The Winnipeg Jets have recalled top defensive prospect Elias Salomonsson from the Manitoba Moose.
With goaltender Connor Hellebuyck having officially been placed on the team’s injured reserve following arthroscopic knee surgery on Saturday, a roster spot has opened up. The Jets wasted little time filling that void.
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Photo by Jame Carey Lauder/USA TodayÂ
With second pair defenceman Neal Pionk suffering a lower-body injury during Sunday’s loss to the Wild, the time was right to call up the burgeoning blueliner.
Salomonsson, 21, was the Jets’ second round pick in 2022 and has yet to play a game for Winnipeg. He spent last season in the AHL, where he produced five goals and 27 points in 53 games.
So far in 2025-26, he has six assists in 17 games for Manitoba.
His recall could help Winnipeg with its slow-moving back-end that now sees Logan Stanley, Colin Miller and Luke Schenn as every day players, alongside the speedsters Josh Morrissey, Pionk and Haydn Fleury – who continues to deal with a concussion. Dylan DeMelo and Dylan Samberg are the team’s two top shut down defenders, who pair well with strong skating puck movers.
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Should Pionk’s injury be enough to keep him out of game action, Solomonsson could given a shot, an immediate shot, in a fill-in role in the empty Pionk void.
Or, Winnipeg could go back to its typical playbook and roll out a bottom-six that includes Stanley, Schenn and Miller, while Salomonsson looks on from the press box.
Ville Heinola continues to wait in the wings.