Lukas Gustafsson and Davis Burnside are heading into 2026-27 with the same goal in mind: keep growing, keep climbing, and make their case for a full-time spot with the Manitoba Moose.
Both players arrived in the pro game after wrapping up their college careers, and both officially signed with the Moose on April 2, 2026. Burnside came out of Ohio State after serving as the Buckeyes’ captain for two seasons, finishing with 112 points (49G, 63A) in 155 NCAA games. Gustafsson, who captained Boston College, posted 72 points (14G, 58A) in 147 NCAA games.
Their first taste of pro hockey came late in the regular season, when the two combined to appear in seven games. Gustafsson’s transition included a memorable first milestone: he picked up his first career professional point with an assist in his second game, on April 7 against Milwaukee.
He also spent time on a pairing with Ashton Sautner in two of his five games, and said the veteran defenseman helped ease the adjustment. Gustafsson credited the whole group for making the move smoother, saying, “They were very helpful with all the systems,” Gustafsson explained.
“They were great with the little things. They were very open to questions from me.
Very helpful and made the transition smooth.”
Burnside’s introduction to the pro level didn’t go as cleanly. His season ended after an injury in his second game, cutting short what he still viewed as a valuable first step.
“I feel like it was a great opportunity,” he said of his short stint with the Moose in 2025-26. “I learned a lot.
It’s obviously never fun to get injured. I think just being around the guys, even after the injury, I was able to take away a lot through watching the games.
Just picking guys’ brains and being around guys that have been in pro hockey for a while.”
He was back around the Winnipeg Jets development camp in June, wearing a yellow non-contact jersey while continuing his rehab. Burnside said he had already been skating on his own for a week before arriving.
“It felt really good,” he said. “I did a lot of off-ice stuff in the early stages trying to get stronger. Obviously running is a little bit different than skating, so it can feel good off the ice, but I’m trying to ease my way back into it on the ice.”
The La Grange, Ill. native plans to keep rehabbing through the offseason, with the goal of being “100 percent ready going into next season.” Even while dealing with a lower-body injury, he’s still finding ways to stay involved with the game, including stick handling and shooting when he can.
Gustafsson’s offseason has followed a more familiar path. He’s focused on getting bigger, faster, and stronger, while also making sure he steps away from hockey when he needs to.
“I’m pretty good at taking my mind off hockey,” he explained. “That’s very helpful to me. My family is also pretty good at helping me disconnect as well, even though they always want to ask questions.”
Now both players are signed to one-year contracts for 2026-27, and the countdown to their first full season as professionals is on. For Burnside, the chance to share the ice with that level of talent has already left an impression.
“It’s awesome,” Burnside said. “These are some of the best hockey players in the world, and they’re the best players that I’ve played with to date. Watching them in practice and in games when I wasn’t playing was unbelievable.”
In Other News...
Former Jets Goalie Michael Hutchinson Just Closed The Book On Something
Michael Hutchinsons pro career has come to a close, and for Jets fans that means another familiar name from a different era is stepping away from the game. Winnipeg confirmed the news, a fitting touchpoint for a goalie who found his best NHL stretch here after signing with the club as a free agent in 2013 and later carved out a long run that took him through six teams.
Hutchinsons final NHL appearance came in the 2023-24 season with the Detroit Red Wings, and he spent his last season in 2024-25 with SaiPa Lappeenranta in Finland. Over 154 NHL games, he put together a .902 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average, numbers that tell only part of the story of a career that included both steady work and a peak that once put him in the leagues wider conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Connor Hellebuyck Drama Is Still Hanging Over The Jets Summer
Connor Hellebuycks future is still one of the defining questions hanging over the Jets summer, and the latest word suggests Winnipeg is not treating the situation as closed. According to David Pagnotta, the club remains open to trade discussions involving its star goaltender while also trying to persuade him to give the team another run after a difficult season, a balancing act that keeps the door cracked in both directions.
For now, the expectation is that this stays unresolved until around training camp, when the pressure around Hellebuycks next move should sharpen. There is also the possibility that he eventually makes a public statement to clarify where he stands, which would at least give the Jets and their fans a better sense of whether this is a summer of repair or the beginning of something more dramatic. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Prospect Alfons Freij Just Accelerated His Path To Winnipeg
Alfons Freij is moving a step closer to the Jets radar after a busy stretch that included finishing the 2025-26 season on loan with Timr IK and then getting a taste of North American hockey with five games for Manitoba. The 20-year-old defenseman also spent time at Winnipegs development camp, a setting that often tells a prospect as much about the organizations plans as it does about the players own timeline.
Freij is now set to play in North America next season, a notable shift for a prospect who had been developing in Sweden. He already has a three-year entry-level deal in place with the Jets that begins next season, and the path ahead looks like the kind of gradual climb Winnipeg usually prefers for young defensemen, with Manitoba likely the first stop as he continues to push toward the NHL picture. [Read more 🡒]