All the talk surrounding the Winnipeg Jets’ prospect pool is regarding the forwards, and rightfully so. With Rutger McGroarty, Chaz Lucius, Brad Lambert, and Colby Barlow getting recently selected in the first round, those players will be the future of the franchise.
Clearly, the Jets have been focused on drafting the forward group, which has resulted in a lack of depth on the defensive side of things. However, there is one player that is starting to pick up steam among fans and reporters, and that is 2022 second-round pick, defenceman Elias Salomonsson.
Elias Salomonsson Raised His Stock in 2022-23
Salomonsson was not viewed as the top defensive prospect in the Jets’ system up until last season, where he crushed all expectations before suffering an injury before the U20 World Junior Championships. He would have played a top-four role for Team Sweden and may have put his skills on display on the national stage.
Salomonsson is an 18-year-old defenceman who was drafted 55th overall in 2022 and has since improved his game mightily. He is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-handed blueliner who skates extremely well. Those come at a premium in today’s NHL, and he has plenty of time to refine his game before he turns pro.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who specializes in prospects and the NHL Draft, was on the Level Flight Podcast last week and had some glowing reviews of Salomonsson. Wheeler spoke to the general manager and head coach of the Skellefteå AIK team of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and stated: “Last season before he got injured, they felt he was one of their one or two best defencemen on the SHL team, which for an 18-year-old kid, is a huge deal.”
This next season is a huge one for Salomonsson for a few reasons. Not only is he looking to back up what he did last season, but with another full season of development under his belt, he may be able to cement himself as a top-tier prospect in the Jets system.
Wheeler explained that “This is another year where he is going to go back there, he’s going to be a top-four defenceman for his SHL team, and then at Christmas time we are really going to get to know him, and the average fan is going to get to know him because he’s going to be a big part of Team Sweden.”
Winnipeg Jets Defensive Prospect Pool Rundown
Another name to consider for “top defensive prospect” is Ville Heinola, a 2019 first-round pick that has yet to get an extended shot at the NHL level. There is Dmitri Kuzmin, who is an offensive defenceman that put up staggering numbers for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and should be joining the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2023-24.
Related: Winnipeg Jets Top 10 Prospects for 2023-24
Dylan Samberg recently graduated from being a prospect to the NHL and posted impressive numbers in a sheltered third-pairing role. Declan Chisholm is a restricted free agent (RFA) without a contract currently, but he is coming off of a season where he was named an AHL All-Star and posted 43 points in 59 games.
There is an argument to be made for either of those players having higher ceilings as prospects, given their offensive abilities. But Salomonsson feels like a much safer bet after the season he just had. He is a player that fans should start to take note of because, as a second-round pick, he has the upside to be an everyday NHLer in the future. Given what we’ve seen with other defensive prospects within the Jets organization, that “NHL future” may not be for a while, but his path will be an interesting one to track over the next couple of seasons
The next wave of Jets defenders is an important one, with Nate Schmidt, Brenden Dillon, and Dylan DeMelo all being over the age of 30. Dillon and DeMelo’s contracts are expiring next offseason, and Schmidt’s the offseason after. The Jets made the trades to bring those players in, but at some point, they will have to let their young defensive prospects play and save some salary cap in the process. In a few years, if he continues to build off of last season, Salomonsson could be a staple within the Jets’ top-four.
