Well, the 2025 NHL Entry Draft is in the books and while our Winnipeg Jets had a relatively quiet weekend when compared to many other franchises, they were able to add 5 more players to the prospect pool. Since there is a lot to discuss, lets not beat around the bush and instead dive right in with a list of the new National Hockey Leaguers that joined the True North club:
SELECTIONS: (Overall pick, Player Name, Position, Current Team)
28th: Sascha Boumedienne, D, Boston University (NCAA)
Age: 18 Hand: Left Height: 6’1″ Weight: 175 lbs Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Bleacher Report gave Winnipeg’s first selection a A- grade, noting that you can’t really judge Sascha based on his stats alone, since at one point last season he was the youngest player in the NCAA, which is not an easy league to play in at the best of times. Despite the difficulties Boumedienne had to overcome this past season, they believe it was the right decision in the long run. With veteran defenders on his team likely to move to the NHL, the young Swede will get increased opportunities next year. Having a relentless motor and being a great puck distributor, this scout felt that he will become a skilled 2-way defender in the NHL some day. They did note that it will take some time though, but since the Jets will most probably have Josh Morrissey & Dylan Samberg locking up the LD top four, the Stockholm native will have the time to develop properly.
Strengths: Passing, defensive awareness
Weaknesses: Edgework and other mobility aspects of his skating
The Athletic mentioned that it is Boumedienne’s skating that gets you excited about his NHL potential, allowing the defender to close gaps & retrieve pucks effectively. Ranking him as NHL average in the Skating, Puck Skills, Hockey Sense, & Compete categories, Murat Ates felt that Sascha could become a middle pairing defenseman comparable to the Montreal Canadiens’ Mike Matheson. The need to work on his edge work and decision making could help the Swede surpass his potential ceiling and become one of those good at everything, but great at nothing defenders who can eat up minutes for his club.
92nd: Owen Martin, C, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Age: 18 Hand: Right Height: 6′ Weight: 185 lbs Hometown: Oakbank, Man.
The Athletic‘s Scott Wheeler said Martin “is a center with good outside speed and a very quick first few steps who took defenders wide consistently this season despite having a bit of a splay at his ankles. He plays with pace and hustle. He’s strong in the faceoff circle and contributed on both special teams, including a prominent role on Spokane’s penalty kill. He works hard, plays in the guts of the ice, is always scanning and reading/anticipating, stays around chances and the puck because of it, can play in give-and-gos and has enough secondary skill and good game smarts“.
156th: Viktor Klingsell, LW, Skelleftea AIK J20 (SHL)
Age: 18 Hand: Left Height: 5’10” Weight: 188 lbs Hometown: Jarfalla, Sweden
The Athletic rated Klingsell’s skating, puck skills, hockey sense, compete, & shot as NHL average, so all he has to overcome is being slightly under-sized. The young winger excelled against his own age group last season, but the offensive impact wasn’t as good when he started to play in Sweden’s J20 league. Murat Ates was quoted as writing “He’s a talented winger with the speed and skill to create a lot of offense at higher levels. He’s a creative playmaker who hits seams, generates chances on the move and is a mid-range shot threat. He can run a power play very well. The issue with Klingsell is his size, a general lack of physical play and a question about whether he’s truly dynamic enough at his size to be a middle-six forward in the NHL“.
188th: Edison Engle, D, Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
Age: 18 Hand: Left Height: 6’2″ Weight: 175 lbs Hometown: Arlington Heights, Ill.
The Athletic agreed with the Jets’ scouting department in saying that Engle skates like an NHL player, but added that he has plenty to work on. Not a great puck handler with the need to improve his physical play, Edison has a lot to improve on if he hopes to become a good depth defenseman at the pro level.
220th: Jacob Cloutier, RW, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
Age: 18 Hand: Right Height: 5’10” Weight: 171 lbs Hometown: Ottawa, Ont.
Elite Prospects says “Cloutier plays a fast, intense style, combining energy, physicality, and diverse rush patterns to consistently attack the offensive zone. He also thrives on the cycle, protecting pucks along the wall after winning them from defenders off the forecheck, cutting back and escaping pressure, and taking pucks off the wall to the middle of the ice“.
*****
Having picks in only 5 of the 7 rounds, Winnipeg was hampered by the losses of their 2nd round & 4th round selections in previous trades, yet the media has been fairly kind to our hockey team in their assessments. I have picked out five sites to outline how the Jets have been graded on the front office’s weekend performance, ranging between the “pretty darn good” to “meh” ranges. Going from good to bad, here is a summary of what they had to say……
TEAM GRADES:
Clutch Points:
Pick Grade: A-
ESPN:
Pick Grade: A-
Overall, these sites felt that adding Sascha Boumedienne in the 1st round to a prospect pool that was thin on the defensive side of things was a job well done. They felt that he is a young, mobile defenseman that saw significant improvements in his own end while playing against the strong mature competition of the NCAA. Projected to end up as a quality middle-pairing defender at the NHL level and should be able to use his booming shot at the second powerplay unit. The Jets’ Director of Scouting, Mark Hillier, referred to the Swede as being “a new age defenseman“, who will try to use his offensive talents to help out his club. Despite having the height, Boumedienne will need to bulk up and improve his physical play because that is not a strong asset at this point of his development.
These two analysists felt that Viktor Klingsell could be a later round gem (5th) since he is highly skilled winger, the type you rarely find in the latter parts of drafts. Winnipeg’ Director of Player Development Jimmy Roy describes the Swede as a “dog on the bone” forward who plays much bigger than his 5’10” frame. Landing as high as 72nd on some scouts’ player rankings, Klingsell could be a real steal if he happens to have a late growth spurt, but even without that sounds like a player who could fit well in the middle-six at the NHL level.
