Pair Of Jets Prospects Suffer Season-Ending Injuries During AHL Playoffs

The Manitoba Moose are moving on in the American Hockey League (AHL) playoffs but not without a significant cost.

Fresh off a Game 3 victory Sunday over the Milwaukee Admirals to clinch their best-of-three opening-round series, Manitoba has advanced to the Division semifinals. However, the team will be without two key prospects from the Winnipeg Jets organization for the remainder of the postseason due to injuries.

Defenceman Elias Salomonsson has been ruled out after undergoing season-ending surgery following an injury sustained during the series-clinching win. The timing is especially frustrating for both player and team, as Salomonsson had just returned to the lineup in Game 2 after a prior absence.

In that Game 2 victory, Salomonsson made an immediate impact, assisting on Parker Ford’s game-tying goal, which evened the score at 1–1 before David Gustafsson netted the overtime winner. His brief return offered a glimpse of stability on the blue line that Manitoba will now have to replace.

Salomonsson, a second-round pick by Winnipeg in 2022, split his season between the NHL and AHL. He recorded five points with a minus-six rating in 32 games with the Jets, along with nine points and a minus-two rating in 29 games with the Moose.

He is not the only prospect sidelined as forward Nikita Chibrikov, another second-round selection by Winnipeg in 2021, will also miss the remainder of the playoffs due to an undisclosed injury suffered near the end of the Jets’ season.

Chibrikov, 23, had a challenging campaign in Manitoba, registering six goals and 16 points in 53 games. The production marked a step back from his promising rookie season in 2023–24, when he tallied 47 points in 70 games. Over the past two seasons, he has combined for 34 points in 83 games, struggling to replicate his early success.

Despite the setbacks, both players are expected to focus on recovery during the offseason, with an eye toward competing for roster spots at the NHL level next season.

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