With the 2017-2018 campaign officially behind us, we take a look back at how the Winnipeg Jets prospects did during this past season (and any applicable playoff action).
Gone from the Top 10 list are Erik Foley (St. Louis Blues property now) and Jordy Stallard (re-entering NHL Entry Draft).
Top 10 Prospects
1. Kristian Vesalainen (19) – Karpat/HPK Hameenlinna (SM-liiga) –
Regular Season – 49 GP – 22G – 21A – 43PTS – 6PIM
Playoffs – 18 GP – 4G – 4A – 8PTS – 14PIM
I don’t know what it would take for Kristian Vesalainen to be bumped from top spot other than getting called up to the big club. His presence on the power play is a lot like that of Patrik laine and Alex Ovechkin, except Vesalainen is left handed and his one-timers come from the opposite circle. I can just imagine Blake Wheeler setting up these two kids for one-timers. It’s a great thought.
2. Sami Niku (21) – Manitoba Moose (AHL) –
Regular Season – 76 GP – 16G – 38A – 54PTS – 30PIM
Playoffs – 9 GP – 1G – 2A – 3PTS – 2PIM
Winnipeg Jets Regular Season: 1GP – 1G – 0A – 1PTS – 0PIM
I look forward to the camp battle Sami Niku is bound to go through in order to gain a spot on the Jets 2018-2019 roster. I think he has a good chance at getting one, with the highly likely departure of Toby Enstrom. Josh Morrissey, Dmitry Kulikov, and Ben Chiarot will all still be under contract next season, so he’ll have to earn himself a spot in the top-6, or there will be more time with the Moose in his future.
3. Mason Appleton (22) – Manitoba Moose (AHL) –
Regular Season – 76GP – 22G – 44A – 66PTS – 57PIM
Playoffs – 2 GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS – 2PIM
The AHL rookie of the year came in fourth in AHL points, the right winger transitioned very well to the pro game. A concussion ended his playoffs prematurely, but he could be in the mix for a roster spot next year depending on what becomes of the bevvy of restricted free agent forwards.
4. C.J. Suess (24) – Minnesota State U – Mankato (NCAA) – 40GP – 22G – 21A – 43PTS – 53PIM Manitoba Moose Regular Season: 6GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 2PIM
Manitoba Moose Playoffs: 3GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS – 0PIM
One of the Top 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, Suess netted over a point-per-game for Minnesota State U – Mankato, before joining up with the Manitoba Moose on an amateur tryout for the conclusion of their season and a few playoff games. Suess would have been eligible for free agency, but signed a one-year deal with the Jets on March 25.
5. Mikhail Berdin (20) – Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) –
Regular Season – 45GP – 24-13-3 – 2.65GAA – .921 SV% – 1 SO
Playoffs – 3GP – 1-1-0 – 4.48GAA – .891 SV% – 0 SO
The USHL playoffs did not go the way Mikhail wanted them to go, but he still managed to earn himself a three-year entry level contract on May 19, so I would imagine him getting time with the Moose next year.
6. Logan Stanley (20) – Kitchener Rangers (OHL) –
Regular Season: 61 GP – 15G – 27A – 42PTS – 93PIM
Playoffs: 19 GP – 4G – 12A – 16PTS – 93PIM
Stanley and the Kitchener Rangers went to a seventh game in their conference finals, before losing out to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. His 16 points in the playoffs ranked him in a tie for third amongst defenders, despite missing out on the finals.
7. Skyler McKenzie (20) – Portland Winterhawks (WHL)-
Regular Season: 72GP – 47G – 40A – 87PTS – 54PIM
Playoffs: 12GP – 3G – 5A – 8PTS – 0PIM
Moose Playoffs: 3GP – 1G – 0A – 1PTS – 0PIM
An undersized forward putting up big points for the Portland Winterhawks, I give you Nic Petan Skyler McKenzie! After wrapping up his time on the West Coast, McKenzie got a look with the Moose during the playoffs on an amateru tryout and netted his first pro goal. Will he still be in the system next year?
8. Dylan Samberg (19) – Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)- 28GP – 0G – 6A – 6PTS – 33PIM
A bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship may not have been exactly what Dylan Samberg was looking for, but he and his Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs pulled off a stunning march to a national championship in the NCAA Frozen Four. He was part of a team with four freshman defenders that gelled really well as the season went along.
9. Nic Petan (23) – Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Regular Season: 52GP – 15G – 37A – 52PTS – 24PIM
Playoffs: 9GP – 1G – 3A – 4PTS – 8PIM
Winnipeg Jets Regular Season: 15GP – 2G – 0A – 2PTS – 6PIM
I am firmly of the opinion that anybody that can put up point-per-game numbers in the AHL can and should play in the NHL. Whether Nic Petan does that as a Jet, as a Seattle player or with another NHL team, I think he can find a spot. Maybe he’s the next William Karlsson.
10. Leon Gawanke (19) – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)-
Regular Season: 62GP – 4G – 28A – 32PTS – 39PIM
Playoffs: 5GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 5PIM
Lists are subjective as hell. Leon Gawanke did not finish his season as strong as he started it, but at age 19 he still has room and time to grow.
