6 Jets Targets With 8th-Overall Pick in 2026 NHL Entry Draft

The Winnipeg Jets fell one spot to eighth overall in the NHL Draft Lottery, but it’s still the team’s highest pick since 2020 (Cole Perfetti) and first pick within the top 10 since 2016 (Patrik Laine).

While how agonizingly close the Jets came to winning the first-overall pick is painful, the consolation is there will be no shortage of talented players still available by the time general manager (GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff is on the clock.

The pick will be quite an important one for the longtime GM to get right considering his decisions last offseason played a role in the team’s 21-win, 34-point regression from their Presidents’ Trophy-winning 2024-25. The team’s need for much bigger contributions from players on cheap entry-level contracts going forward means NHL readiness will likely play a key factor in Cheveldayoff’s pick.

Considering the bevy of defensemen in the Jets’ pipeline, it seems most likely Cheveldayoff will select a forward this time around. Here, we’ll look at six.

Ethan Belchetz

A towering 6-foot-5, 227-pound power forward, Belchetz is one of the top left wingers in the draft and enjoyed a productive, but injury-shortened, 2025-26 with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Windsor Spitfires. The first-overall selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection recorded 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games before his season was cut short in early March due to a broken left clavicle.

The 18 year old is known for having shockingly good hands for such a big player, an excellent shot, and the ability to get open without the puck, THW’s Lukas Bernasiewicz writes in a prospect profile.

He projects as a potential top-six winger who can use his size to his advantage in front of the net and in tight spaces and can snipe goals off the rush in addition to banging in rebounds. His potential utility on the power play is also something the Jets will put on their list of “pluses” — Gabriel Vilardi’s net-front wizardry over the past three seasons has made it obvious just how important having someone with slick mitts is for man-advantage success.

Viggo Bjorck

A much smaller player than Belchetz, but one with a highly-touted skillset nonetheless, is playmaking Swedish centre Viggo Bjorck.

The 5-foot-9 right shooter’s offensive numbers don’t jump off the page this season — six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 42 games for the Swedish Hockey League’s (SHL) Djurgardens IF — but the fact he’s 18 years old and stuck for a whole season in a professional league is highly impressive nonetheless. In 2024-25, with Djurgarden’s U20 team, he piled up 27 goals and 47 assists for 74 points in just 42 games and helped them win the Swedish junior championship.

When it comes to Bjorck’s strengths, “his hockey IQ, vision and playmaking are the biggest things scouts point out,” THW’s Matthew Zator writes in a prospect profile.

“Like most undersized players, his work ethic, motor and competitiveness are also strong suits of his game, along with being strong on his skates and a willingness to get involved in the dirty areas of the ice. His shot is described as accurate and deceptive, which has shown itself regularly on the power play. He is also exceptional defensively and a great penalty killer,” Zator writes.

Bjorck really put himself on the map and improved his draft stock with a strong performance at the 2026 World Junior Championships (WJC), where he produced top-six numbers and played key roles for the gold-medal winning Swedes in the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill. He finished with three goals and nine points in seven games and was noticeable almost every time he was on the ice.

Bjorck projects at the top end as a top-six forward capable of playing special-teams roles and at the lower end as a reliable middle-six/bottom-six centre and top penalty killer.

Wyatt Cullen

Cullen, like Bjorck, has seen his draft stock rise this season. Playing with the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) — which the Jets have had great success drafting players from throughout the years — the son of longtime former NHLer Matt Cullen posted six goals and 10 assists in 15 United States Hockey League (USHL) games after returning in November from a hip injury.

The 17 year old left winger ranked first among NTDP players in points per game at the USHL level, and his numbers for the NTDP U18 team were impressive with 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points in 40 games.

“This season’s iteration of the NTDP wasn’t great, but their games were worth watching when Cullen suited up,” THW’s Justin Giampietro writes in a prospect profile. “He is an elite offensive driver and plays at a high-end pace, using his outstanding skating ability to navigate the ice. He circles the offensive zone with ease—even at five-on-five.”

Cullen is an excellent creator due to his creativity, deceptiveness, and vision, Giampietro writes, and can use his powerful shot to score from tougher angles.

