Winnipeg Jets prospects are the centre of attention for you Jets fans tonight. The Jets prospect pool grew after this summer’s 2024 NHL entry draft, led by 2nd round pick Alfons Freij. While Freij isn’t quite a top 5 prospect for the Jets at this moment, he looks to have the tools to one day become an everyday NHLer. I wanted to take a look at my updated list of the top 5 prospects in the Jets organization, and talk about where they’re at in their development and where they’ll likely be playing in the upcoming hockey season.

Starting at number 5 is a prospect that has become less talked about in the last year or so: Chaz Lucius. The 21 year old was the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. While Lucius remains a top candidate to become a member of the Jets in the coming season(s), his development has been slowed down by numerous injuries. A season-ending ankle injury is the latest of Lucius’ roadblocks, which might start to cause some concerns as to whether he can stay healthy next season. Regardless, Lucius remains a skilled center who likes to generate offence by getting to the net. In the 2023-24 season, Lucius had 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in his shortened 17 game season. In the 2024-25 season, I fully expect Lucius to be a key member of the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. A full, healthy season with the Moose would set Lucius forward tremendously in terms of his ongoing development. It wouldn’t even surprise me if Lucius got a game or two with the Jets in 2024-25, whether as an injury replacement or an end-of-the-year showcase player.

A recent rising prospect sits at number 4, it’s the Jets #1 defence prospect from Sweden, Elias Salomonsson. The 19-year old was drafted in the 2nd round, 55th overall in the 2022 NHL draft. In the 2023-24 season, Salomonsson tallied 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points in 31 games with the Skelleftea AIK of the Swedish Hockey League. Salomonsson got a lot more eyes on him this season as a promising prospect because of his smooth skating and overall two-way game on defense. Some people seemed to be so high on Salomonsson to even suggest that he could see the NHL next season. While that’s just some wishful thinking, especially after the Jets made some depth defence signings this off-season, Salomonsson may be ready for his 1st pro season in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose. It’s unclear if Salomonsson will choose to spend another year in Sweden, but I believe it’s best for his development to make the jump to the AHL to start developing in the North America game.

Entering the top 3 prospects now, beginning with Canadian winger Colby Barlow. The 19-year old was the 18th overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft. Barlow is the kind of player who just seems to have the type of play style that will be NHL ready shortly. In the 2023-24 season, Barlow spent most of his time with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL, scoring 40 goals and adding 18 assists for 58 points in 50 games. Barlow also got his 1st taste of pro hockey at the end of last year with the Moose, where Barlow put up 3 points in 3 games. Similarly to Salomonsson, it remains unclear where Barlow will play next season. Barlow could return to the OHL for a 4th season, or could spend a portion of the season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. Barlow is already adapted to the North American game, and as a result you could see Barlow in the NHL lineup sooner than you think.

The 20-year old, right-handed Fin finds himself as the #2 prospect on this list. No surprise here after looking at the other top 5 prospects on this list, but he’s the Jets prospect who I think has the greatest chance of spending some time in the NHL this upcoming season. The 30th overall pick from the 2022 NHL draft is fresh off a tremendous 1st full pro season with the Manitoba Moose. In 64 games, Lambert scored 21 goals and added 34 assists for 55 points. Lambert made his NHL debut in game 82 of the 2023-24 season for the Jets where he got his 1st NHL point, an assist. This dynamic skater will surely be battling for a spot on the NHL roster in the upcoming training camp. The Jets did make some depth forward signings in the off-season which may lower Lambert’s chances of making the team on opening night, but I think it’s safe to say that Lambert could play anywhere from 10 to 20 games with the Jets in the 2024-25 season.

That takes me to the current #1 Jets prospect: Rutger McGroarty. If you want to talk about a player who has the type of compete to be an NHLer (even more so than Barlow and Lambert), that guy is McGroarty. He leads by example on every team he’s ever played for, and has that sort of natural “captain material” that teams tend to look for in their younger players. The 14th overall pick from the 2022 NHL draft has been in the news this off-season because he has “requested a trade” from the Jets. After it was reported that McGroarty was returning back to the University of Michigan next season, Jets fans seemed fine with the decision, as he could join the team later in the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, one development led to another, and it seems like the Jets weren’t willing to offer the chance at a NHL roster spot that McGroarty wanted, thus leading to the trade request. There’s still some (not sure really how much) hope that things can be repaired between McGroarty and the Jets, but for the time being he still remains the Jets #1 prospect.

Hopefully these 5 prospects will get some sort of NHL action in the 2024-25 season, even if it’s just one game. Overall, most people online seem to rank the Jets “prospect pool” in the middle of the 32 NHL teams, which appears to reflect where the Jets stand in terms of their development and position within the league. I’m excited to see what these prospects can do in the coming seasons, and it’ll be exciting to see which of them can make the most impact in their Jets 2.0 career.