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Winnipeg Jets Prospects Tracker: AHL and European Update

It’s been over two months since our last look at the Winnipeg Jets prospects. Let’s see how they have progressed since.

November Prospect Trackers: CHL NCAA AHL and Europe

Note: The point production rates have been reduced to just their pro-careers for simplification, but check out October's edition if you want to see their production in junior or college.

AHL

2004 7th Round (Washington, Acquired as 2013 UFA): RW Andrew Gordon; 52 GP, 18G, 20A, 38PTS, +1, 39 PIM, 119 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 5 3 8 +0 4 24 21%
November 13 3 4 7 -5 15 30 10%
December 9 3 3 6 +1 0 21 14%
January 12 4 7 11 +6 12 25 16%

Gordon has been one of the top scorers for the IceCaps, which should be expected as one of the highest salaried skaters in the AHL. He's been a mainstay in the IceCaps top six unit, almost exclusively playing with Jason Jaffray with the third member rotating.

Undrafted, 2005 Eligible (Acquired: 2013 RFA): RW Jerome Samson; 43GP, 17G, 15A, 29PTS, -2, 18 PIM, 157 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 5 2 3 5 +2 4 15 13%
November 10 5 4 9 +0 4 28 18%
December 9 1 3 4 +0 4 43 2%
January 12 8 2 10 +0 6 43 19%

Samson has been playing well for most of the season; he is only two points behind veterans Gordon and Jaffray while with 8 less games. Samson's shot production has been very impressive and consistent although the goal scoring has fluctuated with his shooting percentage. He is currently the goal scoring and shot leader for St. John's although with O`Dell's return to the AHL that may change in a month or so. Samson started the season off on a line with Gordon and Jaffray but has been moved up and down the top three lines as McCambridge has tried to spread out the IceCaps scoring and place a natural centre in between each line.

2007 6th Round: C John Albert; 46GP, 12G, 16A, 28PTS, +0, 10 PIM, 82 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 2 2 4 +2 2 16 13%
November 13 1 3 4 -5 2 23 4%
December 3 0 1 1 -1 0 3 0%
January 12 3 8 11 +3 4 23 13%

Albert started the season centring the energy fourth line, but was moved up to centre the Jaffray line since the injury to Samson. This has caused an increase in even strength icetime. With his increased 5v5 icetime came an increase in shot production which eventually led to a callup to the Jets. Albert went on a near point a game streak in January, picking up quite a few assists as the IceCaps went on a solid run.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 7 AHL 0.261 0.348 0.609
2012-13 6 AHL 0.125 0.083 0.208
2011-12 5 AHL 0.141 0.281 0.422

2008 7th Round (2007 Eligible): RD Zach Redmond; 21GP, 5G, 11A, 16PTS, +4, 14 PIM, 77 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October
November 5 2 2 4 -1 4 19 11%
December 9 3 5 8 -1 8 30 10%
January 3 0 0 0 +4 2 17 0%

How often do defensemen average four shots per a game? After a near death injury last season where it became questionable whether Redmond would ever play hockey again, Redmond has gotten his development back on track. It hasn't been an easy road either. Redmond was injured at the start of the season and then was called up to the main club to watch in the pressbox for much of the new year. It should be noted that due to factors in the CBA, Redmond will no longer be an RFA but an UFA for this summer. RHD depth is the Jets greatest strength in both the parent team and prospects, but any loss of an asset is devastating to a team low on assets like the Jets.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 7 AHL 0.238 0.524 0.762
2012-13 6 AHL 0.211 0.289 0.500
2011-12 5 AHL 0.111 0.319 0.431

2008 2nd Round (Anaheim, Acquired: 2009 Trade): C Eric O`Dell; 32GP, 13G, 20A, 33PTS, +1, 20 PIM, 93 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 5 4 9 -1 10 33 15%
November 12 6 8 14 -7 6 38 16%
December 6 1 5 6 +7 4 14 7%
January

For his second season in a row O`Dell has consistently been the IceCaps top offensive threat, being the only player in sustaining a point per game average. He was awarded a callup with the Jets and played well in his time there. While on the main club, O`Dell maintained a 56.3% Corsi% while his 4 main linemates were Wright, Peluso, Pardy and Stuart. Hopefully we'll get to see more of O`Dell as he has made some great progress over the last few years after recovering from major heart surgery.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 6 AHL 0.387 0.645 1.032
2012-13 5 AHL 0.492 0.441 0.932
2011-12 4 AHL 0.308 0.256 0.564

2008 2nd Round (New Jersey, Acquired: 2010 Trade): C Patrice Cormier; 45GP, 4G, 12A, 16PTS, -6, 78 PIM, 72 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 4 0 1 1 -1 13 14 0%
November 13 3 4 7 -3 27 15 20%
December 9 0 2 2 1 15 11 0%
January 12 1 4 5 2 14 20 5%

