The explosive forward emerged from a memorable NHL Combine meeting convinced his high-octane pace and elite vision make him the ideal candidate to revitalize the Jets' prospect pipeline.
Buffalo was the center of the hockey world on Saturday as 90 of the game's top draft-eligible prospects gathered for the NHL Scouting Combine, each looking to leave a lasting impression on the organizations that will shape their futures next week.
For the Jets, armed with the eighth overall pick and picks in the third and fourth rounds, the event was a pivotal opportunity to restock a prospect pipeline that took a significant hit following a difficult season.
If they do move back in the first round, one player who could emerge as a prime target toward the end of the first round is Mathis Preston, a 17-year-old forward out of Penticton, BC who is coming off one of the more impressive seasons of any player in his draft class.
Preston split time in the WHL between the Spokane Chiefs and the Vancouver Giants this past season, finishing with 44 points in 46 games. As strong as those numbers were, his biggest moment came on the international stage at the U18 World Championships, where he posted six points in five games and cemented his reputation as one of the more dynamic forwards available in this draft.
The Jets were among the teams Preston sat down with during the combine's interview phase, and the meeting clearly left a mark on the young forward. He told The Hockey News it was actually his first meeting of the week and described it as one of the most memorable conversations he had throughout the entire combine process, saying he felt it went really well.
When asked how he would feel about joining the Jets organization, Preston did not hold back.
"It would be an honor," Preston said, before elaborating on exactly why he sees Winnipeg as such a natural fit.
"I think my style definitely fits a lot of those guys like that, explosive forwards, like to play with pace and think the game at an elite level, so I think if I went there, it'd be a huge honor, and being in Canada as well would be awesome," Preston explained.
The fit Preston describes is easy to envision. At five-foot-11, he is not the biggest forward in the class, but his explosiveness, pace and hockey sense are the kinds of traits that translate well alongside the type of players Winnipeg has built its forward group around.
His draft range is one of the wider ones in the class, with FloHockey's Chris Peters ranking him as high as seventh overall while Sportsnet's Jason Bukala has him as low as 35th.
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