Samuel Hrenák didn’t try to hide his excitement. Grinning ear to ear, joy palpable, the 6-foot-3 Slovakian goaltender amplified it for everyone to see.

Speaking to Jets media shortly after being selected at No. 71, the second-highest pick Winnipeg has ever used on a goaltender, Hrenák wanted everyone to know he was ecstatic.

“Today, when I was awake at 4 a.m., I couldn’t think of wearing any other jersey than the Winnipeg Jets,” Hrenák said. “And I’m not saying that because it sounds good … I’m excited and I’m so grateful that I can be part of this amazing organization.”

The 18-year-old’s enthusiasm was enough to pause the cynicism that follows Winnipeg’s precipitous fall from first to 26th place. The Jets’ poor season may yet have large consequences but, for one post-draft moment, Hrenák’s expression of joy was enough to distract from ongoing speculation about the team’s future.

Winners and losers from the 2026 NHL Draft

Scott Wheeler

Then Hrenák started talking about Connor Hellebuyck.

“I think he’s the best goalie in the NHL right now,” Hrenák said. “Hopefully, I will have time to meet him and talk with him … It’s an amazing thing to be in the same organization.”

Winnipeg’s franchise goaltender is not guaranteed to be a part of the team next season. Hellebuyck’s frustration with the team’s step backward led to trade talks that continued right up until the draft began. Discussion went deep with the Buffalo Sabres, but they couldn’t agree on a price. A deal that may have included Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and centre Josh Norris, along with the No. 4 pick, did not reach completion.

So Hellebuyck is still a Jet. Does this mean he’ll be around to mentor Hrenák after all? Will he be the goaltender on record when No. 8 pick Viggo Björck makes his NHL debut? And why did Winnipeg go on to draft a second goaltender in the same draft for the first time in its history?

Here’s what’s next for Winnipeg with Hellebuyck, what they still need to do with their roster and what their 2026 draft reveals about their organizational priorities.

Does drafting goalies mean change is coming?

The Jets’ selection of two goaltenders feels like a recognition of the inevitable changing of the guard at that position.

Regardless of what happens to Hellebuyck, the Jets still needed more than Thomas Milic and Dom DiVincentiis in their system. Neither Hrenák nor John Parsons, taken 220th, will threaten Milic or DiVincentiis’ AHL jobs next year. Their selections simply add exclamation marks to Winnipeg’s pre-existing lack of coverage.

It’s noteworthy that Winnipeg did not avoid drafting from the United States, despite concern that American players (Hellebuyck included) are pushing to play at home.

Hrenák started his North American career in the USHL a short drive away from Winnipeg. He said he’s excited to continue working on his game close to his new NHL team. Zachary Wooten, the 20-year-old forward for Green Bay in the USHL, is from Apple Valley, Minn. The Jets also drafted Wooten’s teammate Landon Hafele in the fifth round. And Björck has said multiple times that playing in high-pressure markets brings out the best in players.

Winnipeg otherwise picked fast, competitive, high-hockey-IQ players who interviewed well — Björck and Hrenák were outstanding in this regard — and whose character is meant to include that extra bit of “dog on a bone” energy teams covet.

The latest on Hellebuyck

The Jets’ franchise goaltender is still a Jet. Now Winnipeg is stuck between difficult options in goal.

The Jets could try to convince Hellebuyck they’re contenders after all, at least for one more season. It’s a difficult proposition that would probably require the addition of a second-line centre and an upgrade on defence. But the Jets are not rich in high-end prospects, draft capital or expendable roster players with which to make those deals. Hellebuyck’s goal is to play for a Stanley Cup contender; Winnipeg does not look like one of those today.

If the Jets trade Hellebuyck, they’ll need to accept a package that no longer includes a 2026 draft pick. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; removing the draft capital could increase the quality of roster players coming back in the deal. Failing that, it might force teams to trade 2027 draft capital, which is exciting in a draft class topped by Landon DuPont. The challenge is that teams may go home from the draft like kids do after Halloween: too excited about their immediate haul to consider future needs. It can be hard to feel like you need goaltending until your goaltending lets you down.

Finally, Winnipeg could say, “You signed a contract; see you in September.” Hellebuyck’s no-movement clause turns into a 10-team approved trade list on July 1, 2027. If the Jets can get there while keeping everyone happy, they should have more flexibility next summer than they do today.

