Fantasy Hockey Life Ep. 423 Winnipeg Jets with Dave Minuk

Dave Minuk of Illegal Curve is here to report on the Winnipeg Jets. Jesse and Victor interview Dave about returning pros Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Cabe Vilardi, Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov, Adam Lowry, Nino Neiderreiter, Alex Iafallo, Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson, Brad Lambert, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Dylan Samberg, Connor Hellebuyck, and Eric Comrie. In Cat's Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down Domenic DiVincentis and Thomas Milic.  In the Dynasty Dig, Victor breaks down Kevin He, Kiernon Walton, and Brayden Yager with the help of scouting reports from FHL Scout Austin Kelly and X polls from NHL Rank King Mason Black. Have a listen! Our show is part of the Dobber Podcast Network and sponsored by Fantrax.com. Email [e-mail] and ask to join our free discord. Join our Patreon at Patreon.com/fantasyhockeylife for rankings, bonus podcasts, in-depth prospect reports with video, show notes and more. Check out our YouTube for more prospect videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPYVXp3foOcvh7344fjKmA. Listen and subscribe wherever podcasts are posted - and give us 5 stars! We want to be your best place to talk about the game of dynasty fantasy hockey

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life presented by fan Tracks. Here's shits,
your source of information and analysis to help you win
your fantasy hockey league.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Block off hot a, step hit on, staylock blocks.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Here's your hosts, Jesse Sevier and Victor Nuno.

Speaker 4 (00:24):
Fantasy Hockey Live back once again. Jesse Severe, fan Tracks,
Victor Nunyoe the Fantasy Hockey Doctor. Victor, how you doing today?

Speaker 5 (00:31):
I'm doing awesome. Jesse, how you doing?

Speaker 4 (00:34):
I'm doing good. I'm doing good. It's been a summer.
There's no there's very little news coming out at this
point in the hockey world. Thirty two thoughts crashed in
a few weeks ago and did a pot. The thing
that's on my mind about the type of thing that
we do, Victor, is prospect hockey in a mess right now,
Like all the leagues are just going crazy. USHL is

(00:55):
losing to the CHL, the CHL is losing to the NCAA.
Who knows what's going on with all these other things.
Can we ever start getting along with a KHL again?
And this impacts the way we do scouting and stuff
right What do you think, Victor? Is hockey prospect world
in a mess? Or is this a topic for an
entire show We could.

Speaker 5 (01:12):
Do Sometimes it's probably a topic for an entire show,
I would say, But I would say, like with anything,
like when we see with our fantasy teams and our leagues,
every time there is a shake up, every time there's injuries,
every time there's big changes, it's also an opportunity, right,
And so that's what we're seeing right now. There's lots
of opportunity. Things are changing. The players have more power

(01:32):
than they ever have, and frankly, I think it's a
good swing in general. Maybe it's swinging hard the other direction,
but for a long time, these players had the thumb
under them and they didn't really have a lot of
options of where they could go. They were very limited,
things out of their control. Decisions we were being made
that were not best for their development. So if it
swings a little bit towards being able to make a

(01:53):
little bit money while they're on their way and have
a little bit more control over their development and destiny,
then I'm generally in favor of that. So it will
re equilibrate, though, will there's a big shake up happening
and it will shift things pretty significantly and We'll have
to see where it goes. But yeah, there's definitely a
lot of changes right now for sure.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
Maybe if NCAA really picks up and becomes stronger, maybe
a silver lining for the likes of me is more
prospect hockey on TV. Canadians probably disagree. It's probably the
opposite there, or at least some of the stars that
Gavin mckennons might not be on TV as much. In
any event, Victor, That's the sort of thing people can
discuss on the Fantasy Hockey Life Discord, which is a

(02:31):
free service that we provide to the fantasy hockey community.
It's just a cool place. Discords are like that. They
are where social media doesn't just have a bunch of
rude bots who come in and pound you over the
head with their angry takes. Instead, it's people who actually
like talking about fantasy hockey and actually like being civil

(02:53):
to one another. And you can get in there for
free emails Fantasy Hockey Life at gmail dot com. If
you haven't used discord before, you should excuse Sometimes it
gets a bad rap, but it is, as far as
I'm concerned, it's the best social network out there. If
you want to even call it a social network, but
Victor in addition to that service we provide if you
if you want to give us a little kitching, there's more,
tell them about it.

