No, there won’t be Whiteouts and downtown street parties around here this spring. But there will be high-stakes playoff hockey inside Canada Life Centre.
Can the Manitoba Moose help heal some fresh wounds left by the Winnipeg Jets? We’re about to find out.
The Moose, by virtue of finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 35-29-8 record, will have to take a slightly longer road to the Calder Cup. It starts this week with a best-of-three play-in series against the fifth-place Milwaukee Admirals, who went 32-33-7.
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Forward Brad Lambert returns to the Manitoba Moose lineup in time for the Calder Cup playoffs, after an impressive showing during his recent call-up to the Winnipeg Jets.
All three games — Wednesday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., if necessary — will be held in Winnipeg. Good luck to the winner, who will then take on the powerhouse Grand Rapids Griffins, who ran away with both the Central Division and Western Conference with a stellar 51-16-5 record.
Manitoba had a chance to avoid this by securing third place, which would have meant skipping the play-in round and going straight to the division semifinals, a best-of-five against second-place Chicago. Instead, the Moose finished two points back of Texas.
Both the Moose and Admirals have been bolstered in recent days with young players returned by their parent clubs, the Jets and Nashville Predators, who both failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In that sense, this is a great opportunity to get a glimpse of future Jets pieces in meaningful games.
Forwards Brad Lambert and Brayden Yager, who both impressed during recent call-ups, have been reassigned and will be counted on in key roles. They’ll look to carry their momentum and show they’re ready to compete for full-time NHL jobs as early as this fall.
“It’s been a great learning experience for me. I think I got more and more comfortable as it went on,” said Lambert, the 30th-overall pick from 2022 who had three goals and three assists in 25 games with the Jets. The majority came after the Olympic break, with the Jets pushing for a playoff spot.
“It was huge to be able to play those games that were super important. Obviously the pace just goes up. It was a great experience, kind of my first taste of that, which was awesome,” he said.
Lambert, 22, had six goals and seven assists in 34 games with the Moose earlier this year.
“A great team down there. I will try to go as far as I can,” he said.
“It’s been a great learning experience for me.”
The Jets still have defenceman Elias Salomonsson (concussion protocol) and forward Nikita Chibrikov (undisclosed) on the roster, with the expectation they’ll be sent down once medically cleared.
“I’m so excited to play in the playoffs. It’s a huge opportunity,” said Chibrikov, who didn’t have any points this year in 11 games with the Jets after recording 16 (6G, 10A) with the Moose.
That’s the extent of players eligible for the AHL playoffs. The Jets did not make forward Isak Rosen or defenceman Ville Heinola available. Heinola, a pending unrestricted free agent, is joining Finland’s camp for the upcoming World Championship in Switzerland next month.
Manitoba has also welcomed several new faces who could make an impact, including a pair of top Jets defensive prospects.
Garrett Brown, a fourth-round pick in 2022, is fresh off a national championship with Denver and could make his pro debut in the playoffs. Alfons Freij, a second-rounder in 2024, has played five games since arriving from Sweden and picked up his first point, an assist, this past week.
Forward Kieron Walton, a sixth-round pick in 2024, has joined the club after finishing his junior career with the Peterborough Petes. He’s currently dealing with an injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll see any game action. Kevin He, another 2024 fourth-rounder, is also banged up and missed the final playoff game for his Flint Firebirds of the OHL.
“I’m so excited to play in the playoffs. It’s a huge opportunity.”
College free-agent signings have also been added to the mix, including forward Lucas Wahlin (six games, one goal, two assists), defenceman Lukas Gustafsson (five games, one assist) and forward Davis Burnside (two games, no points).
All of this comes in addition to other Moose draft picks, including the red-hot Colby Barlow, who scored four goals in the final four games. Veteran centre David Gustafsson has just returned from injury, while Parker Ford, Danny Zhilkin, Jacob Julien and Fabian Wagner round out the forward group with direct links to the Jets.
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On the back end, the Moose feature Isaak Phillips, who led the team in defensive scoring with 10 goals and 19 assists while also making a few appearances with the Jets this year, along with the tough-as-nails Tyrel Bauer, who might have made his NHL debut if not for a late-season injury he just returned from this weekend
In goal, both netminders are Winnipeg draft picks: Thomas Milic, who made his NHL debut earlier this season, and Dom DiVincentiis.
The Moose also have several veteran depth players with NHL experience, including leading scorer Mason Shaw, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Samuel Fagemo, Phil Di Giuseppe, Walker Duehr, Kale Clague and Ashton Sautner.
Add it all up, and head coach Mark Morrison will have plenty to consider as he fills out his lineup card.
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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