The Winnipeg Jets are now just over two months away from their  2026-27 NHL home (and season) opener against the Boston Bruins at Canada Life Centre. The mostly slow days of the NHL off-season are almost done, as most teams have a good idea of their how their rosters will look like heading into training camp. Heading into August tomorrow, today is a good day to look at an updated ranking of the Jets top 5 prospects. This list is simply my own look at the recent draftees who have the best chance to make an impact in the NHL with the Jets in the near future, with some honourable mentions mentioned at the end.

Sneaking into the top five this year is the Jets 1st round pick from the 2025 NHL draft. Although Boumedienne wasn’t included in my top five last year after the draft, Boumedienne has worked his way into the fifth spot. The 19-year old from Sweden finished his 2nd season with Boston University with 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points in 35 games. Boumedienne had a strong World Junior tournament with Sweden, collecting 2 goals and 2 assists in 7 games while being a leader among the Swedish defencemen. Boumedienne has been praised for being a very “attentive” player who is always aware of what needs to happen next whether that’s on the attack or on defence. Boumedienne will be joining Ohio State University next season after transferring from Boston University in mid-April.

Once the Jets top prospect, Lambert remains in the top five going into what could be his first full NHL season. The 22-year old from Finland was the Jets 1st round pick in 2022, and since his draft year he’s split his time playing mostly in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose and some games with the Jets. Although Lambert didn’t have a productive year with the Moose in the 2025-26 season, Lambert did get 25 games with the Jets, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points. Lambert has always been praised for his “high offensive upside”, something which Jets fans could see more of next season. There’s a chance that Lambert gets some playing time in the top six in the 2026-27 season, which could really help his development as he works his way into being a full time NHLer.

The number one ranked prospect before last season for the Jets (by me) made the leap to the NHL in the 2025-26 season. The 21-year old from Sweden (the Jets seem to have lots of prospects from Sweden now) was a 2nd round pick in the 2022 draft. Initially Salomonsson was considered a “pretty good” prospect, but he quickly worked his way up the rankings in the Jets organization with a strong two-way defensive game in Sweden and with the Manitoba Moose. In the 2025-26 season, Salomonsson tallied 10 points in 29 games with the Moose and 5 points in 32 games with the Jets, while looking NHL ready almost right from the beginning. Salomonsson is currently recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, but he should be ready to return to play shortly after the regular season begins. Salomonsson appears to be a lock to be the Jets 3rd pairing right side defenceman (behind DeMelo and Pionk) with the potential to move up into the top 4 in the future.

Yager moves up one spot from last season into the top two. The Pittsburgh Penguins 1st round pick from the 2023 NHL Draft was acquired by the Jets in the infamous Rutger McGroarty trade, a deal which the Penguins seemed to have “won” in the early stages. The 21-year old forward from Canada has plenty of potential in his game, and could easily make that trade go in the Jets favour in the near future. After dominating in his final junior season, Yager made his pro debut in the 2025-26 season with the Manitoba Moose. The transition to AHL hockey was pretty smooth for Yager, and he collected 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 68 games in his first pro season. The Jets rewarded Yager with his NHL debut at the end of the season, and Yager got two more games before the season ended. Although Yager will start the 2026-27 season with the Moose, Yager should now be one of the first call ups for the Jets, especially if it’s in a scoring role in the middle of the lineup.

Not much surprise here, but the Jets first round pick from the 2026 NHL draft is the new number one Jets prospect. Whoever was picked with that 8th overall pick was likely to be at this number one spot in the “prospect pool”, but Bjork is a true number one prospect. The 18-year old from Sweden rose up the draft rankings in the second half of his draft year, and the Jets felt lucky that Bjork was still available at the eight spot. Bjork split his season between Djurgardens’s junior and main team in the Swedish league. Bjork collected 15 points in 42 games in the SHL. Bjork had a very productive World Juniors (9 points in 7 games) and he even impressed on a younger Swedish side at the World Championships, where he finished the tournament with 6 points in 5 games. Bjork left his contract with Djurgardens early to join the Jets organization, signing his entry level deal with hopes of making the team as an 18-year old. It’s unclear where Bjork would play if he doesn’t make the Jets out of training camp, but regardless, there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the Jets top prospect, who is a very smart forward that will make a big impact in the NHL in the near future.

There’s several other Jets prospects that deserve a mention as they continue to develop on their different pathways to the NHL. On the blue line, the Jets 2nd round pick from 2024 Alfons Freij is ready to play in his first full pro season with the Moose next season after appearing in 5 games in the AHL at the end of the 2025-26 season. The rest of the notable Jets prospects are young forwards that will mostly be developing their games with the Manitoba Moose next season. Nikita Chibrikov is still considered an NHL ready prospect despite now being 23 years old, and he should be an early call up option for the Jets. Colby Barlow is another Jets prospect who is grinding away with the Moose, with hopes of making his NHL debut late in the 2026-27 season. Kevin He and Kieron Walton will likely make their pro debuts with the Moose this season, and Jacob Julien will be back with the Moose after he experienced his first full season in the AHL. There’s a few other Jets prospects that could be on the rise in the coming seasons, but for now Jets fans should be happy with the direction the Jets prospect pool is shaping up heading into the 2026-27 season.

The 2026 NHL off-season continues on, as teams are enjoying their last few weeks off before training camps begin in September. Make sure to check out the previous articles in this year’s “year in review” series, and stay tuned for more off-season content leading up to the 2026-27 season in late September!

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