Flight Training: January 2019

With the World Juniors behind us , we take a look at how the Winnipeg Jets’ prospects are doing.

To be eligible for this list, a player cannot be up with the big club, or be over the age of 25 (sorry Tucker Poolman).

Top 10 Prospects

1. Kristian Vesalainen (19) – Jokerit (KHL) –
KHL Regular Season – 18 GP – 5G – 7A – 12PTS – 0PIM
AHL Regular Season – 8 GP – 3G – 5A – 8PTS – 2PIM
NHL Regular Season – 5 GP – 1G – 0A – 1PTS – 0PIM

It’s been a decent transition to the KHL so far for Kristian Vesalainen, and his status as top prospect on this list is pretty solid with Mason Appleton getting an extended look with the Jets.

Vesalainen opted to skip the World Juniors, though it didn’t seem to hurt his Finnish teammates at all. The teenager is fourth on Jokerit in points per game (.667) with 12 in 18 outings.

Kristian Vesalainen scored his 5th goal of the season in today’s KHL game between Jokerit and Dynamo Moscow. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/OLyUrKtFJI

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) January 8, 2019

2. Michael Spacek (21) – Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Regular Season: 21GP – 1G – 12A – 13PTS – 6PIM

Michael Spacek is good at passing the puck, I will give him that much. His 20 helpers in 35 games leads all Moose players this year, but I just have doubts that he ever becomes an NHL player. He’ll be 22 by the end of the season, and has never shown the dominance in the AHL that others in his draft year (Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Mason Appleton, Sami Niku) have.

3. Mikhail Berdin (20) – Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL) –
AHL Regular Season – 6GP – 3-2-0 – 2.76GAA – .921 SV% – 0 SO
ECHL Regular Season – 19GP – 13-5-0 – 2.55GAA – .912 SV% – 1 SO

He’s been up and down a few times this year, and Mikhail Berdin has been doing well in his first pro season. His numbers have dropped a bit both with the Moose and Jacksonville Icemen, but both stat lines remain strong halfway through the year.

4. Eric Comrie (23) – Manitoba Moose (AHL) –
AHL Regular Season – 25GP – 12-11-1 – 2.77GAA – .919 SV% – 2 SO

He’s the Manitoba Moose starter, and has gotten the bulk of the action, with sporadic rests provided by Ken Appleby and Berdin. Comrie actually might look the best I’ve ever seen him right now, and the team in front of him has been atrocious for most of the season.

5. Marko Dano (24) – Manitoba Moose (AHL) –
AHL Regular Season: 16GP – 4G – 5A – 9PTS – 7PIM
NHL Regular Season: 8GP – 0G – 0A – 0PTS – 7PIM

He’s getting regular ice time for the first time in years, and he doesn’t look out of place with four goals in his last seven games. The real question is, will he ever get another NHL shot? He’s 24-years-old, and their are other younger guys who teams will be wanting to look at.

6. David Gustafsson (18) – HV71 Jonkoping (SweHL)
Regular Season: 16GP – 0G – 4A – 4PTS – 8PIM

Gustafsson had three points in five games before Sweden’s shocking quarterfinal exit at the World Juniors.

Gustafsson has not shown much growth offensively since last season when he had 12 points in 45 games. He was never one to dominate offensively, and his defensive game is what has been praised in the past. How well he is succeeding at that is hard to tell from looking at box scores. But he’s 18, and in his second pro season, so there’s plenty of time.

7. Dylan Samberg (19) – Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)-
Regular Season: 13GP – 2G – 2A – 4PTS – 21PIM

Samberg had two assists in seven games for the Americans at the World Juniors, and picked up a silver medal to go along with the bronze he earned in last year’s tournament. The NCAA season has not gone much better for Samberg, as his five points is tied for fourth among Minnesota-Duluth defenders.

8. Santeri Virtanen (19) – SaiPa Lappeenranta (SM-liiga)-
Regular Season: 30GP – 5G – 3A – 8PTS – 6PIM

Gold. Medal. Winner. Virtanen had one goal and two assists in seven games.

9. C.J. Suess (24) – Manitoba Moose (AHL) –
Regular Season: 26 GP – 8G – 4A – 12PTS – 6PIM

Suess hasn’t played since December 14, and his season is in doubt with an upper-body injury with a return time described as “month-to-month”. He scored two goals in his last three games which ended a 13 game goal scoring drought.

10. Leon Gawanke (19) – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) –
Regular Season: 37 GP – 11G – 23A – 34PTS – 20PIM

Gawanke had three assists in five games for Germany, as he helped his nation get promoted to the Top Division of next year’s World Juniors. Gawanke leads all defenders on his Cape Breton team in scoring by a wide margin, and is fifth in the league in scoring by defenders.