Winnipeg Jets defenceman Neal Pionk has added another offseason celebration to a summer that’s already been full of them around the team.
Pionk and his wife, Kiera, welcomed their second child, Briggs Nelson Pionk, on Aug. 18.
The newborn weighed nine pounds, 7.5 ounces. The Jets announced the news Tuesday and called Briggs the team’s “newest Jets fan.”
His arrival fits right into what has become a noticeable baby boom inside Winnipeg’s dressing room over the last couple of years. Last season, captain Adam Lowry talked about how many players were entering fatherhood at the same time and how that created its own support network within the group.
"I think it's great that not only can the mothers, the wives support each other as they go through it together - we're gone a lot - but a lot of the guys are going through that experience together," Lowry said at the time.
Kyle Connor was one of the players in that wave. He was getting ready to become a first-time father when Lowry made those remarks in January 2025, and Connor and his wife Ally welcomed their first daughter soon after. Now the Connors are expecting again, with Ally recently posting photos of the family while visibly pregnant and saying there were "a few more weeks" until their second child arrives.
Josh Morrissey has also joined the group of Jets dads in recent months. He and his wife Margot welcomed their first child, and Morrissey spoke about becoming a father during a July appearance on Barn Burner, describing another major shift in a life that has been built around hockey since childhood.
The summer has brought more than babies, too. Lowry married longtime partner Laura Quinton in Winnipeg on July 18, with a long list of current and former Jets in attendance. The couple’s ceremony was held at 529 Wellington after welcome cocktails at Good Neighbour Brewing Company.
So while training camp is still ahead, Winnipeg’s offseason has already delivered plenty of off-ice milestones. And for Pionk, there’ll be one more family member following along when the Jets get back on the ice this fall. With another Connor baby on the way, the team’s baby boom may not be done yet.
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