Speaker 5 (03:16):
So much more. Over at patreon dot com slash Fancy
Hockey Life. You can get bonus content, you can get
Patreon casts, you can get access to the website which
is only accessible as an ultralifer a patron that you
can get a whole bunch of cool new features that
we're adding. The new player cards that are redesigned are
pretty awesome in my opinion. They tell you a lot

(03:36):
about the player. And there's other ranks and tiers and
lists up there as well, lots of great stuff. You
can support the show, get bonus content and help win
your leaks. Check that out over at patreon dot com
slash Fantacy Hockey Life.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Time for our big interview. Welcome back to the shoe,
Dave Minook of the Illegal Curve podcast and network and
all those things. Dave, how you doing today?

Speaker 6 (04:06):
I am doing great, Jesse enjoying summer here in Manitoba.

Speaker 4 (04:10):
There you go, there you go, all five days of it.
You got to enjoy it, Yes, sir no, I appreciate
I'm up in Wisconsin. We're all in the same world here,
so yeah, it's fun talking Jets, more fun than it's
been in years. Man the President's Trophy winners, team record
and standings points tied for the most goals easily, the

(04:30):
best goal differential in team history, best shooting percentage in
team history, two first Team All Stars, including one who
won not only the Visina but the Heart Trophy. A
goalie win in the Heart Trophy doesn't happen every day
all from arguably, I keep saying to this offseason, the
toughest of the four divisions. A lot went really well

(04:51):
for these Jets until round two when this year's main character,
Miko Rantnin, helped ruin it for everybody up in Winnipeg. Now,
Nick Eelers, the star of the offseason, is gone off
to Carolina. The team is basically intact. Can the Jets
run back this regular season and have the proverbial puncher's

(05:11):
chance like everybody else does when they get in the
playoffs at the Cup next year?

Speaker 6 (05:16):
The short answer is yes, and the longer answer involves
a guy dam Connor Hellibuck. And whenever you have Connor
Hellibuck in goal of az now winner three times, and
of course, as you said, Jesse the Heart Trophy.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Winner in nets, you can do anything.

Speaker 6 (05:29):
Of course, he had some struggles like the team did
in the playoffs against the Saint Louis Blues in the
first round, but he definitely got things back under control
against the Dallas Stars. And yeah, I don't think the
Jets are going to have quite the season. They did
have the benefit of a lot of guys being in
contract years last year and having career seasons as you
just touched on, but I don't think it's as important

(05:51):
for them to be President's Trophy winners. I don't really
believe in the curse, but I think that they're likely
with the loss of nik Lai Eeler's and the question
marks surrounding what Jonathan Taves has left in the tank.
And you know, of course, we don't know when Captain
Ada Lowry is going.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
To be back exactly. We expect it to be.

Speaker 6 (06:11):
Sometime in October or November, so there's going to be
a bit of a committee up the middle. And I
would anticipate with the way some of the other teams
in the Central have improved, with the exception maybe of Chicago,
that you're going to anticipate that the other teams around
them are going to get better, which will probably weaken
the Jets in the sense that they may not accomplish
what they did last year. But at the same time,

(06:33):
I think they'll probably still be in the mix and
they may be a better team because of the way
they have to play as a result.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
Kyle Connor is the first guy to talk about from
this team. Ninety seven points seventh in the NHL, a
career high. He Vallardi and Schifley, and we'll talk about
Vallardi and Shifley more in a minute. They played nine
hundred and five five on five minutes together. That's the
most in the NHL. Nine hundred five for those guys,
one one hundred and sixty more than the runner up

(07:02):
line for the most minutes. Just insane how much those
guys played together, and they were dominant when they were.
The scoring was not related. Sometimes you see a guy
with a career high in points while it's just because
he was on a hot shooting rampage. He had fifteen
point four percent. That's pretty consistent with fourteen point seven
percent career, So it's not about that. Ale Connor just

(07:22):
real good at shooting and real good at playing hockey.
Was this a major escalation in Connor's game? And can
he repeat? And then the scary question is this is
last season in Manitoba.

