Report: Winnipeg Jets sign Brendan Lemieux to Entry Level Contract

The Winnipeg Jets announced today that they signed the young, physical forward of the Barrie Colts to an entry level contract. As per limitations in the CBA, the contract is a three-year, two-way deal, with an average cap hit of 1.125 million when including bonuses.

Lemieux was drafted by the the Buffalo Sabres in 2014, and joined the Jets as part of the return for Zach Bogosian, Evander Kane, and Jason Kasdorf.

The left winger Brendan Lemieux was part of a very powerful Barrie Colts in the OHL. 

Lemieux is a tough-nosed winger who likes to drive to the net and is not afraid to mix it up. He spent much of this season on the team’s second line where he scored 41 goals and 19 assists in 57 games. Lemieux’s high goal totals primarily come from a Lemieux’s innate ability to deflect pucks while sitting in front of the net.

Adjusting his scoring for age, he paced at 1.05 points per game, which was 35th in the OHL for forwards and fourth on the Barrie Colts. Lemieux connected on 24.69 per cent of the Colt’s scoring for games where Lemiexu dressed, which was 68th in the OHL and fourth on the Colts. Lemieux did score 16.87 per cent of the Colt’s goals, which is the 12th highest share in the OHL and second on the Colts.

While Lemieux spent most of the season on the second line, he did play on the main power play often as the net-front guy. Much of his scoring came from these situations.

At even strength, Lemieux’s production falls quite a bit lower, at 14 goals and 12 assists, which is the 93rd highest point pace in the OHL.

The high number of goals scored on the power play when with the Colt’s three superstars, Joseph Blandisi, Andrew Mangiapane, and Kevin Labanc, does instil some fear that Lemieux’s scoring was carried and may also be percentage driven. Lemieux does however have many of the tools a player would need to become a bonafide NHL player.

The Colts only controlled 46.0 per cent of goals while Lemieux was on the ice, while the team controlled 61 per cent while Lemieux was on the bench.

Todd Cordell, one of the best sources for OHL information, suggests Lemieux could become a solid middle-six winger. His scouting notes on Lemieux for the 2014 draft year can be found here.

The PCS model suggests players like 17-year-old Brendan Lemieux make the NHL 13.4 per cent of the time and on average score 30.1 points in 82 games. His numbers last season comes out to 12.3 per cent chance and 31.9 points in 82 games.