How Elias Salomonsson went from top prospect to unexpected top four Jets defenceman

When Elias Salomonsson was a boy in Skellefteå, Sweden, his school gave him the opportunity to follow his dad to work for a whole week.

Salomonsson’s father is a carpenter, so this meant putting in sweat equity. His job on his dad’s renovation project that week included carpet removal, flooring, and the installation of new carpet. It wasn’t easy for Salomonsson as a youngster but when asked whether he remembers working with his dad as grueling stuff, Salomonsson is unfazed.

“In Skellefteå, we’re pretty quiet, hardworking people,” Salomonsson told The Athletic. “I think that’s what sticks out (about us).”

So those are Salomonsson’s roots. His dad works with his hands. His mom used to work with the elderly and is now a cleaner. His industrious hometown is known for mining, especially for gold, and for a company called Northvolt, which specialized in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles prior to its bankruptcy in 2025. Skellefteå is a nine-hour drive north of Stockholm along the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia coast, which puts it as far north as Nunavut. If you’re not willing to work, you don’t get very far.

Remember that the Winnipeg Jets’ plan was not for their 21-year-old right-handed defenceman to play in the NHL this season. Head coach Scott Arniel confirmed that the Jets saw Salomonsson as a solution for next year, not a top-four, shutdown option who routinely plays against other teams’ top lines and beats them. For a player to make his NHL debut in November, go back to the AHL, and then excel when thrust into a major role during Winnipeg’s must-win stretch run, the Jets have been caught by surprise.

“He’s had to go trial by fire just because of all the injuries,” Arniel said. “We knew there was a player coming. We knew he was there (but) this happened a lot faster (than expected).”

Winnipeg’s top prospect has become a top-four defenceman faster than his head coach anticipated. Dig into Salomonsson’s Skellefteån roots and you find a player who has elevated his game every time he’s been asked.

Salomonsson, a smooth-skating, right-shot defenceman, was seen by some as a first-round talent who fell to the Jets in the second round in 2022.

His 16-year-old performance with Skellefteå’s U20 team had put him in the spotlight, but Salomonsson’s 17-year-old season didn’t launch him into stardom. Some scouts wavered. Others dug deeper, looked at his Aug. 31 birthdate, and gave him credit for his performance as one of the youngest players in his draft class.

Salomonsson attended day one of the draft with his mom and dad, hoping to hear his name called in the first round. Winnipeg selected Rutger McGroarty and No. 14 and Brad Lambert at No. 30, but Salomonsson could only applaud as friends and rivals got to hear their name. When Winnipeg got set to make the No. 55 pick on day two, more than 20 picks had already been made in Round 2, but Salomonsson wasn’t discouraged. He remembered the good meeting he’d had with the Jets at the combine.

First moments as a Jet for @eliassalomonss5 🛫 pic.twitter.com/IlWwwZf6n3

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 8, 2022

Then he heard his name, put on a Jets jersey for the first time, and went to work. He wanted to carve out a full-time job on Skellefteå’s men’s team, so Salomonsson made his 2022 offseason the best of his life.

Pierre Johnsson, an assistant coach with Skellefteå got to reap the rewards of Salomonsson’s offseason work.

“I had Rasmus Dahlin in Frölunda and I had Lucas Raymond, and I mean, I’ve seen a lot of guys take a step from being good to really good but not from average to really good. I mean, Salomonsson was in my eyes; he was good, he was an average player, I would say. But he went from average to like f—ing dominant in the autumn here,” Johnsson told The Athletic in 2022.

An NHL hockey team has difficult decisions to make about its young players. When are they ready to help? Which mistakes are acceptable in the name of growth and which ones indicate that a player isn’t ready to play in the world’s best league? Are the same standards meant to be applied to veteran players who have earned their place — and who are, as any coach will tell you, more likely to be consistent from shift to shift through the rigors of an NHL season?

Arniel has called Salomonsson’s ascent from the minors to big minutes for the Jets down the stretch “a trial by fire.” It’s working — the results are stunning when compared to some of the veterans who started the season with Winnipeg — but how?

“He doesn’t let too much bother him either way,” Arniel said. “If he makes a mistake, he’s right back out and does better the next time. On the other side, if he does a great play, on his next shift, he’s right back doing it again. His consistency is there, for a young player.”

There is an old saying about skill development that says it’s one thing to practice a new skill until you can do it right. It’s another feat altogether to practice it until you can’t get it wrong. It may be that the level of play required to help Winnipeg win, and the level of consistency NHL coaches look for from young players, are not the same. This would reconcile the thought that Winnipeg played Luke Schenn as its third right-handed defenceman until the trade deadline, despite getting outscored 29-16 during his five-on-five playing time.

Salomonsson’s NHL debut against the Capitals in November was no more sparkling, nor was his follow-up against the Hurricanes later that week. Both were road games, allowing opposing coaches to match lines against the rookie defender, and he was on the ice for five goals against through his first two games. He knew he could do better and didn’t let himself get down in his quest to prove himself.

“I didn’t like my game at the start of the year,” he said. “With the Moose, I think I had a slow start. But I think as the season went on and I played my first NHL games, I think I got some confidence. I felt like I could play (in the NHL). Then during my second recall, that’s when it really took off.”

If everybody stayed healthy — and if the Jets were a playoff-bound team — it’s reasonable to expect Arniel to have continued to play his veterans. But Salomonsson skates faster, defends quicker, makes more accurate passes, and contributes to Winnipeg’s attack more than many of his veteran rivals for playing time.

When Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk were injured and the Jets traded Schenn and Logan Stanley, Salomonsson seized the opportunity.

In a recent 16 Stats, colleague Dom Luszczyszyn listed Salomonsson’s sterling possession numbers and, noting that he and Dylan Samberg team up to face tough competition, and shared the scoreline with Salomonsson on the ice. Since the Olympic break, Winnipeg is beating its opponents 9-5 with Salomonsson on the ice at five-on-five, while dominating the flow of play.

On that front, the rookie defenceman shares the praise.

“I felt more calm and poised out there than in my first couple of games. And I play with Sammy. He makes it easier out there, too. He’s probably the best player I’ve played with,” Salomonsson said.

The duo gives the Jets a shot at a formidable shutdown pair — not just for the future, but the here and now. Even acknowledging mistakes that could be the rushed result of inexperience, such as Salomonsson’s delay of game penalty against Colorado on Thursday, the results are overwhelmingly positive. Winnipeg may be surprised by the speed at which he has arrived as a top-four defenceman, but it’s clear that Arniel recognizes Salomonsson’s quality now.

“He has such a great set of tools,” Arniel said. “I think he has a great head on his shoulders. I think his feet are excellent. He can make plays, he’s a first-pass defenceman … We were looking at him next year to kind of be running like this. The opportunity came and he’s the one that grabbed it and is showing us what he can do.”

There is one other note from Salomonsson’s childhood in Skellefteå that seems important to share. His childhood home was located a short distance from school and a short distance from the hockey rink.

“I’m super close. I lived in between them,” Salomonsson said. “Probably 500 metres this way is the school and then, come home, 500 metres this way is the rink. I had it pretty good.”

Asked how he made the grueling commute, Salomonsson smiled.

“It depends. Summer or winter? Usually, I walked. I biked sometimes. But I also had a little snow-glider. Like a scooter with blades on it that you kick with your feet.”

He is altogether quite used to charting his own path to get to the places he needs to go. His rapid ascent up Winnipeg’s depth chart may be a trial by fire, but he’s handling it with skills he learned through Skellefteån ice and snow.