Speaker 6 (07:35):
I'll ask, I'll answer your first one last now, and
I think it is not. I think that he is
a guy who is very much a part of the
culture of this team. We heard Elliott Friedman talking about
the Jets how they like each other as a group,
and this is a group that very much gets along
generally when you're winning. It's easy to get along. Everybody
gets along when you're winning. But I think that Kyle

(07:56):
Connor is really, of course we know, drafted by the
win Big Jets back in twenty fifteen and grew up
within the organization. Of course played for the Moose after
his first season went down to the Moose clicked.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
You just saw how prolific this guy is.

Speaker 6 (08:10):
Obviously, for anybody who was back in Michigan and Ann
Arbor watching him at the University of Michigan, they got
to see a guy who probably should have won the
Hoby Baker that year because he was just so dominant
on that CCM line. And he's continued that He's just
an absolutely lethal shooter. Davis Payne was on the Jets
assistant coach was on it with Andy Strickland on his podcast,

(08:31):
and he was talking about some of the surprises because
Davis Payne, of course just finished his first year here
in Winnipeg, and he talked about just how good Kyle
Connor is and coming in as.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
An opposing coach, this is one of the guys you
have to shut down.

Speaker 6 (08:44):
But when you get to watch him in practice and
in games, you get to see just how dynamic he
is and he's improved offensively, because that's not We're never
going to confuse Cayle Connor as a guy who's gonna
win a Selkie.

Speaker 3 (08:56):
He's never gonna be at Patrice berger on.

Speaker 6 (08:58):
But much like a lot of the Jets, the way
this team, Scott O'Neil has built them is based on
team first defense and then the offense comes as a
result of that. And Kyle Connor, as you said, Jesse
forty one goals fifty six assists, almost became the first
Jets player ever to hit the one hundred point mark.
Not quite, probably should be, probably will likely be that guy.
And my guess is that he is going to sign

(09:20):
a long term extension. I don't think you're going to
see a similar situation as the Jets had this year.

Speaker 3 (09:26):
With Nikolai Eelers.

Speaker 6 (09:27):
And to be fair, Nikolai Eielers handled it the way
he wanted to handle it. Didn't want to talk about it.
Media asked him about it. Not consistently. They asked him
a few times, but for the most part, it was
kind of one of those things not really wanting to discuss.
But I think the Jets will have learned from that mistake,
won't want a situation similar to what happened last year.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
So my guess is that Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry.

Speaker 6 (09:47):
We can talk about Lowry later, but I suspect those
two will sign long term extensions here in Winnipeg.

Speaker 3 (09:52):
And I do believe Kyle.

Speaker 6 (09:55):
Connor is continuing just to get better and better in
terms of how good a goal scorer. But again, Jesse,
one of the things that nobody talks about. It's just
how good his passing is. And when you have guys
like Mark Shifley, Gabriel Valardi on your line and you
mentioned how many minutes they've played together, they just they're
automatic and they are just so good in terms of
finding each other. So yeah, I anticipate a very similar

(10:16):
sort of production for Cale Connor because he's just that good,
and we always see it. In contract years, guys tend
to get a little bit more elevated, a little bit
more motivated, and the points sometimes increase as a result.

Speaker 4 (10:29):
Well Mark Shifley, next guy to talk about, also hit
a career high in scoring at the ripe old age
of thirty one. He led the NHL in game winning goals.
That happens when you win lots of games. Somebody has
to be doing that. He had eleven of them. He
takes just over two shots a game. Maybe that's because
he doesn't need three shots a game because they all

(10:49):
go in the second time at least twenty one point
seven percent of his shots too. He was sixth in
tom and ice among forwards in the league. He is
a very known commodity goals above. Her placement was very
positive with him this year. You mentioned defense before, and
both he and Connor. I don't think I'm out over
my skis too much to say that their even strength

(11:11):
defense in past years has been not so good, pretty bad,
at least from a statistical standpoint, and then last year
it was about par which is great, right I mean,
and maybe the system that they were playing in obviously
was very successful. Having Connor Hillibuck behind you helps. So
what do you make of Schiffley's year and what do

(11:33):
you expect from him this year?

Speaker 6 (11:35):
You know, again, I've said this before, but I'll say
it again, much like Steve Eisman had to change his
game in order for the Detroit Red Wings to become
Stanley Cup champions, And of course he didn't do it
by himself, but what he had to do was go
from being that offensive player to understanding that you need
to play a defensive You have to have in the
defensive element to your game. We know Shiflee is a

(11:56):
big Stevie WI fan, He's a big Red Wings fan
growing up. Now of course the Jets fan. But the
fact of the matter is that he knew he's got
his contract, his contractors.

Speaker 3 (12:06):
Established, he's went a big Jet for life. He's signed that.

Speaker 6 (12:09):
Of course that matching long term extension with Connor Hallibuck
at the same time and points are great, but for
him it's legacy, And how do you gain a legacy?
He gain a legacy in this league by winning a
Stanley Cup. So it's great to have points, but it's
more important to have a legacy. And this kid's gonna
end up having a statue beside his idol here in
Winnipeg with Dale Howard Chuck, I would imagine the first step,

(12:30):
of course, draft pick of these Jets, not Howard Chuck,
of course shifey. And from my perspective, he's just recognizing now,
like this is what I have to do to win,
and I have to change my game. And again, like
you said, thirty nine goals, forty eight assists. It's not
like he didn't the points didn't come, but he had
to change in order to fit within this system that
Scott O'Neil has really instituted.

Speaker 3 (12:52):
And I think he's thrived as a result.

Speaker 6 (12:54):
And I have to say it, and again, I know
we'll get into Tave's later, but I think the benefit
of a guy because this Jets team, as good as
they've been, you know, the best they've done is a
Western Conference final in seventeen eighteen.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
This team hasn't won at the pro level. You have
a lot of guys who.

Speaker 6 (13:08):
Have won at the junior level, but in the pros
you haven't gotten to that you have. Luke Schen really
is their primary guy for Stanley Cup experience. So when
you bring a guy like Jonathan Taves, the impact he's
going to have on a Mark Schify potentially, especially face
offs that sort of thing.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
I know, faceoff sometimes get pillaried a little bit, but
still pretty important.

Speaker 6 (13:28):
And I think that for Shifley, he's going to be
motivated by to learn under a guy like Taves.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
But the other thing, the other primary.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
Driver, and I know that he was not happy about
not getting selected to the four Nations this year, is
the fact that the Olympics and the carrot of the
Olympics is going to be there for him next year.
We know that he was he and Josh Morrissey were
invited to the Hockey Canada camp that's been held in
Calgary in late August.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
But at the same time, this to me is.

Speaker 6 (13:56):
One of those things that's going to motivate him because
he really again I go back to that idea of legacy.
Whenever you get to play on an Olympic team with
the best of the best, way in your nation's flag,
there's going to be a lot of desire by him
to get that so there's that's motivating him this year.
But also again, like I said, going back to the
idea of winning with this group, These guys want to
win together. They've been essentially the same nucleus for the

(14:20):
last decade almost, so I definitely think that you're going
to see a motivated and hungry Mark Scheifley this season.

Speaker 4 (14:26):
And the third end of that line, Gabriel Ballardi. He
will continue to be a Jet thanks to signing a
six year deal to avoid restrictive free agency. That's great
news as he's finally coming into his own sticking point
as it's been throughout his career is health. He almost
made it through the year until sustaining an upper body
engine near the end of the season. Seventy one games

(14:47):
did mark a career high, and he did come back
to the playoffs for the back half of the Blues
and All the Stars series. Now the commitment is there
from the team, hopefully Valardi can stay healthy. By the
way that pld aid pays off quite a bit more
than maybe some people thought it was at the time,
produce on this excellent line. What are you expecting is
Falardi going to stay on this line? And what's he

(15:09):
going to do next year.

Speaker 6 (15:11):
An excellent question because the one kind of knock without
Nikolai Eelers is you no longer have a driver on
that second line.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
And of course I'm sure again we'll talk about Cole Profetti.

Speaker 6 (15:20):
We don't know if he's ready to become a driver
in the NHL the way Eelers was. He's quite a
bit younger, so is he ready to hit that level?
And so might the Jets because of the way they're currently.
You can't just pretend like you just get rid of Elers.
What twenty four goals, thirty nine assists or something like that.
So he had a big impact, and you saw what
he did with that power play unit, best power play

(15:41):
in the NHL. So the question with respect to Vollardi
is whether they mix things up and share the wealth
a little bit and try and make that second line
add a little bit of impact to that second line
by giving someone like Volardi moving Valardi there Again, I
don't know if that's going to happen. We'll see, of
course in training camp how things somewhat shake out. But regardless,

(16:02):
but interestingly to me, Jesse was the fact that I
didn't anticipate I didn't know what he was going to sign,
because he gave rib of lood.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
He's a different sort of guy, right, He's a little
bit cagy with.

Speaker 6 (16:09):
Us sometimes in the media, and he doesn't necessarily lay
it all out there, and so we weren't. I wasn't
certain what kind of deal he was going to get.
We didn't know, and you're right, it's that PLD trade
tree continues to bear fruit because I wrote earlier when
they signed that six year deal, and I think key
from his mediavailability when we spoke to him, sounded like
a guy who's really motivated. One of his quotes was,

(16:31):
I want people to look at that contract and think
I left money on the table. And I think that
he has got a bit of a There is a
bit of a chip in terms of the health and
wanting to stay healthy. And you could tell and absent
that I wouldn't call it necessarily a slew food.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
But he took a bit of a kind of took.

Speaker 6 (16:47):
Air on that game against I think it was against
the Sabers, and which took him out at the end
of the regular season.

Speaker 3 (16:52):
But he was having a great season.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
It was a career year, as you said, so for him,
he sees an opportunity to play potentially on the top
line in the NHL or one of the top lines
in the NHL for the next several years, provided, of course,
Kyle Connor resigns. And so from my perspective, you've got
a guy who is again amped up to show that
he deserved the contract that he signed with the Winnipeg Jets,

(17:16):
and I suspect you're gonna have a guy who's very motivated,
similar to Scheiffey and the Connor.

Speaker 7 (17:21):
After Eeler's signed elsewhere, the biggest story certainly turned to
Cole Profetti, who remains unsigned as we speak here. He's
currently an RFA second full season with Winnipeg, seventy to
one games played previously and this season he played all
eighty two had fifty points. The Bash with Purfetti has

(17:42):
never been there three point one two per game, pretty low,
ranking him four hundred and fifty second. I guess the
biggest question, Dave is how do you see the contract
situation working out and what do you expect from Profetti
moving forward? Here?

Speaker 6 (17:55):
I'll just be clear Proffetti's still signed Victor. Yeah, I know,
he signed a two years deal last year, so he
still got a year left on his contract with the Jets. Interestingly,
from his perspective, he took a opportunity on himself. It's
like a bet on myself sort of thing, because you,
like I said, you wanted to see is he going
to get to that next level?

Speaker 3 (18:15):
Is he going to progress? Because there's so much.

Speaker 6 (18:19):
Talent from this kid, like you can see it, but
he's small, So how would that impact him? And again,
like I said, would he be capable of being a driver.
We know how smart he is. We know how good
he is at getting his shots in or making a
good pass, or like we saw in the playoffs where
he would just tip home a one second, he had
one second to get a stick down and make a
redirect to get the puck up and over the goaltender.

(18:42):
So he's a smart kid. But the question was whether
he was going to be able to adjust to what
he needed to do. And I always go back to
when he played that one season in the AHL as
a nineteen year old during COVID when he wasn't supposed to.
But of course the OHL season was canceled, so he
got a chance, the opportunity, and and I would talk
to Pascal Vincent who at the time was the head
coach of the manatoa mouse. He said, you could see

(19:04):
the difference in Perfetti adjusting to the Man's game, right.
He went from a guy who got points, but they
were perimeter points to a guy who started to go
to the middle and started to go to the hard
areas because he knew what it started to learn what
it took to play the game at that level. And similarly,
in the NHL, he's now a guy and if ironic,

(19:25):
we call him prick Fetti because there was a game
against Utah where he was like just mucking it up
with guys and not really his usually his style, but
and he of course had his first career hat trick
against the They weren't the mammoth at the time, but
they're the mammoth now and.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
It really has changed his season a little bit.

Speaker 6 (19:42):
And of course Nikolai Eilers has been was out, he
didn't play the full year.

Speaker 3 (19:45):
Of course, Perfetti was able.

Speaker 6 (19:46):
To do it without Elers in the lineup as the
primary driver on that second line and without Elers, and
we don't know how.

Speaker 3 (19:54):
Of course, it's always hard to speculate because.

Speaker 6 (19:56):
You don't know what the team is going to do
come training camp and of course come to start of
the seat. But to me, the biggest advantage for that
Profetty's going to have is that without Eilers, Proffetty's going
to get that chance to go up to the top
power play unit. So that's going to be his big
Can he get his game? Can he get the points
up from, like you said, fifty points this year to

(20:16):
sixty seventy points potentially?

Speaker 4 (20:19):
Now we're moving on to more of the quick hits.
Are so many fantasy relevant forwards on this team. Put
a one versus one here of vlad domestikoff Adam Lowry. Obviously,
these guys, it's not so much about the scoring for
both of them, but which do you prefer of the
two who he think is going to have the better year?

Speaker 6 (20:38):
As I touched on a little bit, I think the
problem for Lowry is the hip surgery that he had
during the offseason or during the summer, i should say.
And the big question mark for Ladin Domestakov is is
he going to be the second line center?

Speaker 3 (20:50):
We don't know.

Speaker 6 (20:51):
It's a toss up because Lowry, even though he's considered
the third line center, gets second line center.

Speaker 3 (20:58):
Minutes. The problem for.

Speaker 6 (21:00):
Fantasy owners is you don't know if he's going to
be playing until sometime in November. So I think Domestikov
is probably your safer bet. But again, Domestakov could end
up being your fourth line center, and so it's a
bit of a toss up if they weren't. I would say,
if the way the things shake out the way I
anticipate they will, I think Domestakov is going to be

(21:20):
your fourth line center.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
I think Lowry will be the.

Speaker 6 (21:23):
Second two A three a center sort of thing with
in platoon potentially with Taves and so I think Lowry
could potentially and but Nomeskov will be on your second
power play unit.

Speaker 3 (21:34):
Lowry won't. So I mean it's.

Speaker 6 (21:36):
A that's a tough one, but I'm gonna go I'm
gonna give it the edge to the captain because I
think Domestakov will be in the fourth fourth line spot.

Speaker 5 (21:44):
All right, let's give you another pick. I'm here Nino,
Nina Ryder versus Alex. I follow both of them a
little bit, probably playing a little bit deeper in the lineup.
But who you like between those two?

Speaker 3 (21:55):
Again there're Alex.

Speaker 6 (21:57):
I follow another guy who the organization really seems to
love his game and give him an opportunity when guys
go down, he ends up being He's that kind of ironically,
I'm gonna say Swiss army knife, even though Nino's the
Swiss guy. But the fact is that he goes up
to that first line center or not first line center,
first line wing position. He'll play second line, third line,

(22:17):
fourth line. So Nino's pretty consistent, right you can expect.
I think, what did he have last year, like seventeen
and twenty three or twenty or something like that, but
something I think he had thirty seven points, and so
Iya Fallo I would give tend to give him the
edge because again I think Nino had more points in
him last year. I think there might be more opportunity

(22:38):
for ia Fallo then there might be for Nino.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
But it's a slight edge. It's not a big one
between those.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
Two, Okay, and then one more pick them and I'm
gonna Gustav Nyquist due to the team twenty eight points,
seventy nine games, Tanner Pearson with twenty seven and seventy eight,
and why don't we just throw Jonathan Taze in there
because we didn't have him listed here, But you mentioned
before you might want to mention him because that's been
some big news this summer. Which one of those gray

(23:04):
beards do you think is going to come out and
have the best one this year?

Speaker 6 (23:09):
I think, if I had to guess, my guess is
going to be I don't want to put too much
pressure on Jonathan Taves because it's a lot. Even though
we've saw with Gabriel Landeskog in Colorado him able to
come back and play the way he did and have
an impact in the playoffs after such a long layoff,
longer of course than Jonathan Taves, different injuries or different situations.

Speaker 3 (23:31):
Of course, to me, Jonathan Taves is such.

Speaker 6 (23:35):
We did the media availability with him, I don't know
a few weeks back, whatever it was. But a guy
like that, a Stanley Cup champion three times, an Olympic champion,
a con smythe winner, a guy with his pedigree, does
not come back to be a fourth liner. He doesn't
come back to collect the paycheck. It's a good paycheck,
don't get me wrong. If he plays sixty games, he
makes five million bucks, so it's not a tough day

(23:58):
to be a hockey player for him. But I think
that he is going to be a guy who is
going to, as I said, get leaned on heavily both
in the room.

Speaker 3 (24:07):
And that's one of the things I've.

Speaker 6 (24:08):
Talked to players about throughout the summer, and whether it's
like a guy like Dylan Samberg or whether a guy
like Gabel Lardi talk about what they can learn from
a guy like that. Now you're asking me a specific
question about points and night Quist is an interesting one
because he's had down seasons the last couple of years
as he's an older player, but he may get an
opportunity he could in theory, I see a lot of

(24:28):
people penciling him in as the second line winger on
a line with Taves and Perfetti. So you know, if
I had to guess, I'm gonna go Niquist Pierson, I think,
to me is probably a guy who's gonna end up
being either a fourth line guy or a thirteenth forward,
So I wouldn't put him in that mix. But I'm

(24:49):
gonna say Niquist or Taves simply because both of those
guys would get I think, on the second line. But
I'm gonna go with Niquiest just because I think I
don't know what.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
Taves is going to look like, and it's hard and
I haven't seen him skate.

Speaker 6 (25:01):
Nobody has, so it's hard to really give yet an
assessment as to what he's going to be. The only thing,
my only qualifier would be a guy like that with
his history and his pedigree doesn't come back to be
a bench warmer.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
So I suspect he's ready.

Speaker 6 (25:14):
He's gonna be ready to go, and he's gonna he's
gonna give this team something that they don't have.

Speaker 5 (25:18):
Indeed, I'm looking forward to watching him. I'm also looking
forward to watching Brad Lambert. I'm curious to hear your
thoughts on that. Before the Jonathan Taves situation, it seemed
like Lambert might have had a more secure spot and
potentially making this team. I'm not sure if that's changed
much now. He certainly has a lot of good physical

(25:39):
attributes and has looked pretty decent in the AHL the
last couple of seasons. But I'm wondering what your thoughts.
Do you think we'll see him for a sustained amount
of time with the Jets or is he gonna spend
most of the time again in the AHL.

Speaker 3 (25:52):
Victor.

Speaker 6 (25:52):
It's an interesting question because I look at Brad Lambert,
a guy who has so much potential. There's a lot
of really people who were saying, oh, you lost a
guy who is fast and could play on the wing.
And even though Lambert prefers to play up the middle
as a center. But something that Na Schmidt told me
many years ago, as a left shot defenseman in Washington,

(26:13):
he said he was asked if he could play on
the right side.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
He goes, right, well, I'll learn, because it's the NHL.

