Draft day two and another update on Jets prospect cupboards

Looking at what the organization looks lie after day two of the draft

The Winnipeg Jets continued adding to their prospect pool, drafting Owen Martin, Viktor Klingsell, Edison Engle, and Jacob Cloutier.

After adding them to Sascha Boumedienne and the rest of the gang, let’s take a quick look at where the Jets stand.

Note: Sorry, this article was completed yesterday, but I ran out of time to edit, so it is a day old.

---

The series thus far

1. Winnipeg Jets 2024-25 Season and Playoffs Review
   In our first post, I reviewed the Jets’ performance as a team in both the regular season and playoffs. I looked at team-level results and the general performance of the roster and its components.

2. The case for and against Winnipeg Jets extending Nikolaj Ehlers
   In our second post, I took a deep dive into Nikolaj Ehlers—Kevin Cheveldayoff’s biggest offseason question.

3. Should the Winnipeg Jets actually sign Jonathan Toews
   I then pivoted in our third post, covering some trending news: the idea of signing Jonathan Toews for the 2025–26 season, and what that might realistically look like.

4. Which Winnipeg Jets’ free agents are worth keeping
   I took a look at the value the Jets received from their free agents, how they project to perform, and made some suggestions on whether or not they’re worth keeping based on their impact.

5. If I were Kevin Cheveldayoff… (Part 1: Needs)
   I took stock of the team’s current strengths and weaknesses and began building a plan for maximizing Winnipeg’s contention window.

6. Who is Sascha Boumedienne and update on Jets prospect cupboards
   A deep dive on Sascha Boumedienne with an analytical look at the Manitoba Moose and the Winnipeg Jets’ prospect cupboards.

---

Prospect Profiles

3rd Round: Owen Martin

6’, right shot, centre

Typically, when the selling point for a major junior draft pick is defensive play and hard work, we’re dealing with an overrated skater that was drafted too early.

That said, the Spokane Chiefs were very deep at centre, with Berkly Catton and Rasmus Ekstrom playing ahead of Martin. Martin putting up the points he did while being the third centre at even strength, and seeing much more penalty kill than power play deployment, is not too shabby.

Ekstrom aged out this year—as did Shea Van Olm and Brayden Crampton—so Martin’s usage likely expands this year.

One comp could be Adam Lowry. Lowry’s draft-year scoring was down a bit with mononucleosis, but he wasn’t a huge scorer for his draft position. It wasn’t until the next two seasons, when Lowry was shifted into centre, that he started developing into the Lowry we know today.

That said, there are two other Winnipeg centre comps when it comes to playing more of a depth role on their team:

Lukas Sutter played mostly as the 2C for the Saskatoon Blades, a team that was building to contend while hosting the WHL—but spiraled downward, as did Sutter.

Ryan Olsen had more of the work ethic of Martin, but not the pedigree of a Sutter. Ironically, Olsen played behind Sutter in his draft year but was traded to Kelowna as Saskatoon tried to build its team—yet it was Kelowna that grew into the stronger performer.

Olsen developed into a depth centre in the AHL, which is about where The Athletic’s Corey Pronman projects Martin:

Whether Martin turns into a Lowry, or a Sutter, or somewhere in between as an Olsen, the Jets brought in another potential depth centre to help pad a weaker area in their organizational depth.

5th Round: Viktor Klingsell

5’10, left shot, right wing

I mentioned in my post–first-day synopsis that the Jets have enough holes and weaknesses that they should really be looking for high-value, high-upside picks in every position.

I think they did a good job at that, and Klingsell is a great example of just that.

Klingsell was a riser in draft rankings after a strong performance in the U18s (e.g., top scorer in Hlinka)—like his teammate Sascha Boumedienne. The right winger (left shot) has playmaking and skill well beyond that of a typical 5th rounder. There were many who projected Klingsell as a second- or third-round selection.

Size and strength are the reported issues with Klingsell, which can be overcome with speed and dynamic skill—but some are uncertain that he has enough to make up for his disadvantages.

He uses high-end vision, IQ, and passing skills as his primary tools, although he’ll need to learn to get inside and not stick to the perimeter to transition to the North American pro game.

While his play style is not remotely similar, just to display the potential value the Jets got with Klingsell, here is his numbers compared to former 1st round Jet selection Kristian Vesalainen:

6th Round: Edison Engle

6’2, left-shot, defender

The Jets then dipped into the USHL, drafting the puck-moving defender Edison Engle.

Engle is part of a new wave of individuals planning to play in Canadian Major Junior (OHL for Engle) prior to playing in the NCAA (as Engle is committed to Ohio State for 2026–27).

Let me tell you, as someone who has been tracking prospects and the draft for over 15 years now, it was very weird seeing both an OHL and NCAA team congratulate the same individual for getting drafted.

Anyway, Engle is another highly mobile skating defender, something that seems to be a focus for Winnipeg when drafting their potential future blue line.

Comparing him to recent Jets-drafted defenders, Engle has a more offensive slant than Salomonsson and a more defensive game than Freij or Boumedienne. Although, on the other hand, I’d suggest he’s less capable defensively than Salomonsson and less offensively capable than Freij or Boumedienne.

One Jet comp could be found with Garrett Brown:

I think Brown had a lot more to his game and potential than many would think given his recent performance. COVID year and injuries have potentially limited Brown from tapping into the upside Winnipeg once hoped for.

Engle has size and mobility, solid puck-moving abilities, and above-average offensive instincts. I’m not sure he’s good enough in those aspects to become an NHLer, but the potential is there.

7th Round: Jacob Cloutier

5’10, right-shot, right wing

For their final selection, Winnipeg took another shot at a very cerebral, high-skilled, undersized winger with high work ethic.

Cloutier was one of the highest-scoring rookies in the OHL, finishing fourth in the league and scoring three points in three games in the postseason.

Kosmachuk was a goal scorer, while Cloutier is a playmaker, but I thought the comparisons were there for offensively gifted, undersized forwards who like to play a two-way, forechecking game… and sometimes be a bit of a pest.

Cloutier is a long shot, but what seventh-round draft pick isn’t?

Winnipeg’s Prospect Cupboards Updated

For a write up on the Manitoba Moose, check out our post yesterday (er… two days ago).

NHLEs look at how players who score similarly in a particular league performed in the NHL the following year. It is an imperfect but still decent method for comparing the scoring of skaters across different leagues, with the exception of the AHL, since call-ups move up and down to the NHL all the time.

Note that NHLEs don’t tell you which prospect is better, as they don’t account for age or other factors. Example: Boumedienne scored similarly to Garrett Brown last season, but at a very different age and in a different situation.

Overall, it’s a fairly solid draft, although I’d suggest unspectacular.

Martin is a solid addition at centre, scoring at a comparable pace to Connor Levis and Jacob Julien despite being two years younger.

Cloutier and Klingsell aren’t blue-chip prospects but scored well enough and have some intriguing upside if they can push their skill to the next level. They also add to a position the organization was lacking a bit in.

Edison Engle is another solid defender with an intriguing skill set, while having lots of time with both the OHL and the NCAA to develop in.

These four skaters complement Boumedienne well in a draft of skaters that may not be dominating the scoresheet but have the skills to jump up significantly in the following years.

We saw something similar with He and Walton, two skaters who did not score a ton in their draft year but scouts knew had the tools to put it together… which they did:

I’ll post a quick preview of free agency tomorrow in the morning. :)