The Winnipeg Jets have one of the NHL’s thinnest young talent pools, and that reality is landing at a tough moment for the franchise.
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked Winnipeg’s prospects and players under 23 as the 28th-best group in the league this week, putting the Jets ahead of only four teams. That marked a drop from Pronman’s 2025 list, when Winnipeg came in at No. 25.
For a club that just missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022, the timing matters. Winnipeg finished 35-35-12 and 12th in the Western Conference after a stretch of three straight playoff appearances, and that came only one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. The Jets still lean heavily on a veteran core built around Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck, which makes the next wave of talent even more important.
At the top of that next wave is Viggo Björck. Winnipeg used the eighth overall pick in June on the Swedish centre, and Pronman sees him as an intelligent, highly competitive player with legitimate top-six NHL upside. For the Jets, it was the kind of premium swing they haven’t had the chance to make often, and Björck quickly became one of the most important names in the organization.
Sascha Boumedienne is another key piece. Winnipeg selected the mobile defenceman 28th overall in 2025, and he spent the last two seasons at Boston University while also helping Sweden win gold at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
His ability to generate offence from the back end stands out, though Pronman views him as a longer-term project. Mobility was identified as one of the stronger traits in Winnipeg’s young group.
After those two, the picture gets murkier.
Brayden Yager remains a notable prospect after Winnipeg acquired him from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Rutger McGroarty trade in August of 2024. The former 14th-overall pick reached pro hockey last season and still profiles as a possible NHL centre for the Jets.
Elias Salomonsson is already closer to that level. The 21-year-old Swedish defenceman played 32 games for Winnipeg last season, scoring one goal and five points.
A second-round pick in 2022, he has moved steadily through the system after playing professionally in Sweden and spending parts of two seasons with the Manitoba Moose. He could be in line for another step in 2026-27.
There are more names in the mix, too. Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow and Nikita Chibrikov have all spent time developing with Manitoba, while Kieron Walton, Kevin He and Alfons Freij are still trying to establish themselves as real NHL possibilities.
That’s where the concern really sits for Winnipeg: some upside at the top, but far less certainty once you get past the best young pieces. The ranking also reflects how the Jets have operated in recent years. As a contender, they drafted late and at times dealt future assets to help the NHL roster.
Winnipeg traded away its first-round picks in both 2024 and 2025 before getting back into the opening round in 2025 by acquiring the 28th selection from Carolina and using it on Boumedienne. Missing the playoffs last season gave the club a rare opening. For the first time since taking Patrik Laine second overall in 2016, Winnipeg had a top-10 pick, and that became Björck.
Now the Jets need more of those young players to turn promise into production.
The good news is the roster still has real top-end talent in Hellebuyck, Scheifele and Connor, which gives Winnipeg a chance to bounce back quickly. But that veteran group won’t stay in its prime forever, and for a franchise that has long had to draft and develop its own answers, the No. 28 ranking is a blunt reminder of how important the next few years will be.
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