Jets Prospect Update – October 5th

While most Jets fans focus will be on the impending start of the NHL season, the Canadian junior leagues have all been going for at least a week now and some of the European leagues for about a month. In this prospects update we’ll take a look at how the Jets prospects who are already playing have done from the beginning of the season up to now.

The plan is for this to be a weekly series that will provide an overview of prospect stats and play during that time. 

Early going for Kraskovsky but he seems have established himself as a KHL player this season after spending the majority of the past two in the MHL. 

Telegin is a long shot to ever come back to North America but his rights still belong to the Jets. He’s been given an expanded role this year and will likely see his point totals rise due to this.

Niku hasn’t seen many league games yet but but it is no small feat for an 18 year old to play a regular shift on defense in a mans league. He has looked looked good early and will likely see his point totals tied closely to how much special teams time he ends up getting.

Michael Spacek has been the Jets prospect story so far this season. Coming over to the WHL after spending last season in the Czech Extraliga had expectations pretty high, but I think most figured there may be an adjustment period. Instead Spacek has started the season on fire and is currently tied for 3rd in league scoring playing on an as of yet undefeated Red Deer Rebels team.

On that same Rebels team we also have Nelson Nogier, who was sent back after an extended camp stay with the Jets. Nogier has never been much of a scorer at the WHL level so his early output looks good, but with Haydn Fleury being returned from the Carolina Huricanes some of his ice time may get eaten into.

The Prince Albert Raiders are off to a strong start but unfortunately Gennaro hasn’t been a big factor as of yet. His second half last season was quite strong so there’s hopes that his offense will pick up this year but it’s not showing early on.

After being a surprise faller to the Jets 2nd round pick this past draft, expectation are high for Harkins going in to this season. Harkins was a bit of a one man show in Prince George last season and will be counted on to provide much of the offense once again. He’s off to a slow start but will likely see a pick up in offense as the season progresses.

Lemieux is still serving a suspension that held over from last season, but he will be looking to build on a strong training camp with the Jets and should be expected to pile up the power play goals for a strong Barrie team this year.

After a couple seasons in Sweden that likely didn’t go as he had planned, Karlstrom was set to play in North America this season in hopes of getting himself back on the radar as a prospect deserving of an ELC. Unfortunately for him despite originally being listed with a USHL team he has ended up playing in the NAHL, not a league that graduate many eventual NHLers. 

Pre-season is also underway for the NCAA with Eric Foley and Kyle Connor both putting up some points in exhibition action this past weekend. Their regular season, along with all the other NCAA prospects, will begin this coming weekend.