With injuries, Cormier has been in and out of the IceCaps lineup. While no longer playing the essentially dirty play style he was once known for in junior -thankfully-, he still plays with an edge, although he needs to bring the penalties down. His production line is deceiving as he has played well thus far this season but has suffered from a poor shooting percentage. Cormier has scored 4 goals from 72 shots while the previous two seasons he scored 7 from 50 and 18 from 99. Like O`Dell, this is Cormier's last season of being waiver free and will need to prove his worth for next year.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 6 AHL 0.089 0.267 0.356
2012-13 5 AHL 0.200 0.114 0.314
2011-12 4 AHL 0.321 0.268 0.589
2010-11 3 AHL 0.182 0.273 0.455

2008 3rd Round (Boston, Acquired: 2013 RFA): G Michael Hutchinson; AHL: 13GP, 379 SA, 0.910 SV%, 8-4-0; ECHL: 28 GP, 737 SA, 0.921 SV%, 22-4-0

Month Level GP SA SV%
October ECHL 2 51 0.922
November ECHL 12 307 0.935
December ECHL 10 278 0.914
AHL 1 20 0.850
January ECHL 4 101 0.901
AHL 6 161 0.932
February AHL 5 145 0.917

Michael Hutchinson is one of the more underrated signings by Kevin Cheveldayof. The netminder has had great success both at the AHL and ECHL levels, but was dropped by Boston to make room for blue-chip Malcolm Subban; their loss is our gain. While Pasquale's injury is the major reason for Hutchinson being given full reins for the IceCaps, that doesn't mean Hutchinson hasn't earned this opportunity. Hutchinson was one of the top goaltenders this season in the ECHL and over the last 7 years has outperformed Pasquale's save percentage for every season except one. He was ahead of Pasquale until a crazy back-and-forth game last night ending 7-5.

Year Rel Draft Level GP SA SV%
2013-14 6 AHL 12 326 0.920
2012-13 5 AHL 30 778 0.914
2011-12 4 AHL 29 909 0.927
2010-11 3 AHL 28 751 0.963

2009 2nd Round: LW Carl Klingberg; 17GP, 3G, 4A, 7PTS, +2, 10PIM, 34 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 9 3 2 5 3 6 19 16%
November 10 1 2 3 0 6 22 5%
December 9 4 2 6 2 2 26 15%
January 9 4 1 5 0 10 27 15%

Klingberg hasn't had the benefit of consistent linemates but he has been pretty consistent in his shot generation. He started the season mostly playing on the bottom 6 lines and averaged around 2 shots per a game, but since being placed in the top 6 and given some powerplay time it has climbed up to near 3 per a game. This is a big year for Klingberg as a RFA this summer, he and TN will have to decide if he is worth keeping.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 5 AHL 0.311 0.200 0.511
2012-13 4 AHL 0.167 0.182 0.348
2011-12 3 AHL 0.227 0.333 0.561

2009 4th Round: G Eddie Pasquale; 31 GP, 938 SA, 0.920 SV%. 17-13-2

Pasquale's season has been cut short due to needing surgery after sustaining an injury, which is unfortunate as he was rebounding from last season with his strongest pro-level performance yet. After announcing the status for Pasquale, McCambridge mentioned that the Jets management were riding Pasquale heavily in testing him for the potential role for Jets next season. This likely explains the decision with placing Hutchinson in the ECHL over Olkinuora early in the year.

Year Rel Draft Level GP SA SV%
2013-14 5 AHL 31 938 0.920
2012-13 4 AHL 43 1223 0.907
2011-12 3 AHL 38 981 0.911

2009 4th Round: LD Ben Chiarot; 47GP, 4G, 10A, 14PTS, +16, 39 PIM, 77 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 9 2 3 5 +6 8 16 13%
November 9 0 3 3 -7 9 19 0%
December 9 0 1 1 +5 9 13 0%
January 12 1 2 3 +6 8 15 7%

Chiarot may have be the Jets most improved AHL/ECHL defenseman. After not even placing in the Jets Top 25 Under 25 -with teammate Julian Melchiori placed at 16-, Chiarot has made a case for himself this season. Given a more offensive role with the IceCaps this season Chirot has increased his pt/gp pace by a third and impressively increased his shot production by 50%. While Chirarot's ceiling potential is no higher than a 3rd pair defensemen, any improvement in depth for LHD is a good thing since it is essentially the Jets weakest area both on the main team and in prospect depth.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 5 AHL 0.085 0.213 0.298
2012-13 4 AHL 0.016 0.180 0.197
2011-12 3 ECHL 0.250 0.292 0.542

