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Winnipeg Jets Top 25 Under 25: #23 Jack Glover

Rank

DOB

Acquired

Pos

Allan

Andy

Philip

Daniel

Ryan

Cara

Ian

Brian

Tim

23

1996/05/17

#69, 2014

D

22

21

30

21

23

26

21

23

24

Previous Rank: 16th

Ed. Note: Not all authors assigned definite rankings beyond their Top 25. In these cases, an automatic score of 26 was given.

Formerly thought to be a worthy second round pick and future second pairing defenseman by The Hockey Writers, Jack Glover was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round, 69th overall in 2014.

Glover possesses size and skating ability, along with good ice awareness and passing. He's been known to rush up ice with the puck. The potential exists for this prospect to excel as a power play quarterback, and he has a strong wrist shot, but harder shots need some work.

Overall, the Winnipeg Jets were likely very happy to see Glover was still available when their turn to select came up, and picked the best player remaining. Good coaching, along with a bit of patience and polish, are what's needed to elevate his game and take him to the next level when his time comes.

Stats:

AIH Authors' Thoughts:

Brian:

Jack Glover is a solid prospect who would be looked a lot higher upon here if it wasn’t for the massive depth of right handed defensemen in front of him, both at Minnesota and on the Jets’ depth chart. Despite this, Glover has a good chance to make a nice impact in the NHL in a few years.

Tim:

Jack Glover’s 2014-15 was nothing to write home about. It wasn’t anything to write a blog post about either. He rarely played and when he did, the wasn’t leaned on heavily. That should change this year, with the graduation of a few drafted players. Glover has the skating, size and skill to make some noise, but it is hard to bet on a big step forward after a year that provided so little.

Allan:

Hopefully Glover can have a larger role this year with many of his mates moving on.

Andy:

I envision Jack playing a 3rd line role with fellow draftee Tucker Poolman a few years down the road, as a steady, dependable, shut down, nothing flashy, but gets the job done pairing.

Philip:

Let’s not beat around the bush: it was an underwhelming year for Jack Glover, even as an NCAA freshman. He was one of only two defencemen in Minnesota to play less than 30 games, with 22. In those 22 games, he managed just 3 assists and 12 shots on goal, the lowest shots per game among the Gophers d-corps by a fair margin. It should be noted that Glover also saw games at forward on the fourth line, which at least meant he accrued some playing time.

Now there is often a “wait-your-turn” aspect to the NCAA which needs to be taken into account when it comes to younger players. But fellow 19 year old RHD, 2014 draft selection and ex-NTDP teammate Ryan Collins managed to find favour on the same team, playing 32 games.

The saving grace for Glover would be to play a larger role in 2015- 16. But if he ends up being a bit player again, we’ll have to worry about the double whammy of stunted development and whether he’s just not putting things together. We knew Glover was a project when he was drafted, and he’s got a lot of tools which would serve him well at the professional level, if they congeal. Let’s hope that happens and he forces his way into greater prominence. In the meantime, he’s already been surpassed by others, in my opinion.

Scouting Reports:

Elite Prospects has this to say about Jack Glover:

Glover is an impressive two-way defenseman who has good overall mobility. He’s always aware in all three zones and defends with a physical edge, using his frame to separate pucks and size to clear the crease. He moves the puck well and has a good outlet pass.

Hit the link to see what Chris Dilks over at SB Nation College Hockey had in this pre-draft write up regarding the #23 Jets prospect. Here's a snippet:

This one could really go either way. There are some scouts that strongly believe you just can’t teach hockey sense; that it’s an innate thing a player either has or doesn’t have, and the fact that he’s had two years of high-level coaching in Ann Arbor likely lowers the level of optimism a bit. But Glover has some attributes that very few players possess, and sometimes it takes a little longer for the light to go on for some players than others.

Glover will have the benefit of a few years to develop at Minnesota. He’s a bit of a project, but one with enormous upside and potential. If he can tighten things up in the defensive end, his upside is as a very good third or fourth defenseman in the NHL, and possibly someone that can play on a top pairing in the right situation. If he doesn’t improve in the defensive end, he’s likely an AHL/NHL tweener that is never quite consistent enough to stick in the big leagues.

Summary:

In closing, Jack Glover is a good prospect to have in the Jets' system, and has the potential to be a valuable contributor down the road. Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and thanks for reading! Cheers!

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