Find a forward or bolster the blue line? With his 28th-overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Winnipeg Jets’ general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff should do the latter.
Jets Prospect Pool Shallow on Blue Line Compared to Up Front
The Jets have at least three young forwards who will be pushing hard for full-time NHL work next season in Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford, and Brad Lambert. In addition, they have a number of top prospects set to join the American Hockey League (AHL) Manitoba Moose out of juniors, including Colby Barlow, Kevin He, Jacob Julien, and Brayden Yager.
It’s inevitable that Cheveldayoff will choose at least a forward or two with his five total picks on June 27 and 28 in Los Angeles, but he can wait until the first round has passed to do that (he has a third, fifth, sixth, and seventh-rounder as of writing).
There are a lot of forwards who will be knocking at the NHL door next season and the couple after that, but the same cannot be said about defensemen. Elias Salomonsson (55th overall, 2022) is the organization’s only blue liner not already in the NHL considered to have top-four potential. The Swede was named an AHL All-Star in his rookie season and had 27 points in 53 games.
Elias Salomonsson is the Jets’ only high-profile defensive prospect. (Jonathan Kozub / Manitoba Moose)
The rest of the Moose blue line this season was made up of older fringe NHLers (pending unrestricted free agent Dylan Coghlan, Ashton Sautner), players who are trending toward being career AHLers (pending restricted free agents Tyrel Bauer and Simon Lundmark), or lower-tier prospects (Dylan Anhorn, pending RFA Isaak Phillips, and Graham Sward). Outside the AHL, there’s only Garrett Brown (99th overall, 2022) and Alfons Freij (37th overall, 2024) in the pipeline.
Jets Blue Line Could Have Many Vacancies After Next Season
The Jets’ blue line is pretty much set for next season, but there could be quite a few vacancies after.
Ville Heinola, Colin Miller, Luke Schenn, and Logan Stanley will be UFAs after next season. None of the four seem a huge part of the team’s future, especially Heinola — the once highly-touted 2019 first rounder who has been essentially completely forgotten about — and Schenn, who will be 36 this November and could well retire after playing out the last year of his contract the Jets inherited at the deadline. Miller will be 33 in October and was in and out of head coach Scott Arniel’s lineup this season while Stanley is a gaffe-prone guy who should not have been drafted in the first round and is only sometimes serviceable in a third-pairing/intimidation role.
Salomonsson could be NHL ready for 2026-27, but there is still a need for a more robust succession plan, especially if pending RFA and second-pairing mainstay Dylan Samberg doesn’t sign long term this summer.
Related: Jets’ 2025-26 Roster Projection 1.0: Following Up the Presidents’ Trophy Season
Winnipeg is not the most desirable market and Cheveldayoff often has trouble signing high-profile free agents so him reeling in a big fish in summer 2026 is not something likely to happen. What he doesn’t have trouble with is getting his drafted and developed players to re-sign: Kyle Connor, Connor Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey, and Mark Scheifele are among those who have seen Winnipeg is a good place to play and chose to stick around long term.
He’ll have to continue building his core through the draft — just as he’s done for his entire 14-year tenure as GM — to keep his blue line that has helped win back-to-back William M. Jennings Trophies for fewest goals allowed viable long term.
Potential Defensive Targets With Jets’ 1st Rounder
Drafting a defenseman in the first round is something Cheveldayoff has done only four times, with the last time coming five drafts ago when he selected Heinola. However, the 2025 Draft has no shortage of potential future top-four talents who could be available by the time the Jets are on the clock at 28th.
Earlier this month, we took a look at three in Sascha Boumedienne (LD, Boston University), Henry Brzustewicz (RD, London Knights), and Blake Fiddler (RD, Edmonton Oil Kings.)
Blake Fiddler is one defenseman with high potential who could be available 28th overall. (Eric Young / CHL)
Other defencemen ranked between 25th and 42nd in The Hockey Writers’ Andrew Forbes’ Top 128 Final Ranking include Logan Hensler (RD, US National Team Development Program), Carter Amico, (RD, USNTDP), Kurban Limatov (LD, MHK Dynamo Moskva), and Simon Wang (LD, Oshawa Generals). There’s also always the potential for someone ranked higher such as Kashawn Aitcheson (LD, Barrie Colts) or Cameron Reid (LD, Kitchener Rangers) to fall. The draft can be unpredictable.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Guide
Time will tell if Cheveldayoff and company take a defenseman with their first first-rounder in two years or if they go with the “best-available player” regardless of position. However, it’s clear the blue line will require Cheveldayoff’s attention in 2026 and beyond, so he might as well start paying that attention now.