The Winnipeg Jets are in dire need of young talent that are ready to be difference-makers at the NHL level. Tony Ferrari explores the best candidates in the team's prospect pool that can do just that.
The Winnipeg Jets are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
They have aging veterans like Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele that they want to compete with now but they also haven’t had the success they’ve wanted with that core.
While Hellebuyck has been rumored to be on the trade block all summer, he’s still there so the Jets have some difficult decisions to make.
Do they lean into the rebuild or do they try and build up around their vets? This upcoming season is going to push them in one direction or another and fans are going to be torn either way.
With the NHL off-season is in full swing, we have the perfect opportunity to look at each team’s prospect pool, going in alphabetical order, which means it’s Winnipeg’s turn.
In our annual Prospect Pool Deep Dive series, Tony Ferrari will dig into each team’s top prospects, the strengths and weaknesses of the pipeline, a quick overview of their latest draft class, where each team's positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance
Initial Overview of Top Prospects
The Jets have done a good job of drafting but the development of those players seems to be underwhelming. They seem to have a hard time getting players to reach their full potential after being praised for their intelligent and balanced approach at the draft.
Perfect examples of that are Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov. Both were divisive to a degree in their draft year but by the time the Jets landed them, analysts and scouts felt like it was great value.
Lambert is a transition ace who can fly up and down the ice. His dual-threat offensive game is legitimate and his defensive effort has improved over the years. Chibrikov is a silky smooth puck-handler who can transport the puck and dial up some really creative offensive plays.
Both have played in NHL games and looked fairly good in that time, even if they haven’t torn up the score sheet. Winnipeg hasn’t given them room to make mistakes and push through them, which has led to a bit of stagnated development. Both are toiling away in the AHL on a Manitoba Moose team that didn’t score a ton last year.
The Jets need to commit to playing the youth, mistakes and all, in order to allow them to reach the high ceilings that they have.
Colby Barlow struggled in his first AHL season after two consecutive years in the OHL where his scoring rate dipped after being drafted. His shot is heavy but his skating has always been an issue. As he’s been leaned on to drive play more, it’s become a more prevalent issue.
At the AHL level, Barlow was able to bring his power-forward play but he wasn’t quite able to really get going offensively. He’s going to be looking for a big bounce-back year after a couple of disappointing seasons.
In his first full professional season, Brayden Yager had a decent campaign in the minors and even got into a couple NHL games. His 30 points in 68 AHL games were solid for a player on a team that wasn’t blowing the doors off offensively. Yager is a solid two-way player who has a good shot and he’s grown as a playmaker.
He needs to play at a higher pace in general but he could easily find himself in NHL games this season, likely in more of a 50/50 split with the AHL.
Heading into his fourth pro season, 22-year-old Danny Zhilkin has seen improvements at the AHL level but still hasn’t had a true breakout. He will be 23 by the end of the year and it’s getting to a point where his NHL future is slipping away.
Zhilkin has always been the kind of player that tactically attacks defenders, using give-and-go passing and playmaking in small areas to get himself and teammates into space. He needs to find himself dictating play a bit more this season.
2025 first-round pick Sascha Boumedienne is looking for a fresh start after two solid years at Boston University, transferring to Ohio State, which should be a sneaky good program this season.
Boumedienne will be one of the leaders on the blueline for the Buckeyes. He's a well-rounded defender who can move the puck, play sound defensive hockey, and get involved in transition. It won’t be surprising to see him jump to pro after this year.
Alfons Freij jumped to the AHL to finish last season and now we should see the silky-smooth blueliner make a full-time jump to North America. His skating is high-end, and he shows excellent instincts at both ends of the ice.
Freij flashes some really solid offensive tools, using his skating and passing to open lanes and make plays. His defensive game is built on moving his feet and getting into position to knock pucks loose. He’s a darkhorse to play NHL games this year.
Winnipeg has done a good job of finding netminders in the draft, with Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis both looking quite solid at the AHL level. How things shake out moving forward will be interesting because both project as future NHL goaltenders but unless the Jets move on from Hellebuyck, only one will get an opportunity.
U23 Players Likely To Play In The NHL This Season
Viggo Bjorck (C), Brad Lambert (C/W)
2026 NHL Draft Class
Round 1, 8th overall - Viggo Bjorck, C, Djurgardens (Sweden)
Round 3, 71st overall - Samuel Hrenak, G, Fargo (USHL)
Round 4, 116th overall - Zach Wooten, LW, Green Bay (USHL)
Round 5, 135th overall - Alexandre Taillefer, D, Quebec (QMJHL)
Round 6, 167th overall - Landon Hafele, C, Green Bay (USHL)
Round 7, 199th overall - Noa Ta'Amu, D, Edmonton (WHL)
Round 7, 220th overall - Jack Parsons, G, Providence College (NCAA)
At eighth overall, the Jets may have found the steal of the first round with Viggo Bjorck falling to them despite arguably being the top center in the draft class.