2010 3rd Round: LD Julian Melchiori; 29GP, 0G, 6A, 6PTS, +7, 18 PIM, 31 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 0 1 1 1 14 16 0%
November 7 0 4 4 0 0 6 0%
December 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
January 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 0%

Melchiori started the season strong. His point and shot production had improved while being leaned on defensively to play a primarily shutdown role. Also a plus, he had been using his size more effectively in stopping the cycle and adding physicality to his game this season. Unfortunately Melchiori since has struggled with injuries and has yet to get back into pace. As noted previously, Jets LHD depth is sore spot with the main club only having Tobias Enstrom, Grant Clitsome and Keaton Ellerby under contract or team control next season and prospect depth being Ben Chiarot, Julian Melchiori and Cody Sol in pro, Josh Morrissey in junior and Peter Stoykewych and Aaron Harstad in NCAA.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 4 AHL 0.000 0.207 0.207
2012-13 3 AHL 0.019 0.135 0.154

2013: 7th Round (2010 Eligible): RD Brenden Kichton; 52GP, 10G, 29A, 39PTS, +0, 10 PIM, 85 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 2 5 7 4 2 25 8%
November 13 2 7 9 -3 4 18 11%
December 9 2 5 7 0 2 19 11%
January 12 3 11 14 6 2 14 21%

With one of Redmond or Postma playing in the AHL lately, Kichton has been looked to play more of an Enstrom-like powerplay quarterback role. His shot production has suffered due to this, although his shooting percentage rising has more than made up. Kichton is currently in third place for defensive scoring, fifth in rookie scoring and eighth in points per game for rookies. While skating and defensive zone play is a weakness for Kichton although appears to be far less of a concern than what scouts noted in his junior days.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 4 AHL 0.192 0.558 0.750

2013 3rd Round (2011 Eligible): RW J.C. Lipon; 48GP, 6G, 21A, 27PTS, -7, 86 PIM, 71 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 10 2 3 5 -6 4 11 18%
November 10 2 2 4 -1 24 14 14%
December 9 1 4 5 0 28 19 5%
January 12 1 9 10 -3 21 20 5%

Lipon has transitioned well into the AHL. He has always been known as an excellent passer who loves to agitate while playing a gritty game in the WHL and the AHL version of Lipon has been no different. Currently for AHL rookies Lipon is ninth in assists and eleventh in assists per game.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 3 AHL 0.125 0.438 0.563

2011 3rd Round: C Adam Lowry; 44GP, 13G, 8A, 21PTS, -4, 34 PIM, 74 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 4 1 2 3 -3 2 11 9%
November 11 0 1 1 -1 13 13 0%
December 9 2 1 3 1 9 15 13%
January 12 5 4 9 -2 2 18 28%

After early injury problems Lowry is starting to come into his own in the AHL.While only scoring 5 points in his first 21 games, Lowry has 16 in his last 22 games. While some of this has come from luck, with Lowry enjoying a ~30% shooting percentage in January and February, he has played a more complete game with improving defensively, puck control and his board work.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 3 AHL 0.295 0.182 0.477

2011 5th Round: RW Austen Brassard; 18GP, 2G, 1A, 3PT, -1, 12 PIM, 16 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 5 1 0 1 0 0 7 14%
November 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0%
December
January 9 1 1 2 1 5 6 17%

Brassard has spent much of the season in the pressbox or on the fourth line instead of being placed in the OHL or ECHL to gain more minutes for development. He was also sent home missing much of November and December for personal/family reasons that were not given out. His shot production has dropped in January and February, so it may be time for management to give Brassard time in the ECHL to gain more minutes. RW Vinny Saponari meanwhile has 17 points in 33 games and was not signed to an ELC last summer by the Jets (although he is 4 years older).

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 3 AHL 0.111 0.056 0.167
ECHL


Undrafted, 2008 Eligible (Acquired: 2013 RFA): G Juho Olkinuora; ECHL: 16 GP, 401 SA, 0.878 SV% , AHL: 9 GP, 243 SA, 0.893 SV%, 4-3-1

Month Level GP SA SV%
October AHL 2 64 0.828
November AHL 3 94 0.926
December AHL 3 77 0.922
January AHL 1 8 0.750
ECHL 8 191 0.880

Olkinuora was playing much better in November and December but it was time that he was sent down to the ECHL. The young goaltender was needing playing time to hone his pro-game, meanwhile Hutchinson was showing he was beyond ECHL level. After getting sent back Olkinuora has struggled and has yet to recover, but hopefully he will. Jets have Olkinuora under contract for next season and are likely hoping for him to be a solid AHL backup with one of Hutchinson or Pasquale possibly playing backup in the NHL.

