2023-24 NHL Prospect Pool Overview: Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets are at a crossroads with decisions to come on some of their top players whose contracts expire next summer. Which prospects could be part of the next wave?

As the NHL off-season ticks on, Tony Ferrari is wrapping up the NHL Prospect Pool Overview series with the Winnipeg Jets.

In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

The Winnipeg Jets we’ve come to know since they moved back to Manitoba are no longer around. Mark Schiefele is the last remaining tie to the core of the old guard. Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey represent the middle ground of old and new, while players such as Cole Perfetti and the prospect pool will be the new core that develops over the next few years. Perfetti had a good rookie season but dealt with the typical ups and downs that most rookies deal with.

The next wave of prospects is an exciting group for the Jets. Brad Lambert is an incredibly talented player who has elite skating ability, and he’s proven he can be a true difference-maker against his age group. His ability to attack space and pressure in transition makes him a threat in the modern high-paced NHL. He played in the AHL to start last season but finished his year in the WHL, throttling opponents with his speed and skill. He will look to challenge for an NHL roster spot in training camp but will likely spend the year in the AHL.

Lambert’s former roommate when with the Manitoba Moose, Chaz Lucius, will look to establish his game in the AHL after also splitting the year between the AHL and WHL. Lucius is a lethal shooter who can beat goalies clean from all over the ice. He has impressive hands, and his skating has improved over the last couple of years as well. He could be a dominant goal-scoring presence in the AHL this upcoming season.

University of Michigan winger Rutger McGroarty will look to improve on his point-per-game freshman season. The physical and bullish winger loves to get involved in the play offensively and blends his strength and skill quite well. After dropping his shoulder against one defender, he has the puck skill to dangle the next. McGroarty is an excellent off-puck attacker as well, moving quickly into pockets of space in the slot to give teammates an option in a high-danger area.

A mid-season trade from the Guelph Storm to the Kitchener Rangers had Danny Zhilkin in a weird spot as he looked to establish himself with a new squad and never really seemed to find his groove. Zhilkin is a good shooter and steady playmaker, but he lacks the high-end skill to create a plethora of scoring chances. He could wind up being a steady middle-six scorer, but there is work to do in the AHL when he gets there.

Nikita Chibrikov is a highly skilled winger who played across the KHL, VHL and MHL last year. His strong play against junior-aged competition and solid VHL play meant he played with the KHL club for much of the season, even if in a limited capacity. He was constantly being sent up and down, though, which led to instability in his chemistry and on-ice play. This season, Chibrikov is planning to head to North America, where he can settle into the AHL lineup and bring a level of skill and speed to the lineup that should make the Manitoba Moose dangerous.

The eternal struggle of guessing what the Jets are doing with Ville Heinola continues heading into this season. Likely to be back with the Moose, Heinola is a highly skilled puck-mover who has used his skating and vision to become a productive AHL defender. He's played in NHL games in each of the four seasons since being drafted and looked good in just about each stint, but the Jets continue to give playing time to defenders who play a safer game. Heinola has the potential to be an impact player, but whether he gets that chance in Winnipeg will always be the question.

Elias Salomonsson is a 6-foot-2 Swedish defender who skates like the wind and has rounded out his game quite well over the last couple of years. His defensive game has really come to form, especially against SHL competition. He uses his reach and stick skill to disrupt puck carriers, strip them of the puck and move it back up ice the other way. He is a very good breakout passer who can skate with the puck when lanes open up. His offensive game is still catching up at the men's level, but there is plenty of promise in his game now that his defensive processing is becoming a real strength.

There aren’t many defensemen that have the skill or, frankly, the courage to attempt the lacrosse goal, but Dmitry Kuzmin is one of them. He is uber-skilled and shifty with the puck on his stick, and he developed a bit of a mean streak in his own end throughout his OHL days. He still lacks the strength to be a shutdown defender, but he’s become willing to engage while maintaining his offensive creativity. He's expected to join the Moose for the upcoming year, and he could be a sneaky good producer from the blueline fairly quickly.

Domenic DiVincentiis was the OHL’s top goaltender last year for the North Bay Battalion. His calm presence and tracking allowed him to be the steady backbone for the team as they pushed the pace with the puck on their stick. DiVincentiis was a rock for the Battalion, and he should be regarded as a solid goalie prospect for the Jets moving forward.

Round 1, 18th overall - Colby Barlow, LW, Owen Sound (OHL)

Round 3, 82nd overall - Zach Nehring, RW, Shattuck (USHS)

Round 5, 146th overall - Jacob Julien, C, London Knights (OHL)

Round 5, 151st overall - Thomas Milic, G, Seattle (WHL)

Round 7, 210th overall - Connor Levis, RW/C, Kamloops (WHL)

The Jets had an interesting draft as they went off the board immediately after their first-round pick and then managed to grab two players at the end with great value. With just five picks and only two in the top 145, they weren’t flush with picks, but they made some solid additions nonetheless.

