder) and Patrik Laine (2016 first-rounder) as players to find new hockey homes.

All of which sets the stage for what’s about to go down here in Sin City. The Jets find themselves at a bit of a crossroads, with an eye on both the present and the future. Both the active roster and the prospect pool could use some work.

How might these next couple days play out? As things stand right now, Winnipeg has five total picks in the seven-round draft — 37th, 123rd, 155th, 187th and 219th.

They previously traded their first-round pick (as part of the Sean Monahan deal), second-round pick (as part of the Nino Niederreiter deal) and third-round pick (as part of the Tyler Toffoli deal) while getting a second-round pick back as part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal.

It’s possible they could add an additional pick or two, and perhaps get into the first round, with some additional wheeling and dealing. The rumour mill is swirling when it comes to McGroarty and Ehlers, while clearing cap space by moving the likes of defencemen Nate Schmidt and/or Neal Pionk and forward Alex Iafallo would make some sense.

Could something go down on the draft floor inside The Sphere? Stay tuned.

The buzz around Las Vegas is that if the Jets are able to orchestrate a deal to get into the top 10, they would be looking to use the pick on either Kelowna Rockets forward Tij Iginla or Calgary Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk.

Iginla, the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, had 47 goals and 84 points in 64 Western Hockey League games last season. He plays with a bit of an edge and is an excellent finisher.

Yakemchuk is a physical right-handed shooting blue-liner that recorded 30 goals, 71 points and 120 penalty minutes in 61 games. He’s known for his heavy shot and willingness to mix it up.

Looking at the current organizational depth chart, it’s safe to say Winnipeg is stronger up front and in goal than on the back-end. Barlow, Lambert, Chibrikov and Lucius could all be future NHL forwards, while Thomas Milic (2023 fifth-rounder) and Domenic DiVincentiis (2022 seventh-rounder) are a promising one-two prospect punch in goal.

However, the cupboard gets rather bare on the blue-line beyond Heinola and Salomonsson. For those reasons, don’t be surprised if the Jets look for a defencemen with the 37th pick — particularly one who shoots from the right-side, which is definitely a position of need.

One of the potential targets at that spot could be Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Charlie Elick. Elick isn’t an offensive dynamo but plays a robust game and collected four goals and 27 points in 65 games while amassing 71 penalty minutes.

This year’s talent pool is believed to be very unpredictable beyond a consensus top 17 or so, which means Winnipeg should be able to grab a player in that spot they’ll have ranked a lot higher than other teams based on their own scouting metrics and evaluations.

Pundits don’t have anything near a consensus when it comes to picks 18 through 45-50. The variance means that many teams will have much different opinions over which players they value most and who is higher up on their final list, which could lead to some surprises and potential moves.

Prepare to hear something from the Jets along the lines of “We had that guy as a first-rounder on our list.”

As for the fourth round and beyond, these are likely to be even longer-term projects who, best-case scenario, are probably a year or two away from being a year or two away. The majority simply don’t pan out.

One interesting thing to keep an eye on is where Winnipeg’s picks come from. The Jets began to add plenty of American and European flavour over the years, and that hasn’t always worked out.

Players like Jacob Trouba, Andrew Copp and Jack Roslovic were eventually shipped to U.S.-based teams while McGroarty hasn’t even got out of college yet and wants a change of scenery. Meanwhile, Vesalainen, Sami Niku, Mikhail Berdin and Leon Gawanke are all former picks who went back across the pond to play without making any real impact here.

Was last year a philosophical shift or simply a blip? The Jets had five picks, and selected four Canadian Hockey League players. The only exception was third-rounder Zach Nehring, who is from North Dakota but has several family members from Manitoba.

Speaking of Manitobans, there are a handful of players who are projected to be selected this weekend led by forward Clarke Saswell of Brandon and goaltender Dawson Cowan of Warren.

The first round of the draft goes down Friday night beginning at 6 p.m. CT, while rounds two through seven get underway at 10:30 a.m. CT on Saturday.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg