{"id":765909,"date":"2026-06-28T02:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T02:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/765909\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T02:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T02:11:14","slug":"what-the-winnipeg-jets-draft-says-about-their-priorities-going-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/765909\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Winnipeg Jets\u2019 draft says about their priorities going forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samuel Hren\u00e1k didn\u2019t try to hide his excitement. Grinning ear to ear, joy palpable, the 6-foot-3 Slovakian goaltender amplified it for everyone to see.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Jets media shortly after being selected at No. 71, the second-highest pick Winnipeg has ever used on a goaltender, Hren\u00e1k wanted everyone to know he was ecstatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, when I was awake at 4 a.m., I couldn\u2019t think of wearing any other jersey than the Winnipeg Jets,\u201d Hren\u00e1k said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not saying that because it sounds good \u2026 I\u2019m excited and I\u2019m so grateful that I can be part of this amazing organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old\u2019s enthusiasm was enough to pause the cynicism that follows Winnipeg\u2019s precipitous fall from first to 26th place. The Jets\u2019 poor season may yet have large consequences but, for one post-draft moment, Hren\u00e1k\u2019s expression of joy was enough to distract from ongoing speculation about the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Winners and losers from the 2026 NHL Draft<\/p>\n

Scott Wheeler<\/p>\n

Then Hren\u00e1k started talking about Connor Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s the best goalie in the NHL right now,\u201d Hren\u00e1k said. \u201cHopefully, I will have time to meet him and talk with him \u2026 It\u2019s an amazing thing to be in the same organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winnipeg\u2019s franchise goaltender is not guaranteed to be a part of the team next season. Hellebuyck\u2019s frustration with the team\u2019s step backward led to trade talks that continued right up until the draft began. Discussion went deep with the Buffalo Sabres, but they couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

So Hellebuyck is still a Jet. Does this mean he\u2019ll be around to mentor Hren\u00e1k after all? Will he be the goaltender on record when No. 8 pick Viggo Bj\u00f6rck 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?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s next for Winnipeg with Hellebuyck, what they still need to do with their roster and what their 2026 draft reveals about their organizational priorities.<\/p>\n

Does drafting goalies mean change is coming?<\/p>\n

The Jets\u2019 selection of two goaltenders feels like a recognition of the inevitable changing of the guard at that position.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what happens to Hellebuyck, the Jets still needed more than Thomas Milic and Dom DiVincentiis in their system. Neither Hren\u00e1k nor John Parsons, taken 220th, will threaten Milic or DiVincentiis\u2019 AHL jobs next year. Their selections simply add exclamation marks to Winnipeg\u2019s pre-existing lack of coverage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s noteworthy that Winnipeg did not avoid drafting from the United States, despite concern that American players (Hellebuyck included) are pushing to play at home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hren\u00e1k started his North American career in the USHL a short drive away from Winnipeg. He said he\u2019s 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\u2019s teammate Landon Hafele in the fifth round. And Bj\u00f6rck has said multiple times that playing in high-pressure markets brings out the best in players.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg otherwise picked fast, competitive, high-hockey-IQ players who interviewed well \u2014 Bj\u00f6rck and Hren\u00e1k were outstanding in this regard \u2014 and whose character is meant to include that extra bit of \u201cdog on a bone\u201d energy teams covet.<\/p>\n

The latest on Hellebuyck<\/p>\n

The Jets\u2019 franchise goaltender is still a Jet. Now Winnipeg is stuck between difficult options in goal.<\/p>\n

The Jets could try to convince Hellebuyck they\u2019re contenders after all, at least for one more season. It\u2019s 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\u2019s goal is to play for a Stanley Cup contender; Winnipeg does not look like one of those today.<\/p>\n

If the Jets trade Hellebuyck, they\u2019ll need to accept a package that no longer includes a 2026 draft pick. That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Finally, Winnipeg could say, \u201cYou signed a contract; see you in September.\u201d Hellebuyck\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff names Winnipeg\u2019s biggest need<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking for someone to step up and take the bull by the horns at second-line centre. That\u2019s certainly something we felt we had addressed when we had (Pierre-Luc Dubois),\u201d Cheveldayoff said before the draft.<\/p>\n

