Corey Pronman details what to expect from the Winnipeg Jets’ new prospects and how they fit into the farm system.
2024 Draft Grade: C-
Winnipeg’s draft class didn’t overly excite me. I know some people like Alfons Freij a lot and he’s certainly talented, but I had concerns about his hockey sense and I don’t think he’s a sure thing to be an NHL defenseman, even if he has some clear NHL traits. The Jets’ later picks have some varying chances to play games, but I could see this class not produce one full-time regular too.
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Draft Class
37. Alfons Freij, LHD, Växjö Lakers HC J20 (J20 Nationell)
February 12, 2006 | 6′ 1″ | 196 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: High-end
Analysis: Freij has been a top defenseman in his age group in Sweden for several years. He was a highly productive player in their J20 league and a top player for Sweden’s U18 team. His talent level is obvious. Freij is a decent sized defenseman with NHL skill and mobility. He can make a lot of people miss in open ice. He can create offense with pace and he has the hands to create chances out of nothing. Freij is a very good shooter with a pro one-timer from the point. His sense concerns me though. He plays with his head down and doesn’t make many plays. He defends fine, but his D-zone play isn’t as strong as his offensive work. I’m not sold on his NHL potential but the tools are good enough to give him a real chance to make it.
109. Kevin He, LW, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
April 30, 2006 | 5′ 11″ | 181 pounds
Analysis: He has been a legit goal scorer at the OHL level over the last two seasons. He has a great shot and often scores from range. He is an above-average skater with good puck skills who can be a threat in transition. He isn’t that big, but he doesn’t shy from contact either. The major question in his game is how good his hockey sense is and how many plays he makes.
155. Markus Loponen, C, Kärpät U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
June 17, 2006 | 6′ 1″ | 185 pounds
Analysis: Loponen had a solid season in Finland’s junior league and was decent for Finland’s U18 team as well. He’s a good skater who competes hard enough. He has solid puck skills and can create chances off the perimeter and at the net. He has talent, but I wouldn’t call his pure playmaking or goal-scoring touch clear NHL quality as of now.
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187. Kieron Walton, C, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
April 22, 2006 | 6′ 5″ | 203 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Analysis: Walton had a strong season for a deep Sudbury offense despite not getting the premier power-play opportunities although his play tailed off toward the end of the year. Walton is a very skilled big man. The way he moves pucks past checkers’ sticks and legs is quite impressive. With forwards who are nearly 6-foot-6 the question always comes down to skating. It’s certainly not Walton’s strength, as he has a heavy first few steps, but I’ve seen worse feet on a guy that size. I’ve seen him turn around enough OHL defensemen to think he can play in the NHL. The bigger questions come down to his sense and effort which can frustrate scouts.
Beat writer’s analysis
Kevin Cheveldayoff has joked about the book he plans to write when his career is over: the conversations we don’t get to hear, the signings that almost happened and the trades that were almost made.
Asked about the flurry of activity at the Jets’ draft table — multiple flurries, particularly in the middle of the first round, as Rutger McGroarty trade rumors swirled — Cheveldayoff said that this year’s draft will earn its fair share of ink in his literary tell-all.
“I’m sure it will be a chapter,” Cheveldayoff said.
Ultimately, the story of Winnipeg’s 2024 draft will be about the move it didn’t make. Despite plenty of discussion and multiple interested teams, Cheveldayoff didn’t move McGroarty. This is not a sign of imminent reconciliation — Cheveldayoff confirmed that McGroarty will not be at Jets development camp next week. It’s one more item on Winnipeg’s to-do list heading into July 1.
Of course, McGroarty’s situation is not the only story of Winnipeg’s draft.
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When a team starts the draft with five picks — none of them in the first round — you don’t expect a scorching draft day haul. When that same team uses its fourth- and seventh-round picks to trade higher into the fourth round, leaving itself with only four picks on the day, you really don’t expect a draft haul. These aren’t your early days, 2011-2015 Jets, armed to the teeth with the draft capital that developed a generation of Jets stars.
“Hopefully, (we drafted) quality over quantity,” Cheveldayoff said after picking at 37, 109, 155 and 187.
There are some great stories available, though. Kevin He, who the Jets traded up to select, is a fast, competitive, heavy-forechecking forward who also happens to be the highest selection for a player born in China in NHL history. He’s friends with Jets prospect Colby Barlow, who he says he’ll reach out to in advance of development camp.
“I’m speechless. It’s a huge honor, especially to be drafted by an organization like Winnipeg,” He said. “It’s a huge honour. I’m still a little shocked, a little speechless right now but yeah. Still trying to soak it in.”
Second-round pick Alfons Freij is an offensively gifted 6-foot-1 defenceman who will play against men in Sweden next season. He visited Winnipeg as a boy, taking in the action at what was then known as the MTS Iceplex.
Full circle ✈️ pic.twitter.com/2LRR14fOOg
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) June 29, 2024
Freij shares an agent with top Jets defence prospect, Elias Salomonsson, and says it would be a thrill to play on the same pair in Winnipeg one day. The left-shooting Freij sees himself as a fast, skilled player who is looking to add a physical element to his game and improve in the defensive zone.
“I’m being loaned out from the highest level in the SHL to the second tier in Sweden, for Bjorkloven. The thing about that is to get the minutes, power play, five-on-five. I think that is a pretty smart move for me.”
It won’t go down as the biggest or best draft in Jets history. The picks they had never allowed it. But the scouts did what they could with the picks they had.
And now we wait for Winnipeg’s next moves. — Murat Ates
(Photo of Alfons Freij: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