Colby Barlow is a divisive prospect – he was undoubtedly a highly productive goal scorer who made every goalie in the OHL’s life miserable. He is a constant shooting threat, firing pucks from all over the zone with a heavy release. It doesn’t end there, though, as Barlow follows up his shot by crashing the net and banging in loose pucks. Barlows struggles a bit as a playmaker, often getting tunnel vision on the net and failing to recognize teammates in good positions. His skating is good north-south, but he lacks agility and maneuverability. He is a bit of a one-track player as an aggressive goal-scorer, but he is one heck of a goal-scorer.

At 6-foot-3, Zach Nehring was a force of nature for Shattuck St-Mary’s in prep hockey. His willingness to throw the body and generate offensive chances at that level was impressive. Nehring attacked play head-on, never failing to give full effort. He plays a simple game with the puck on his stick, but he’s highly efficient and understands how to play toward the middle of the ice.

Selecting Jacob Julien at 143rd overall was a bit surprising. His game is built upon a strong defensive effort from the center position, but he lacks puck skill, and his skating is average at best. Julien does understand how to read the play and prevent chances for his opponents by stepping in front of passes or shutting down skating lanes. Julien is a big center at 6-foot-4, but he is going to need to take a big step going forward after splitting last season between the GOJHL and the OHL last season.

One of the best goalies in the CHL, Thomas Milic, had to wait until he was 20 to be drafted, but it could be worth the wait. Milic has been a very good netminder at the junior level, winning at the international level with Canada and putting up very impressive numbers in the WHL. Most of the concerns come from his six-foot frame not fitting the typical goalie size and not having the most impressive athleticism. His tracking and skating are excellent, and he is a technically sound netminder. He’s a proven winner, and taking a chance in the fifth round is well worth it.

Connor Levis plays the game with purpose, winning puck battles and attempting to turn those wins into scoring chances as soon as possible. As soon as he collects the puck from a battle, he turns and finds a teammate in space. There isn’t much flash or flair to his style – instead, he plays a competitive and direct game. His shot isn’t a major weapon; he can wire it at times but too often settles for floating it on net. Levis’ physical strength is impressive and helps him win battles, understanding the nuances of establishing body position and leverage.

The Jets have quietly built up a pretty solid group of prospects over the last few years, and the wingers they have are very good on both sides of the ice. 

McGroarty and Barlow bring some goal-scoring and physicality, looking to get to the inside and make life difficult for defenders and goalies alike while still possessing the shooting prowess to score from outside. Daniel Torgersson and Dmitri Rashevsky are high-energy forecheckers who can win races and board battles by sheer will at times. They may not have the upside and skill that top six wingers have, but they could be valuable pieces to a line that needs that element or solid bottom-six pieces. Nikita Chibrikov brings high-level skill to the pipeline, using his speed, skill, and cerebral offensive game to the table whenever he can. This is all without including the likes of Lambert and Lucius, who may be pushed to the wing as well.

The Jets' biggest weakness is their depth on the blueline. They have a few nice pieces, but the depth may be an issue. Players like Anton Johannesson have a lot of upside but lack the probability of playing in the NHL. Simon Lundmark could be a depth player at the NHL level but lacks upside. The Jets’ blueline was once one of the most heralded groups in the NHL. Now, they will be looking to fill out their pipeline to build it back to what it once was.

At the end of the day, the Jets are in a spot where they must decide exactly what they are going to be moving forward. Are they looking to try and compete despite being stuck in the mushy middle, or are they going to turn the keys over to the kids? Heinola's been looking for a longer look in the NHL since the beginning of last season – if the Jets decide to focus on developing the talent they have, they should see what players like Heinola can give them. He could provide a creative offensive element the NHL club currently lacks on the back end, aside from Morrissey.

Lambert is a wild card because he could come in and compete for a spot in the NHL lineup, but he’s more destined for the AHL to gain another year of experience in North American pro hockey. His lethal speed and skill are up to NHL level, but he needs to work out the kinks and refine his game. He took a big step as a 200-foot player in the WHL last year, but showing he can continue doing that in training camp could go a long way to making the squad. With Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iaffalo and Rasmus Kupari all coming in from Los Angeles via the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, it could be more difficult to crack the lineup.

LW: Daniel Torgersson, Colby Barlow

C: Brad Lambert, Chaz Lucius, Danny Zhilkin, Henri Nikkanen, Fabian Wagner

RW: Rutger McGroarty, Nikita Chibrikov, Dmitri Rashevsky

LD: Ville Heinola, Anton Johannesson, Dmitry Kuzmin, Declan Chisholm

RD: Elias Salomonsson, Simon Lundmark

G: Domenic DiVincentiis, Thomas Milic, Oskari Salminen

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited, and Future Watch editions of The Hockey News.