Manitoba Moose – AHL
| Team | Name | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba Moose | Logan Shaw | C | 31 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 17 |
| Manitoba Moose | Michael Spacek | C | 35 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 20 |
| Manitoba Moose | Seth Griffith | R | 30 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 14 |
| Manitoba Moose | J.C. Lipon | R | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 54 |
| Manitoba Moose | Jansen Harkins | C | 36 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 25 |
| Manitoba Moose | C.J. Suess | F | 26 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 6 |
| Manitoba Moose | Cameron Schilling | D | 27 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 16 |
| Manitoba Moose | Marko Dano | W | 16 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| Manitoba Moose | Skyler McKenzie | F | 28 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 20 |
| Manitoba Moose | Logan Stanley | D | 34 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 37 |
| Manitoba Moose | Tucker Poolman | D | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Manitoba Moose | Luke Green | D | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Manitoba Moose | Jimmy Oligny | D | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 48 |
| Manitoba Moose | Nelson Nogier | D | 35 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Manitoba Moose | Nicolas Kerdiles | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Team | Name | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L |
| Manitoba Moose | Eric Comrie | 25 | 1474 | 68 | 2.77 | 12 | 11 |
| Manitoba Moose | Mikhail Berdin | 6 | 370 | 17 | 2.76 | 3 | 2 |
| # | Name | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Birthdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Chase De Leo | C | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 31 | 10/25/1995 |
| 44 | Julian Melchiori | D | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 12/6/1991 |
| 48 | Brendan Lemieux | L | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 3/15/1996 |
| 4 | Michael Sgarbossa | C | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 7/25/1992 |
| 10 | Buddy Robinson | L | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 9/30/1991 |
| 19 | Nic Petan | L | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3/22/1995 |
| 5 | Cameron Schilling | D | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10/7/1988 |
| 8 | Sami Niku | D | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10/10/1996 |
| 23 | Michael Spacek | R | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 4/9/1997 |
| 28 | Patrice Cormier | C | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 6/14/1990 |
| 3 | Jan Kostalek | D | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2/17/1995 |
| 27 | Mason Appleton | F | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/15/1996 |
| 34 | JC Lipon | R | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7/10/1993 |
| 36 | Nelson Nogier | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5/27/1996 |
| 32 | Jansen Harkins | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5/23/1997 |
| # | Name | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L | OTL |
| 1 | Eric Comrie | 9 | 510 | 27 | 3.18 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 30 | Jamie Phillips | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CHL/NCAA/ECHL/EUROPE
Prospects 2017-2018
| League | Team | Name | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Birthdate | Round/Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHL | Portland | Skyler McKenzie | L | 72 | 47 | 40 | 87 | 54 | 20-Jan-98 | Round 7/2017 |
| 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||||||
| OHL | Kitchener | Logan Stanley | D | 61 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 93 | 26-May-98 | Round 1/2016 |
| 19 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 20 | ||||||
| SM-liiga | HPK/Karpat | Kristian Vesalainen | C | 49 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 6 | 1-Jun-99 | Round 1/2017 |
| Karpat | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | |||||
| NCAA | Minnesota State U – Mankato | C.J. Suess | F | 40 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 53 | 27-Mar-94 | Round 5/2014 |
| Manitoba Moose | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| ECHL | Jacksonville | Jimmy Lodge | D | 57 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 47 | 5-Mar-95 | Round 3/2013 |
| QMJHL | Cape Breton | Leon Gawanke | D | 62 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 39 | 31-May-99 | Round 5/2017 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||||
| USHL | Dubuque | Santeri Virtanen | C | 29 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 11-May-99 | Round 4/2017 |
| NCAA | Merrimack College | Jonathan Kovacevic | D | 34 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 12-Jul-97 | Round 3/2017 |
| KHL | Yaroslavl | Pavel Kraskovsky | F | 53 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 11-Sep-96 | Round 6/2014 |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| NCAA | Minnesota-Duluth | Dylan Samberg | D | 42 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 43 | 24-Jan-99 | Round 2/2017 |
| NCAA | UMass-Lowell | Croix Evingson | D | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 28-Aug-97 | Round 7/2017 |
| NCAA | Minnesota | Jack Glover | D | 34 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 17-May-96 | Round 3/2014 |
| NCAA | Wisconsin | Matt Ustaski | F | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 27-May-94 | Round 7/2014 |
| Allsvenskan | IK Oskarshamn | Jacob Cederholm | D | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 30-Jan-98 | Round 4/2016 |
| QMJHL | Sherbrooke | Luke Green | D | 14 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 12-Jan-98 | Round 3/2016 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| League | Team | Name | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L | OTL/SOL | SO |
| USHL | Sioux Falls | Mikhail Berdin | 45 | 2531 | 112 | 2.65 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 187 | 14 | 4.48 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| SuperElit | Karlskrona HK J20 | Arvid Holm | 39 | 2267 | 101 | 3.44 | 17 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 934 | 48 | 3.08 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 23 | 1333 | 82 | 3.69 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6 | 375 | 20 | 3.2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
