Winnipeg Jets sign Jimmy Lodge to ELC

The Winnipeg Jets have announced their signing of 2013 third-round pick Jimmy Lodge, a right-shot winger on the Mississauga Steelheads, to a three-year Entry Level Contract.

So who is this 20-year-old rangy winger? Let’s break it down after the jump.

Lodge is an American born hockey player in the OHL. He was drafted in the third round by the Jets between Eric Comrie and J.C. Lipon.

Lodge is a skilled forward, with being a “jack of all trades, master of none” in the offensive department. He skates well, has excellent IQ, vision, and shot, but has never taken his game to the next level. He was drafted as a centre, but has played on the right wing for the past two seasons.

The most common criticisms on Lodge usually centre around his defensive play or staying too often in the perimeter area in the offensive zone. He is tall at 6’2, but does not use his size very often.

Lodge scored over a point per game pace in the OHL in his draft year, which in itself is quite the accomplishment. The closest comparable scoring pace for his draft year would be Alexander Burmistrov.

The next season saw Lodge fight through injuries and his team struggle both on and off the ice. These events led to a sharp decrease in scoring. Lodge’s Draft+1 scoring fell from Alexander Burmistrov and Chase De Leo levels to more comparable to Ryan Olsen and Axel Blomqvist.

This season Lodge bounced back, returning to an above a point per game pace. While 62 points in 56 games is far from earth shattering for a 20-year-old, the Mississauga Steelheads are a terrible team. Lodge has out paced his linemates while on the Steelheads by about 36 percent. No one outside of Lodge’s two linemates is scoring about a 0.65 point per game pace.

As context on how team quality can shape scoring, Jimmy Lodge has the 16th highest age-adjusted points per game in the OHL for those born in the same year. Lodge though has scored on 37 percent of his team’s points and 17 percent of his team’s goals, which is the third highest for the same age group.

James Lodge projects as a more longterm project, although he is one of the few forward prospects in the Jets’ organization with high offensive upside.