The Winnipeg Jets took another step toward their final preseason roster on Wednesday, cutting 12 players after their second exhibition game and turning the focus even more sharply toward the Manitoba Moose.
Headlining the group was Colby Barlow, the former 2023 first-round pick, who was reassigned along with Isaac Poulter, Alfons Freij, Kevin He, Jacob Julien, Fabian Wagner, Lucas Wahlin and Kieron Walton. Winnipeg also released four players from professional tryouts: Lukas Gustafsson, Dysin Mayo, Ashton Sautner and Davis Burnside.
None of the players moved on Wednesday were viewed as real threats to crack the NHL roster, and most of them are expected to form a big part of the Moose’s young core this season.
A few of the names are already well known in Manitoba. Barlow, Poulter, Julien and Wagner are all set to return to the Moose, while Freij already got a short taste of North American pro hockey there last season. After his year in the Swedish Hockey League ended, he played five games for Manitoba and recorded one assist.
The rest are preparing for their first full professional seasons. He and Walton both arrive after big OHL years, with He putting up 77 points in 62 games split between Niagara and Flint, and Walton piling up 52 goals and 88 points in 62 games between Sudbury and Peterborough. Wahlin and Burnside, meanwhile, headline a pair of NCAA players expected to make the jump to the Moose on a full-time basis.
Winnipeg’s next preseason test comes Friday in Colorado, where the Jets close out their exhibition schedule against the Avalanche.
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