The 1st weekend of 2024-25 Winnipeg Jets hockey is now in the books with the conclusion of the Young Stars Classic which was held in Penticton, BC. The mini 4 team tournament included the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and the hosting Vancouver Canucks. Each team played 3 games, and it was a great showcase for the upcoming prospects from each of these teams.

If you didn’t get a chance to catch the Jets young stars in action, the games were livestreamed online at WinnipegJets.com. I was able to catch a decent amount of each of the Jets 3 games, and I made a brief recap and some general observations from each of them. Overall, it was just a great feeling to watch the Jets in action again, even if it’s not with their NHL regulars from their roster for the regular season.

The Jets young stars kicked off their weekend with a matchup against the Calgary Flames young stars on Friday night. The Jets controlled play early on in this one. Despite being outshot 9-8 in the 1st period, the Jets took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Nikita Chibrikov and Connor Levis.

The Flames flipped the momentum to their side in the 2nd, outshooting the Jets 10-5 and scoring 2 of their own goals from Sam Morton and Hunter Brzustewicz. The 3rd period was one that was fairly low event, as the shots were only 5-3 for the Jets. Jacob Julien scored on the powerplay thanks to a sweet pass from Brad Lambert, who looked NHL ready throughout these 3 games. Jaden Lipinski tied it for the Flames at 3 later in the period shorthanded.

The game went to overtime, and Dmitry Kuzmin won it for the Jets off a 2 on 0 rush with a nice pass from Colby Barlow.  The final shots on goal were 23-19 for the Flames, and Jets goalie Thomas Milic did enough to help the Jets win this one 4-3.

After a day off on Saturday, the Jets young stars were back on the ice in Penticton on Sunday afternoon to battle the Vancouver Canucks young stars. The best player for the Jets in this game from the get go was once again Brad Lambert, but there were some other notable performances from other Jets like Nikita Chibrikov and Kevin He.

Dominic Divincentiis got the start in goal for the Jets, and the game was scoreless after the 1st despite the Jets outshooting the Canucks 13-7. Brad Lambert opened the scoring early in the 2nd assisted by Kevin He, the Jets 4th round pick from the 2024 NHL draft. The Jets added a 2nd goal around 7 minutes later on the powerplay from Nikita Chibrikov. For whatever reason, the box score is showing that Kevin He and Elias Salomonsson got the assists on this one, but if you watch the highlights you’ll clearly see that it was assisted from Brad Lambert who absolutely sauced it over to Chibrikov’s wheel house for the snipe.

The Jets young stars seemed to begin getting fatigued halfway through the 2nd, and after 2 goals from the Canucks late in the 2nd, the score was 2-2 after 2 with the momentum on the Canucks side. The Jets tried to battle it out in the 3rd, but the Canucks carried the momentum with 2 more goals in the 3rd to win this one 4-2. Final shots on goal were 30-24 for the Jets, but Canucks goalie Ty Young stood tall throughout the game, especially in the 1st period where the Jets had 13 shots.

The Jets concluded their Young Stars Classic this afternoon with a matchup against the Oilers young stars. Thomas Milic was back in goal for the Jets, but shared the crease with Dom DiVincentiis who took over halfway through the game. The lines were once again switched up to try out some different line combinations. The 1st period started off a little slow in this one, and aside from a tilt between Jets Mark Liwiski and Oilers Nate Corbet, it appeared that both teams were trying to ease into this Sunday afternoon game. The game was scoreless after the 1st with the shots tied at 9.

The 2nd period was where the action and intensity picked up, with the Jets outshooting the Oilers 16-10. Oilers goalie Brett Brochu made some key saves before the Jets opened the scoring with a goal from Daniel Torgersson. The Jets would head into their final period of the Young Stars Classic up 1-0 and leading in shots 25-19.

Heading into the 3rd period, the Jets young stars were looking to give it all they could in what could be the last time wearing the Jets uniform before heading back to their junior or other professional teams. The teams battled it out in a tight checking 3rd, before the Jets added to their lead with a deflection in front by Henri Nikkanen. After a scrappy few final minutes, the Jets held on from a final push from the Oilers, and the Jets took home the victory 2-0. The final shots on goal were 34-27 for the Jets, as Milic and DiVincentiis earned the combined shutout.

With that, the Jets concluded their tournament at the Young Stars Classic with a 2-1-0 record. Up next for the Jets is the highly anticipated start of training camp. It’s a quick turnaround, as the Jets begin their pre-season on September 21st at home against the Minnesota Wild. There’s also still one piece of business for the Jets to hopefully complete before the season begins, that being the contract extension of one of the Jets top young stars, Cole Perfetti.