With Connor Hellebuyck absent, Winnipeg’s goaltending picture has opened up fast, and Stuart Skinner suddenly finds himself in the No. 1 chair for the moment. That leaves the Jets with a live battle for the backup job, and four in-house options are in camp trying to seize it: Thomas Milic, Domenic DiVincentiis, Isaac Poulter and Alex Worthington.
Milic looks like the cleanest fit to push for the spot. The 23-year-old got into three games with Winnipeg last season and spent most of the year with the Manitoba Moose, where he posted a 20-13-6 record with a .905 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average in 41 AHL appearances.
He also brings a resume built for pressure. In 2022-23, Milic was WHL Goaltender of the Year and playoff MVP, and he helped the Seattle Thunderbirds win the WHL championship.
In that run, he went 16-3 with a .933 save percentage and a 1.95 GAA. He’s also starting camp in Winnipeg’s Team A group with Skinner and Hellebuyck, while the other three goalies are on Team B.
DiVincentiis is the name that could make this more interesting. The 22-year-old had a modest regular season with Manitoba, going 13-16-2 with a .896 save percentage and a 3.03 GAA in 34 games, but he was sharp when it mattered most.
In the Moose’s playoff run, he went 3-2 with a .955 save percentage and a 1.43 GAA in five appearances. His CHL track record is just as strong.
With the North Bay Battalion, he was named OHL Goaltender of the Year in 2022-23 after leading the league with 36 wins, a 2.33 GAA and a .919 save percentage. He also earned OHL First-Team All-Star and CHL Second-Team All-Star honors.
Poulter is more of a sleeper in the group. The 25-year-old Winnipeg native spent most of last season with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, where he went 25-17-1 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.76 GAA in 43 games.
He also appeared in three games for Manitoba. Compared with Milic and DiVincentiis, he has more ground to cover after spending most of last season one level lower.
Worthington is the longest shot. The 21-year-old played 24 games for Norfolk last season and finished 3-14-3 with an .864 save percentage and a 3.99 GAA. For him, camp is as much about getting reps against NHL competition as it is about climbing Winnipeg’s depth chart.
The Jets also don’t have to lock this in right away. As camps move along and teams start cutting rosters, waiver options could surface, giving Winnipeg a chance to bring in a more experienced goalie without giving up anything in a trade. Still, the opening is there now, and Milic and DiVincentiis have the strongest claim to turn it into an NHL job over the next two weeks.
In Other News...
Connor Hellebuyck Standoff Is Becoming The Jets Biggest Camp Story
Training camp is opening with the Jets still waiting on Connor Hellebuyck, and that absence has quickly become the loudest storyline around the team. The star goaltender remains away from camp as trade interest in him has reportedly cooled since the draft, leaving Winnipeg in a holding pattern while the market around one of the NHLs most prominent netminders sorts itself out.
TSNs Darren Dreger and Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman have both touched on the slow-moving process, noting that offers have been limited and that finding a fit has not been simple. Even with several clubs mentioned in the conversation, the next step for Winnipeg remains unclear, which is why Hellebuycks situation is shaping up to define the early days of camp rather than fade into the background. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Camp Opens With One Huge Hellebuyck Problem Looming
Training camp is set to open with the Winnipeg Jets mostly healthy and a full roster taking shape, but one notable absence has already changed the tone around the start of the season. The club released its camp rosters and on-ice schedule ahead of opening day, and the final informal skate did not include Connor Hellebuyck or Walker Duehr. For a team trying to get organized quickly, the missing names are easy to spot.
Hellebuycks situation carries the real weight here, even before the first drills begin. With medicals not expected to be part of his camp arrival, the Jets are bracing for the possibility of moving forward without him, and there has been little sign since the draft that a trade market is going to solve the issue. It leaves Winnipeg facing a problem at the one position it least wants unsettled, and the first days of camp may say as much about the front office as they do about the ice. [Read more 🡒]