The other two forward selections, Owen Martin and Jacob Cloutier, were noted to have pro-style games & work ethics and could develop into depth pieces for Winnipeg in the future. Martin became just the third Manitoban selected by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff in his 15 drafts since the Jets returned to the province. Here’s hoping the Oak Bank native pans out because it would be a great story.
Daily Face Off:
Pick Grade: B-
The Score:
Pick Grade: B-
These two sites felt Winnipeg did well at the draft, but closer to the middle of the pack than the previous two. They appreciated Sascha Boumedienne’s high ceiling, good skating, and offensive upside, while noting that many scouts gave the Jets a higher grade for the selection (A-) than the teams that picked before & after them.
Owen Martin was in a secondary role with a Spokane club that made a long playoff run in the WHL last year and the inevitable aging out process should open up space for the Manitoban to play a bigger role for the Chiefs. The kid has been described as being “rich in character” with a strong work ethic, so he fits the mold of a quality teammate. They also felt that Viktor Klingsell plays the game intelligently and has the potential to become a top-nine scorer in the NHL.
The Athletic:
Pick Grade: C+
Murat Ates didn’t seem to have anything negative to say about Winnipeg’s selections, despite the mediocre grade he gave the Jets. Possibly it was more the lack of the 2nd & 4th round picks that caused them to be deemed so average, as The Athletic said many positive things about the players selected. But since these mainly follow the drift of information already provided, I thought I would point out a couple of interesting tidbits that were unknown to me. First, apparently Cheveldayoff was looking to trade down from the 28th overall selection, hoping to gain more draft capital while still getting a quality prospect when they made their first pick. Yet, when Boumedienne fell into their laps they felt it was an opportunity they couldn’t turn down. Then Ates talked about why the Jets were happy when they got the chance to add defenseman Edison Engel to their ranks, noting Winnipeg’s analytical team believe his skating will eventually lead to more of an offensive impact for the 6’2″ defender in upcoming seasons. As Arctic Ice Hockey member Forget Teemu pointed out in a comment, the Jets scouting department definitely prioritize speed when it comes to potential prospects to draft.
BOJA’s TAKE:
Really, what I type here can hardly matter, since I have never seen any of these kids play…..but the need for a way to wrap up this article sort of demands that I come to some conclusion. AIH member Karlitos and I saw the Winnipeg Jets’ first selection differently in our discussion in the Comment section, but that was more about whether Chevy should have selected a right handed defenseman instead of a left handed one. Size also probably played a role too, as an option like Blake Fiddler was available and he is a large young man (6’5″). Admittedly, I was high on the big American coming into the draft as he seemed like a potential top 4 shutdown RD….but maybe the Jets’ pre-draft scouting & interviews led them to having a lower ranking on their internal lists? The fact that he was born in Nashville and Winnipeg’s recent troubles with high draft picks from the United States (i.e. McGroarty) wanting to commit to Manitoba might have caused concerns too. Who knows?
Overall though, I am happy with the limited pieces the Winnipeg Jets did add this weekend, with traits like good work ethics & strong skating being displayed by all of them. Most of the media seem to agree with this assessment…a good draft with what they had to work with.
Did I cringe as solid prospects went off the draft in the 2nd round as the True North franchise sat without a selection? Yes….but the lack of draft picks is the price of trying (yet failing) to improve your playoff chances in back to back seasons. Did I long to see Winnipeg add a bruising forward or defenseman to their prospect pool? Absolutely…but you don’t want to force these things either, as we all dread the fact that the Jets traded up to select big Logan Stanley.
Those feeling aside, I feel pretty upbeat because I now have 5 more players to add to my Monitoring List. Looking forward to seeing how they all develop in the upcoming seasons. If you aren’t ready to stop reading about the new prospects yet, then check out this article from The Hockey Writers for more info:
Free Agency is just around the corner, kicking off on Tuesday, July 1st. Not sure what my plans are in terms of AIH articles at this point, but I will be checking out the action regularly and try to keep you all updated via the Comment section or if the news is big enough…an article of its own. Nikolas Ehlers is just a few days away from unrestricted free agency and internally I have the odds of his returning to Winnipeg under 10%. Whether that is just to protect myself in case the worst comes to bear or an accurate reflection of things, I have no clue. I do fear the Carolina Hurricanes though, as they have around the same amount of cap space that the Jets do, yet could already almost field a full NHL roster and be competitive. Warmer weather & the ability to match or beat Chevy’s salary ceiling might be too much to overcome. The other big issues are the key RFA’s unsigned, with both Gabriel Vilardi & Dylan Samberg needing big contracts (hopefully long-term). While there have been some rumblings about the Jets being susceptible to an offer sheet or two on that duo, our club has plenty of cap space ($23.5M) until they re-sign Ehlers or another big free agent like Brock Boeser. Until that time, I think Cheveldayoff would have no issues matching any offer sheet made. My biggest concern in this area would be an opposing GM offering Samberg a 1 year contract or Vilardi a 2 year contract, essentially walking them to UFA status at the earliest moment and putting Winnipeg’s ability to retain them long-term in jeopardy.
Here is how PuckPedia has the Jets’ salary cap situation for the upcoming seasons:
As always, let me hear your Winnipeg Jets related thoughts in the section below. Enjoy the sunshine everyone!!
