As I was flipping my calendar to the month of April, I thought it might be a good time to check in on the Winnipeg Jets’ American Hockey League affiliate and with a long weekend to get it done, I figured that it would be worth effort. With the last of the snow just starting to melt, the Manitoba Moose are nearing the end of the 2023-24 regular season and only have 9 games left on the schedule before the AHL post-season kicks off.
This year’s version of the Moose are a fairly youthful bunch, with 13 players under the age of 24 and this definitely had an impact on how the season has played out. Some of the newbies include 19 yr olds’ Brad Lambert, Chaz Lucius, and Danil Zhilkin, 20 yr old defenseman Dmitri Kuzmin, and 21 yr old forward Nikita Chibrikov. Besides having a lot of eager yet inexperienced skaters, Manitoba had to deal with the loss of some mainstays as they faced a year without the likes of Declan Chisholm, Leon Gawanke, Jansen Harkins, Alex Limoges, and Cole Maier.
With a lot of roster turnover and early long-term injuries to defensemen Ville Heinola & Jimmy Oligny, perhaps it isn’t surprising that Manitoba’s season has had its ups & downs. In the beginning, the Moose shot out of the gate with youthful enthusiasm, winning 4 of their first 6 contests, but eventually things started to get more difficult. Here is how the next 56 games played out:
As you can see, after some initial hiccups in the first 36 games (especially that 0-9-1 stretch), Manitoba’s team play has progressed over the AHL’s season and they have put up an impressive 16-8-1-1 record in the past 26 contests. This streak of quality hockey has allowed the Moose to take a strong hold of the Central Division’s final playoff spot (7 pt lead) and has even given them an outside shot at taking over the 4th place position (5 pts back of the Texas Stars).
In the AHL’s Central, the top five franchises qualify for the playoffs, with the top team getting to host the winners of a best of three play-in series between the 4th and 5th place squads. The other Division Semi-Final will be a best of five series between the 2nd and 3rd franchises. The Division Finals are also best of 5 games sets, but the remainder of the AHL post-season switches to the standard 7 game series in the final two rounds.
Here is a look at the current AHL Central Division standings (via theAHL.com):
The Manitoba Moose haven’t been elite offensively or defensively this season as their young team gains experience, currently sitting with the AHL’s 23rd most goals scored and the 24th most goals against. Things don’t get any easier when the Moose have a player in the box, as the penalty killers have struggled to the 3rd worst percentage (77.7%) in the minors. On a more positive note, Manitoba’s powerplay units have hit 19.4% of the time giving them the AHL’s 13th best conversion rate.
When you look at the remaining schedule, it becomes apparent that the Moose do have a good shot at gaining home-ice advantage in the play-in series by overtaking the Texas Stars.
The final 9 contests start with a fairly talented Abbotsford Canucks (.578 winning %) squad before moving onto some easier matches. The unaffiliated Chicago Wolves (.421%) and Iowa Wild (.422%) are trailing the Manitoba Moose (.484%) in the AHL’s Central Division, so give our squad a good chance of winning those 4 games. Up next will be a test against the Central’s top team, the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) and their .675 winning %, but Manitoba did hand them a 6-0 loss in their last meeting. A vital pair of games will conclude the regular season, giving the Moose a chance to overcome or keep ahead of the Texas Stars (.516%).
If Manitoba can manage to win a potential play-in series versus Texas, they would have to face the prospect of going against Milwaukee for the 3rd straight post-season. So far, that playoff matchup hasn’t gone well for the Moose, as the Admirals have knocked them out in the series’ final game in back-to-back seasons.
Now that we have caught up with how the Winnipeg Jets’ minor league team is doing as a whole, let’s dive a bit deeper into a look at some of the individual performances by Moose players in 2023-24.
Starting with the goaltending position, the Manitoba Moose have used three different tenders so far this season. Oskari Salminen was signed by the Jets after he put up an impressive 2.06 GAA & .920 save percentage in 55 games with Jukurit, but his first season in our system didn’t go as well (3.06 GAA/.896%). The Finn did play extremely well in the playoffs for the Moose (2.25GAA/.923%), so the hope was that he would grab the starter’s reigns in 2023-24. Things didn’t go to plan, as Oskari struggled with consistency as he put up a 3.91 GAA & .870 save % that eventually saw him demoted to the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL. The 6’4″ goalie has rebounded somewhat playing on a good Admirals team, with a 2.99 GAA & .899 save % but his most memorable moment in the ECHL is definitely joining the ranks of tenders who have scored a goal. Winnipeg’s management added veteran Collin Delia for depth in the off-season, but he really hasn’t been great for the Moose (3.47 GAA/.877%) in his 30 appearances.
