Viggo Bj\u00f6rck is leaving the SHL to pursue NHL opportunities with the Winnipeg Jets. He shared his plans with Djurg\u00e5rden late last week, receiving their blessing, and is expected to sign his entry-level contract with Winnipeg shortly.<\/p>\n
Bj\u00f6rck is not only expected to make the Jets\u2019 roster. He\u2019s going to be given every opportunity to start the season as Winnipeg\u2019s second-line centre. Winnipeg\u2019s commitment to the 18-year-old is nearly unprecedented, reflecting a partial shift in Jets philosophy and extreme belief in Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s NHL ability.<\/p>\n
Will it be worth it?\u00a0And why do the Jets believe Bj\u00f6rck is ready for the opportunity?<\/p>\n
To answer these questions, one must understand the scope of the challenge ahead of him. Bj\u00f6rck is a tremendous prospect with elite hockey sense, but his NHL transition will come with growing pains. The NHL\u2019s 84-game schedule will be more physically demanding than anything he\u2019s experienced before. His opponents will be bigger, stronger, and faster than what he\u2019s used to in the SHL. And the game itself will be different.<\/p>\n
NHL offer sheets are just business<\/p>\n
Sean Gentille and Sean McIndoe<\/p>\n
The narrow NHL ice creates new angles that will modify the reads Bj\u00f6rck needs to make. When an NHL player gets beat in the corner, the race to the front of the net is so short compared to the SHL so as to seem instantaneous to most players. During one drill at development camp, Bj\u00f6rck cut too wide and bounced off the sideboards, caught off guard by the narrow NHL ice.<\/p>\n
The transition will take time. Just don\u2019t expect an AHL assignment or even a loan back to the SHL. Winnipeg is betting on Bj\u00f6rck to arrive as a No. 2 centre while Mark Scheifele is still a viable No. 1 \u2014 a development that would have several positive effects if he\u2019s up to the task.<\/p>\n
Chaining multiple \u201cifs\u201d together is never a safe bet but Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s arrival could snap a lot of things into place for Winnipeg if\u00a0he\u2019s ready. The Jets\u2019 secondary scoring was non-existent last season, apart from a surge from Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry, and Gabriel Vilardi. If Bj\u00f6rck and Perfetti can win their minutes as two-thirds of a secondary scoring line, it will help Winnipeg take a confident step back toward the playoffs as long as Scheifele and Lowry deliver, too.<\/p>\n
The other ripple effect comes with respect to Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets and Sabres have had multiple trade conversations, but Josh Norris gained trade protection on July 1 and Buffalo may not be as willing to move Ryan McLeod. If Bj\u00f6rck can play the role of second line centre, then Winnipeg can shift its priorities for a Hellebuyck trade from centre to wing.<\/p>\n
LWCRW<\/p>\n
Kyle Connor<\/p>\n
Mark Scheifele<\/p>\n
Gabriel Vilardi<\/p>\n
Cole Perfetti<\/p>\n
Viggo Bj\u00f6rck<\/p>\n
TBD<\/p>\n
Nino Niederreiter<\/p>\n
Adam Lowry<\/p>\n
Alex Iafallo<\/p>\n
Isak Ros\u00e9n<\/p>\n
Morgan Barron<\/p>\n
Brad Lambert<\/p>\n
Cole Koepke<\/p>\n
Vladislav Namestnikov<\/p>\n
LD<\/p>\n
RD<\/p>\n
Josh Morrissey<\/p>\n
Dylan DeMelo<\/p>\n
Dylan Samberg<\/p>\n
Neal Pionk<\/p>\n
Mario Ferraro<\/p>\n
Elias Salomonsson<\/p>\n
Haydn Fleury<\/p>\n
G<\/p>\n
Stuart Skinner<\/p>\n
TBD<\/p>\n
Simply writing Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s name down in a depth chart doesn\u2019t automatically mean he can handle the job, but Winnipeg wouldn\u2019t be making this bet if it didn\u2019t hold Bj\u00f6rck in uniquely high esteem. The Jets were unwilling to promise NHL playing time to Rutger McGroarty, kept Brad Lambert in the AHL to the point that Lambert asked to be traded, and wrote off Elias Salomonsson\u2019s odds of being NHL-ready prior to the start of last season. Winnipeg has been vindicated in some of those decisions \u2014 Lambert and McGroarty were not blue-chip prospects with obvious NHL readiness \u2014 but the Jets are deviating from their track record.<\/p>\n
But why wouldn\u2019t they send Bj\u00f6rck back to the SHL or commit him to the Moose this season?<\/p>\n