Dubois performed like a second-line centre \u2014 sometimes much better, sometimes much worse \u2014 despite his desire to leave Winnipeg. That may be instructive regarding Hellebuyck\u2019s situation now. But the interesting thing about Cheveldayoff\u2019s assessment was that he didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s a nice story, but Winnipeg can\u2019t afford to entrust its 2C job to a 21-year-old who scored 30 points in 68 AHL games last season.<\/p>\n

Bj\u00f6rck and Yager<\/p>\n

It was the summer of 2024 when Cheveldayoff delivered this quote about Jets youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m a young player in the Jets organization today, I\u2019m pretty excited about the opportunities that are in front of me and I\u2019m working pretty hard in the offseason to make sure that I take full advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s lack of speed, Cheveldayoff pointed to youth: \u201cHopefully, a guy like Brad Lambert can give us that opportunity to use his team speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff was right to say that young players should work hard to seize opportunities. He was smart to say \u201chopefully\u201d ahead of his invocation of Lambert\u2019s skating. But Cheveldayoff\u2019s summertime optimism has rarely turned into regular-season jobs. In this case, he\u2019s right to point to Yager\u2019s potential, but it\u2019s hard to believe he\u2019s naming the role Yager will play in September.<\/p>\n

This brings us back to Bj\u00f6rck. The Jets were thrilled Bj\u00f6rck was available<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, he\u2019s got a chance,\u201d Hillier said. \u201cWe drafted him keeping an open mind that he\u2019s gonna be given an opportunity (at training camp). I just think if he signs, he\u2019s going to make it real hard not to play him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bj\u00f6rck is under contract at Djurg\u00e5rdens 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 Bj\u00f6rck to return to Djurg\u00e5rden. 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.<\/p>\n

But it is encouraging that Hillier sees Bj\u00f6rck as an unusually complete player.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the World Juniors gold medal game as a 17-year-old centre, he plays 28 minutes in the game and he\u2019s the best player by far and they win a gold medal,\u201d Hillier said. \u201cWatching an SHL game (in March) where he\u2019s the youngest player in the game and he\u2019s the best player in the game \u2026 Then, the World Championships, you think, \u2018OK, an 18-year-old kid makes the team, what an accomplishment.\u2019 But he didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, this kid, like I said, he\u2019s short, but he\u2019s a hell of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winnipeg\u2019s depth chart, cap space<\/p>\n

This is the team Bj\u00f6rck and company are joining, as of today. It has approximately $20 million in cap space, some of which will go to Perfetti\u2019s RFA contract.<\/p>\n

LWCRW<\/p>\n

Kyle Connor<\/p>\n

Mark Scheifele<\/p>\n

Gabriel Vilardi<\/p>\n

Cole Perfetti<\/p>\n

Adam Lowry<\/p>\n

Nino Niederreiter<\/p>\n

Alex Iafallo<\/p>\n

Morgan Barron<\/p>\n

Brad Lambert<\/p>\n

Cole Koepke<\/p>\n

Vladislav Namestnikov<\/p>\n

Isak Rosen<\/p>\n

Danny Zhilkin<\/p>\n

Nikita Chibrikov<\/p>\n

LD<\/p>\n

RD<\/p>\n

Josh Morrissey<\/p>\n

Dylan DeMelo<\/p>\n

Dylan Samberg<\/p>\n

Neal Pionk<\/p>\n

Haydn Fleury<\/p>\n

Elias Salomonsson<\/p>\n

G<\/p>\n

Connor Hellebuyck<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not so good that Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s odds should be written off altogether, but that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

If it had those things, Hellebuyck might be happier \u2014 and Winnipeg may never have had the chance to draft Bj\u00f6rck at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samuel Hren\u00e1k didn\u2019t try to hide his excitement. Grinning ear to ear, joy palpable, the 6-foot-3 Slovakian goaltender…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073,449],"class_list":["post-765909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg","tag-winnipeg-jets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}