Cheveldayoff names Winnipeg’s biggest need

“You’re looking for someone to step up and take the bull by the horns at second-line centre. That’s certainly something we felt we had addressed when we had (Pierre-Luc Dubois),” Cheveldayoff said before the draft.

Dubois performed like a second-line centre — sometimes much better, sometimes much worse — despite his desire to leave Winnipeg. That may be instructive regarding Hellebuyck’s situation now. But the interesting thing about Cheveldayoff’s assessment was that he didn’t suggest Gabriel Vilardi, Cole Perfetti or Brad Lambert as in-house options. He pointed to Brayden Yager, whose work ethic is exemplary but who has played three NHL games to date. The scouting sources I speak with still believe Yager can become a middle-six centre. None of them think the No. 14 pick in 2023 is ready right now.

Cheveldayoff also asked Josh Morrissey to tell Yager about how the single NHL game Morrissey played at the end of 2015-16 gave him confidence and helped him launch his NHL career in 2016-17. It’s a nice story, but Winnipeg can’t afford to entrust its 2C job to a 21-year-old who scored 30 points in 68 AHL games last season.

Björck and Yager

It was the summer of 2024 when Cheveldayoff delivered this quote about Jets youth.

“If I’m a young player in the Jets organization today, I’m pretty excited about the opportunities that are in front of me and I’m working pretty hard in the offseason to make sure that I take full advantage.”

Perfetti was the only Jets player aged 23 or younger to play the majority of the following season with the team. Last summer, when the Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist signings provoked questions about Winnipeg’s lack of speed, Cheveldayoff pointed to youth: “Hopefully, a guy like Brad Lambert can give us that opportunity to use his team speed.”

Cheveldayoff was right to say that young players should work hard to seize opportunities. He was smart to say “hopefully” ahead of his invocation of Lambert’s skating. But Cheveldayoff’s summertime optimism has rarely turned into regular-season jobs. In this case, he’s right to point to Yager’s potential, but it’s hard to believe he’s naming the role Yager will play in September.

This brings us back to Björck. The Jets were thrilled Björck was available to them at No. 8. They see elite character, hockey sense and work ethic, in addition to offensive skill and defensive commitment. Jets director of amateur scouting Mark Hillier even sees an NHL player.

“Oh, he’s got a chance,” Hillier said. “We drafted him keeping an open mind that he’s gonna be given an opportunity (at training camp). I just think if he signs, he’s going to make it real hard not to play him.”

Björck is under contract at Djurgårdens IF for one more season, where fellow elite prospects Anton Frondell and Viktor Eklund played in their post-draft seasons. A reasonable expectation would be for Björck to return to Djurgården. If he makes the NHL and plays a significant role, it will mean he was spectacular beyond my wildest expectations or that the Jets have taken an unusually aggressive approach to prospect development.

But it is encouraging that Hillier sees Björck as an unusually complete player.

“At the World Juniors gold medal game as a 17-year-old centre, he plays 28 minutes in the game and he’s the best player by far and they win a gold medal,” Hillier said. “Watching an SHL game (in March) where he’s the youngest player in the game and he’s the best player in the game … Then, the World Championships, you think, ‘OK, an 18-year-old kid makes the team, what an accomplishment.’ But he didn’t just make the team. He was the first-line centre. He was the first power play. He was the first penalty kill. He took important draws with a minute left in the game.

“So, this kid, like I said, he’s short, but he’s a hell of a player.”

Winnipeg’s depth chart, cap space

This is the team Björck and company are joining, as of today. It has approximately $20 million in cap space, some of which will go to Perfetti’s RFA contract.

LWCRW

Kyle Connor

Mark Scheifele

Gabriel Vilardi

Cole Perfetti

Adam Lowry

Nino Niederreiter

Alex Iafallo

Morgan Barron

Brad Lambert

Cole Koepke

Vladislav Namestnikov

Isak Rosen

Danny Zhilkin

Nikita Chibrikov

LD

RD

Josh Morrissey

Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg

Neal Pionk

Haydn Fleury

Elias Salomonsson

G

Connor Hellebuyck

It’s not so good that Björck’s odds should be written off altogether, but that’s the problem. Winnipeg has emerged from the draft and heads toward free agency needing at least one more impact player in its top six. It would ideally upgrade its defence.

If it had those things, Hellebuyck might be happier — and Winnipeg may never have had the chance to draft Björck at all.