A strong group of defenseman ahead helped him land with the Jets, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a stud. His two-way game and overall intelligence get plenty of attention, but this is also a player who set the Swedish junior league's scoring record as a 16-year-old.
Bjorck’s biggest flaw is that he’s a 5-foot-10 center but despite that, he’s proven time and time again that he’s a legitimate difference-maker.
Whether it was at the World Championships where he went head-to-head with Sidney Crosby and Ryan O’Reilly, or throughout the SHL season where he became Djurgardens' No. 1 center in the second half of the season, Bjorck can play his position against men.
After playing in Slovakia’s pro and junior leagues last year, Samuel Hrenak jumped to the USHL with the Fargo Force late in the season. Hrenak has good size, solid mobility, and the mentality to do anything he has to in order to make a save.
The 6-foot-3 netminder never seems to be out of a play, which helped him excel for Slovakia at the U-18s. The Jets have a good pipeline of goalies, and adding Hrenak only bolsters that.
20-year-old Zach Wooten had a breakout season in the USHL, putting up 35 goals and 62 points in 61 games. Heading to the University of Wisconsin next year, Wooten will look to prove that he can keep up the level of play he rose to last year.
Wooten plays with pace and energy, consistently looking to pressure the puck all over the ice. He’s a late bloomer but could project as a solid bottom-six player in the NHL one day.
In round five, the Jets took Alexandre Taillefer, a defenseman from the QMJHL. His tools are fairly average across the board but he’s not really a big defender or overly skilled with the puck. He’s a very solid junior-level defenseman but he is going to have to take some major steps to get to the quality required to play pro hockey.
Landon Hafele is one of the most interesting prospects of the Jets' draft class as he plays with a ton of speed and pace, has an excellent forechecking game, and solid transition results.
He had a very positive season at the USHL level this past year but the question around his game was consistently whether he would be able to find his groove offensively at the next level. Heading to Arizona State next year, he will be focused on continuing to develop a bit more structure to his offense.
Seventh-round pick Noa Ta'Amu is a defensive blueliner who brings a bit of phsycial play and plenty of defensive acumen. He has a good stick and uses it in cohesion with his agile skating to cut off play and shut things down in his own end.
He’s not much of an offensive presence, excelling when he keeps things simple and defers to teammates. He's an interesting pick in that last round.
The Jets finished off their draft with John Parsons, the Providence netminder who had a fantastic freshman season in the NCAA. His positioning and movement are his strengths, always looking fluid in net while consistently finding himself square to shooters. The 20-year-old is a nice swing late in the draft to add to the Jets' deep pipeline in net.
Strengths
The Jets' forward group is their strength. They have a number of players, mostly at center and left wing, that are on track to become solid NHLers.
It was a down year for the youth on the Manitoba Moose but overall, the forward pipeline is still quite solid. Lambert and Chibrikov are still potential impact players. Yager and Barlow are going to be looking to take big steps this year. Walton is a hidden gem. Newly drafted Hafele and Wooton bring elements that every team needs. Bjorck is a stud.
The Jets have plenty of intriguing forwards on the way.
Weaknesses
The one area of their pipeline where the Jets seem to be lacking is right-shot defenders. Elias Salomonsson is the lone prospect with legitimate NHL upside, and the 21-year-old already played 32 games in the NHL last year.
The only reason he’s still included in the prospect pool is that he is going to have to beat out a couple of veterans to lock down an NHL spot or take advantage of an injury ahead of him on the depth chart.
Even still, Salomonsson is a solid blueliner but not a stud by any means. Him being the lone prospect of note means the right side on the back end needs to be addressed.
Hidden Gem: Kieran Walton, Left Wing
After an OHL career that saw Walton consistently add layers to his game, he’s heading to the AHL this fall. The 6-foot-6 forward is a versatile player, capable of slotting in on the wing or down the middle. He can facilitate play as a scorer or playmaker, while bringing a solid two-way game built on his mobility and instincts.
He was a sixth-round pick, which automatically leads to being a bit forgotten, but he’s quietly been one of Winnipeg’s best prospects since being drafted.
Next Man Up: Viggo Bjorck, Center
The Winnipeg Jets have been open about the fact that they want to see Bjorck push for a roster spot when training camp opens.
He has already shown the ability to play against men and they think that he can step into an NHL role and provide immediate impact. Bjorck is a highly intelligent player who isn’t shy about competing all over the ice.
Prospect Depth Chart Notables
LW: Colby Barlow, Kieron Walton, Landon Hafele, Viktor Klingsell, Kevin He
C: Viggo Bjorck, Brad Lambert, Brayden Yager, Danny Zhilkin, Connor Levis, Owen Martin
RW: Nikita Chibrikov, Fabian Wagner, Jacob Cloutier, Zachary Nehring
LD: Sascha Boumedienne, Alfons Freij, Noah Ta’amu, Alexandre Taillefer, Edison Engle
RD: Elias Salomonsson, Garrett Brown, Tyrel Bauer
G: Thomas Milic, Domenic DiVencentiis, Samuel Hrenak, John Parsons
For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition!
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