Cullen has committed to playing with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers next season, where his father serves as director of player development and his older brother Brooks has also committed to playing.

Oscar Hemming

Moving back to big players, Hemming is another power forward Cheveldayoff will want to consider. The versatile 6-foot-4 Finn, capable of playing both wings, was the youngest player in all of college hockey and jumped right into the Boston College Eagles’ lineup upon arriving there in December. His debut did not come until then as after contract complications with his Kiekko-Espoo club in Finland, he decided to go the college route rather than joining the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, who selected him in the OHL Import Draft.

He adapted fairly seamlessly into a second-line role at Boston College, recording one goal and eight assists in 19 games and also drawing time on the power play.

Looking back at his offensive numbers in 2024-25 before coming to North America, he piled up an insane 35 goals and 28 assists for 63 points in just 31 games for Kiekko-Espoo’s U18 club and two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 18 games for their U20 club.

“Hemming moves well for his size and plays a heavy, physical game,” THW’s Matthew Buhrmann writes in a prospect profile. “He is hard on the forecheck, gets to the tough areas of the ice, and uses his long reach to keep defenders off him. He consistently attacks the slot, and most of his shots come from that area.”

He is also noted to be a good puck protector who possesses a strong wrist shot.

Tynan Lawrence

Lawrence could be the two-way, second-line, all-situations centre the Jets have been looking for for a long time.

The left shooter transitioned from the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he served as captain, to Boston College midseason and the transition went fairly smoothly. While his point totals dipped at the much-tougher NCAA level — two goals and five assists for seven points in 18 games compared to 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points in 13 games — his overall play with both teams impressed. (His low game total in the USHL was due to a lower-body injury he sustained during training camp that cost him the first month of his season.)

Lawrence’s intelligence, compete level, and work ethic didn’t miss a beat after transitioning to college, THW’s Peter Baracchini writes in a prospect profile, noting “he displays that winning mindset every time he steps on the ice. He’s not flashy, but it’s the little things he does that stands out.” The Fredericton, New Brunswick product is known to have a great attention to detail, strong positioning, and good hockey sense that make him a “facilitator and creator” on the ice.

“Lawrence provides great awareness and support with his play off the puck. He has great habits defensively, helping on backchecks, taking away passing lanes to intercept plays and showing the physicality and mindset to win battles to regain possession,” Baracchini writes. “He’s unrelenting when it comes to puck battles as he will do whatever it takes to get control of the puck. He doesn’t cheat on plays and doesn’t force anything if it isn’t there, showing great patience and timing.”

Lawrence, who won the Clark Cup with the Lumberjacks in 2025 and was named USHL playoff MVP, is also known as very smooth and agile skater with great speed and control in transition and a strong shooter and passer who attacked the middle.

Adam Novotny

Novotny is third compelling power forward option — there’s a bit of a pattern here — for Cheveldayoff to consider. The 6-foot-1, 205 pound Czechian left winger adapted well to the North American game in his rookie OHL Season, recording 34 goals and 31 assists for 65 points in 58 games for the Peterborough Petes. The 18 year old previously played in the Mountfield HK organization in the Czech Extraliga and has represented his country internationally a number of times, including at the 2026 WJC where he had three assists in seven games for his silver-winning squad.

His smooth transition to North American hockey can be attributed to the fact he already plays a “North American style of game, with a work ethic and motor on the ice that never seems to stop,” THW’s Jordan Orth writes in a prospect profile.

“He is great at using his body to protect the puck and take contact while making plays, and he has no problem engaging in board battles. When he does either win battles or get space in the offensive zone, he has a shot that very well could be NHL-level already, with a quick and accurate release to it,” Orth writes.

Defensively, “Novotny uses his physicality to be a pest on the backcheck and to let his opponents feel his presence. He has zero issue with putting his body on the line for his teammates, whether it is throwing a hit or selling out to block a shot. His hockey IQ helps him anticipate defensive plays and position himself in the right spot to end his opponents’ chances.”

Some areas of his game that require work include his playmaking skills — he can get tunnel vision to shoot first — and speed, Orth noted.

Who do you think the Jets should select 8th overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft? Comment below.