The Winnipeg Jets does not get nearly as much respect as it deserves across the league (surprise surprise). Models like HockeyProspecting have the Jets sitting at 25th in the league, but in reality it is better than that.

While the depth is not at the same level as rebuilding teams like the San Jose Sharks, for a team that finished with the Presidents Trophy last season, the prospect pool is incredibly impressive.

With a number of elite talents and some sneaky good depth, the pool ensures a steady pipeline of players who can join the big club and provide value on cheaper deals.

We have tiered the prospect pool to look at where each prospect fits. A prospect is a player under the age of NHL who has played either less than 65 NHL games or in less than parts of three NHL seasons. This means players like Ville Heinola and Cole Perfetti do not qualify. Let’s dive into it.

S-tier Winnipeg Jets Prospects

These are the prospects who look to not only be NHLers, but to be stars in the league and are close to hitting that ceiling. Unfortunately, the Jets don’t have anyone that would fit this category currently, as their top prospect project to be top-six forwards or top-four defencemen but not surefire stars as of yet.

A-tier Winnipeg Jets Prospects

This is where the Jets’ prospect pool shines. These are prospects who have a high likelihood of being high-end NHLers, but perhaps not stars.

The Jets have three players who fall into this category. Elias Salomonsson is the most notable of the lot and the Jets’ best prospect. Not the flashiest player, the right shot defenceman seemed to come out of nowhere last year to be arguably the best player on the Moose. He looks to be a top-four defenceman in the NHL in a year or two, but the Jets will need to make room for him.

Brad Lambert and Brayden Yager are the other two players who fit in here. Yager looks to be a top-six centreman at the NHL level, and while he could turn into a top line guy, it’s still not certain as of yet.

Lambert took a step backwards last year, adding just 35 points for the Manitoba Moose last season. And while the Moose were one of the worst teams in the league, he didn’t do much to help their cause. He still looks very good, and his five game NHL audition was encouraging, his future looks like a middle-six centreman.

B-Tier Winnipeg Jets Prospects

These are prospects that have portential to be great in the NHL but still have a ways to go in their development or players who are reaching the cusp between the AHL and NHL and look to be good to great NHLers. These are not looking like replacement-level NHLers.

Colby Barlow, Nikita Chibrikov, and Sascha Boumedienne headline this category. Barlow did not take a step forward in the regular season last year with the Oshawa Generals, finishing just below a point-per-game in his D+2 season, but was exceptional in the playoffs, with 33 points in 21 games. He still looks like a good pro in a couple years, but needs to take a step forward at the AHL level.

Chibrikov lost half a season due to a lower-body injury, but had a decent 18 point season through 30 games. He’s trending the right way to be a good NHLer in a couple years, but needs a big year next year to show he’s still in the same boat.

Boumedienne could arguably fit in the A-tier, but he’s a B-tier prospect for now as there is a lot of runway still in his development to see whether he develops into a top-four defenceman or floats into replacement-level territory. He had a middling year in the NCAA, but redeemed himself substantially at the U18s this year. Time will tell.

Two late draft picks also jump into this group in Kevin He and Kieron Walton, who was probably the steal of the 2024 NHL Draft. His point totals doubled from last year to this, finishing with 92 points in 66 games for the Sudbury Wolves. While OHL production in a player’s D+2 should be taken with an ounce of salt, this step up is massive. Let’s see how he does next year in the AHL.

He meanwhile saw a steady increase in his production from last year to this year, finishing with 75 points for the Niagara IceDogs. He probably tops out as a middle-six checking winger, which is immense value for a fourth-round pick. Again, next year in the AHL will be telling to see if he’s the real deal.

C-tier Winnipeg Jets Prospects

These are the players who look to be either fine or good. They likely top out as bottom-six players at or just above a replacement level. Very new draft picks who have tons of runway but also tons of variability in terms of their development also fall into this category.

Newly drafted Owen Martin and Viktor Klingsell very much fit into the latter category. Both put up very respectable numbers in their respective junior leagues last year, but nothing to really write home about. If either takes a step forward next year, they could move up the rankings, but for now, C-tier it is.

20-year-old Jacob Julien also fits in this category. He took a big step backwards in his production this season, going from 78 to 54 points this year with the Memorial Cup winning London Knights. Not being a point-per-game guy in his D+2 while playing on a stacked team is a red flag.

Alfons Freij unfortunately also fits in this category. While he did take a step forward as he moved into the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden’s second highest pro league), he still has a lot of work to do on both his offensive and defensive game even before he makes it to North America. Not overly big or overly tall and without an elite hockey sense, the odds are more against Freij than with him, but it would be great to see him prove the doubters wrong.

The final player who has moved from a long-term prospect to someone with some potential is Zach Nehring. The 2023 third-rounder put up 30 points as a rookie at Western Michigan University this season. A crash-and-bang winger, if he continues to put up these numbers next year, he could find his way into the conversation in a few years.

On the outside

Unfortunately, this means a number of prospects are in the category of being replacement-level NHLers, AHLers, or not pro hockey players in North America.

For the Jets, the biggest area of weakness is in net. Thomas Milic has simply not panned out to this point, being good in the ECHL but not good in the AHL is a bad sign for his future. Dom DiVincentiis looks to be about the same or perhaps even worse. This is a key area of need for the Jets in next year’s draft, as they surprisingly did not take a single netminder this past year.

The remainder of the prospect pool including 2025 picks Edison Engle and Jacob Cloutier all fall into this category. They do not project to be much of anything at this point, and while some do have a lot of runway, the odds are that they don’t hit the NHL at all. Time will tell, but the Jets have a lot of really good players in the pool, and with a little luck, the next generation of Jets stars will come from within the organization.