Year Rel Draft Level GP SA SV%
2013-14 6 AHL 16 401 0.878

2009 5th Round: LD Cody Sol; 45GP, 4G, 5A, 9PTS, -1, 90 PIM, 87 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 3 0 0 0 -2 11 10 0%
November 15 0 1 1 5 28 17 0%
December 11 2 1 3 -4 17 25 8%
January 7 2 2 4 -4 17 23 9%

Sol's shooting percentage unluckily dropped, but his assist and shot production have also fallen from the previous season. The later two could either be indications of regressing play or less power play usage. I do not watch ECHL games so unfortunately I cannot answer this riddle. Either way, being cut from an AHL team for the third season in a row on your ELC is not very promising of future prospect.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 5 ECHL 0.089 0.111 0.200
2012-13 4 ECHL 0.200 0.120 0.320

2010 5th Round: RW Yasin Cisse; 10GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2PTS, +0, 17 PIM, 12 SOG

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 4 1 0 1 1 6 4 25%
November 5 1 0 1 -1 11 8 13%
December
January

Cisse has only played one game since November, and no events for Cisse were recorded. Cisse is still under Jets control and has just this season to try and earn an ELC. So far it seems unlikely.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 4 ECHL 0.200 0.000 0.200

Additional Notes: LD Patrick Cullity is under IceCaps control and has been assigned to the the ECHL Idaho Stealheads (49GP, 4G, 23A) and is currently 10th in ECHL defensemen for points. Jason Jaffray (51GP, 14G, 20A) and Kael Mouillierat (51GP, 14G, 27A) have been playing well for the IceCaps in top 6 positions. These players are all NHL UFAs and under no Winnipeg Jets protection.

Europe

2006 7th Round: LD Arturs Kulda; 39GP, 1G, 8A, 9PTS, +4, 40 PIM, 49 SOG, 20:37 Avg TOI

Month GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG Sh%
October 11 1 1 2 6 8 18 6%
November 9 0 2 2 1 18 11 0%
December 8 0 2 2 1 4 9 0%
January 11 0 3 3 -5 8 11 0%

Kulda is still leading his team in shifts per game and is second in TOI per game. He is currently playing for the Latvian Olympic team and has 2 shots on goal in 4 games and third in TOI for Latvian defenders. Kulda mentioned in an interview that he is currently on the first year of a 2 year contract in the KHL and has had very little communication with Jets management.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 7 KHL 0.026 0.205 0.231
2012-13 6 KHL 0.180 0.120 0.300
2011-12 5 AHL 0.095 0.222 0.317
2010-11 4 AHL 0.072 0.174 0.246
2009-10 3 AHL 0.091 0.288 0.379

2010 4th Round: LW Ivan Telegin; 0GP (Loaned to CSKA Moskva)

Jets management lifted Telegin's suspension and have loaned him to CSKA Moskva but he has yet to play a game, perhaps due to team depth or perhaps still suffering from injuries.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 4 KHL
2012-13 3 AHL 0.088 0.206 0.294

2010 1st Round: C Alexander Burmistrov; 69GP, 10G, 25A, 35PTS, +4, 26 PIM, 110 SOG, 17:38 Avg TOI, 53.0% FO%

Burmistrov has continued his strong pace, leading the 4th place Ak Bars in both assists and points. There have been faint rumors that the Jets are open to bringing Burmistrov back on a one year "show me" contract, although currently this is only a rumor and nothing more. What is known is that Burmistrov does indeed have a NHL out-clause for next season and a little birdie has told me that Burmistrov: has been a great person and player as of late and still watches Jets games while routing for them.

2013 7th Round: RD Marcus Karlstrom; Forts. 10 GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, -1, 6 PIM,  Norra 26 GP, 8G, 11A, 19PTS, +6, 20 PIM

For those that do not know the Swedish junior system, they have two divisions (North and South) and the top teams from each division go into another tournament (Top 10) and the lower teams enter another tournament (Forts. also known as "continuation group"). The top six teams from the continuation group would then make the playoffs while the bottom two will go into a relegation tournament against the top teams of the Swedish second tier junior league.

AIK did not make the cut into the Top 10 tournament. For defensemen in the North division Karlstrom finished first in goals, fourth in points, first in power play goals and fifth in power play points. If you include the South division Karlstrom still finishes first in goals and falls to 7th in points.

Karlstrom has had a difficult time picking up points thus far in the continuation league with only two points as of yet, while AIK currently sits in 3rd in the continuation tournament.

Year Rel Draft Level G/GP A/GP Pts/GP
2013-14 1 U20 SuperElite 0.250 0.333 0.731
2012-13 0 U18 Elite 0.467 1.000 1.467
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