Winnipeg’s prospect pipeline got a fresh boost on Tuesday, and the early read is encouraging for both of the Jets names in Scott Wheeler’s newest top 100 drafted prospect rankings.
The biggest headline is Viggo Björck, who has climbed all the way into the top ten. Wheeler has the Jets’ eighth-overall pick from two weeks ago ranked ahead of several players who were selected before him, including Carson Carels and Daxon Rudolph, as well as other highly regarded 2026 first-rounders such as James Hagens, Sam Dickinson and Michael Hage.
That kind of placement matters. For a player Winnipeg didn’t exactly expect to be sitting there when its turn came, Björck’s rise points to the kind of value that can change how a draft class looks in a hurry. Wheeler’s list suggests the Jets may have landed one of the steals of the year, and maybe one of the organization’s better picks in a long time.
At the very top of Wheeler’s rankings, the names are exactly the ones you’d expect from a list built around players who still haven’t reached the NHL. Gavin McKenna, selected first overall by Toronto, is No. 1, with Ivar Stenberg, who went right after him to San Jose, at No.
- Philadelphia winger Porter Martone, a holdover from last year’s draft, sits third, while San Jose forward Michael Misa is fourth.
One of the more striking placements belongs to Chase Reid. He fell to seventh overall to Seattle, but Wheeler still slots him at No. 5 overall, making him the third-best player from the 2026 class in Wheeler’s view behind only McKenna and Stenberg.
The other Jets prospect on the list is defenseman Elias Salomonsson, and his spot at 61st overall also stands out. Wheeler has him ahead of Tampa Bay’s top prospect Sam O’Reilly, Toronto’s top prospect Easton Cowan, and Detroit’s Max Plante, this year’s Hobey Baker Award winner.
That’s another sign that Salomonsson’s stock keeps moving in the right direction as he pushes for a full-time NHL role.
With Björck already earning major attention and Salomonsson continuing to rise, the picture in Winnipeg is pretty simple: if the Jets can get enough quality from these two prospects, the depth chart may not need to be loaded to make a real difference. The hope is that both can help soon enough to give a team already knocking on the door of contention another push.
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