Thomas Milic was drafted by the Jets in the 5th round, but since they didn’t offer him a contract, the 20 year old goalie had to settle by signing with the Manitoba Moose. Initially buried in the depth chart, Milic began the year with the Admirals in the ECHL and he did what he has done at every level he has played….put up good numbers & won games (11-3-2/2.45 GAA/.908%/2 SO). The Canadian’s strong play got the management’s attention and he was boosted up to the AHL to see what he could do. Well, it is no coincidence that Manitoba’s resurgence started about the same time, as Milic has gone 14-7-2 with a 2.59 GAA & .902 save percentage in a Moose jersey. At 6′ tall, the Jets’ prospect is considered under-sized by NHL standards, however we are starting to see more & more smaller tenders in recent years (Nashville’s Saros, Calgary’s Wolf, Buffalo’s Levi to name a few). We can only hope that Thomas keeps proving all his doubters wrong and eventually works his way up to the big club.
Moving onto the defenders, the Manitoba Moose have been led by 26 yr old Kyle Capobianco this season, as the offensively adept skater has put up an AHL career high of 46 pts in 61 games (.754%). Capo has also tied his AHL best of 10 goals in a season so will likely surpass that in the final 9 games, perhaps on the powerplay where he already has 5 of his goals. Up next is Ville Heinola, who has had to overcome a severe injury during a very good training camp with Winnipeg. The 23 yr old Finn ended up missing a large chunk of the year as a result and has been slow to return to his previous form. To date, Ville is on pace for his worst season production-wise, with 17 pts in 32 games for a .521 point percentage after his first 3 years ranged steadily up from .578% to .771%. To my non-expert eyes, Heinola’s skating has improved greatly over the season and I find him jumping into offensive rushes more & more recently, so I think he is getting back to his full capabilities. Another positive thing is that Ville has set a career-high in goals with 6, riding a much improved shooting percentage (8.6%, up from 3.4% & 4.4% the past two seasons).
Gone are the days of having the defensemen drive Manitoba’s offense, with the remainder of the defenders focusing more on their own end. Number three on the list is the first right-hander mentioned and the former 2nd round pick is the model of consistency. Simon Lundmark is in his 3rd season with the Moose, putting up point totals of 14 (.246 pt %), 17 (.265 pt %), & 14 (.242 pt %). The 23 yr old reminds me a lot of Dylan DeMelo and is routinely paired with Heinola, so Lundmark faces the best of what the AHL can offer and typically the 6’2″ defender can hold his own. Sitting in 4th in defenseman scoring, homegrown Dawson Barteaux (Foxwarren) didn’t even start the season with the organization. The RHD began playing in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads, but his near-point per game production in the opening 15 games resulted in Manitoba offering him a contract & promotion. The 24 yr old 6’1″ defender is a very good skater and that has helped him amass 12 pts in 36 games, including an AHL career best 5 goals. Veteran Ashton Sautner holds the next spot with 11 pts in 59 games, which is pretty typical production for the 29 yr old. However, the Flin Flon native has lit the lamp more often than usual in 2023-24, with a career-best 5 goals coming off a 7.1% shooting percentage.
A 6th round selection in 2020, the 6’2″ Tyrel Bauer provides the Manitoba Moose with a needed level of physicality. Whether it is through thunderous bodychecks or rapid-fire punches, the right hand defender often brings the fans to their feet. While I am not a huge fan of fighting in hockey, as long as it is a part of my favourite game I would rather my team win the scraps & gain any potential momentum. Bauer certainly helps Manitoba do that and it is nice to see him picking his spots better in his sophomore campaign. Ty picked up 103 PIM’s in 47 games during his rookie season, but this year that has dropped to 77 PIM’s over 52 contests. While he has time to get the needed 2 points to match his career-best of 7, offense will never really be a big part of Bauer’s game. Artemi Kniazev was acquired for Leon Gawanke in the off-season, but the transaction never really panned out for either franchise or player. The Russian defender struggled in his own end (-12 over 20 games) and wasn’t consistently involved in the attack, so the Jets decided it might be best if he returned to his native land to finish his season. Things didn’t go much better for Gawanke, although he did put up decent numbers in the AHL (27 pts in 38 games), the German couldn’t crack the San Jose Sharks lineup and eventually he also returned to his homeland.
Our final defender really hasn’t had much of a chance to play with the Moose this season, as he has only suited up for 15 games (3 pts) in a Manitoba uniform. Dmitri Kuzmin has been buried on the left-side depth chart and that has resulted in him getting into ECHL games as well (9 pts in 23 games with Norfolk). From what I have seen, the Russian’s talents are apparent when he has the puck on his stick but his 5’9″ frame is always going to make protecting the front of his net difficult.
Well, since this article is getting lengthy, I decided to add a Part One to the title and will conclude with a look at the Manitoba’s Moose forwards in a separate post. With a game to watch tonight and a recap to do after that, I expect Part Two to be posted sometime between noon & 4 pm tomorrow (earlier might happen, but will have to see how long of a break I take after getting this article up on the site).
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