Speaker 6 (26:18):
You want to learn, You want to do what you
need to do to get into the league, the best
league in the world. Brad Lambert of course would adapt
to playing wing if asked to do that at the
NHL level. But he's not Nikolai Eilers, right, He's a
guy's eight years younger than Nikolai Eilers, and it's a
lot to put on his shoulders.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Now.

Speaker 6 (26:32):
He had a down year in the AHL last year,
but guess what. The entire Moose team had it down year.
They were the I think the thirty first or thirty
second team in terms of goals scoring. So that's not
a Brad Lambert alone thing. The team as a group
did not score a lot of goals I think. I
know we're not talking about the AHL, but a lot
of the Jets prospects will have a much better year,
I think because Jets organizationally have done a really good

(26:55):
job to give them some really good veteran players down
there to insulate some of those prospects that are going
to be there. So it's going to be an interesting one.
But I don't I think it's going to have to
especially with waivers and that sort of thing.

Speaker 3 (27:08):
I think Lambert will get.

Speaker 6 (27:10):
And again, I hate adding all these qualifiers to my comments,
but I think it's important to note that we don't
know what his training has looked like this summer. I
talked to him at the end of the years. He
had an ankle injury, which it was crazy because he
suffered in the game, came back, tried playing on It
ended up costing him the rest of the AHL season,
but he was back. He was training with the Black

(27:30):
Aces during the Jets playoff run. And again, if he
has a really good summer, the training camp battle could
give him an opportunity. I don't want to say that
it's automatically Gus Nyquist's job on the second line.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
Maybe we see a Brad Lambert. I don't think it.

Speaker 6 (27:45):
I still think he's going to need another season of
another year of seasoning. But my guess is that he's
going to be seen similar to the kids Jibakov in
the NHL next year with the Jets as one of
the top recall options.

Speaker 4 (27:59):
Let's smooth to the blue line, and of course that
starts with Josh Morrissey. Another excellent year for the veteran.
He'll be only thirty though for this most of the
upcoming year. That's wild to me. His points were eighth
in the league among defensemen. He's extremely reliable. Only once
in his nine year career did he miss more than
four games. His contract came up as an honorable mention

(28:22):
on the Athletics recent list of the best NHL contracts
Best from a team perspective. Morrissey, along with Mark Scheifeley,
is also looking at a place on Team Canada's Olympic team.
So there's that to contend with potentially over the winter.
What do you see defining Josh Morrissey and what are
you expecting for this upcoming year.

Speaker 3 (28:42):
Isn't it ironic how time changes things?

Speaker 6 (28:44):
Because if it wasn't that long ago that Josh Morrissey's
contract was seen as a terrible contract, and oh, you
should leave him, expose him to expansion for Seattle. I
don't keep re seats, guys, but I do remember some
of those comments from folks, and I remember thinking to myself, Okay,
that's an interesting take. I don't think it's one I
would necessarily adapt or a spouse, but sure I expect

(29:05):
him to continue. You got to think that he was
very disappointed, of course, to get injured the way he'd
to get ill in the hockey in the Four Nations
and miss that final game against the United States, and
obviously when he was injured against Dallas and that cost
him the remainder of would.

Speaker 3 (29:22):
Have cost him probably the remainder of the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (29:24):
To be honest with you, even if the Jets had
been able to advance against Edmonton without Josh Morrissey, I
don't know that they would have had a chance against
that Edmonton Oilers team. But the fact is that he
is another guy who just continues to elevate his game
and he wants to be recognized as a premier player.
He gets Norris recognition every year, and similar to Mark Schifley,

(29:49):
here's a guy who got the invite is expected to
be on the roster for Team Canada. But just because
you expect it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.
Of course, you have to have a good year, so
I would expect, And again, I don't know how his
healing process. We haven't heard that from Kevin Shovel day
off yet. I don't know when we'll get an update
in terms of how he's progressed. I'm sure he's fine

(30:09):
and ready to go, but again there hasn't been any
indication one way or the other. But my suspicion is, again,
you're going to have a guy who's motivated by his
success and he continues to elevate his game, and yeah.

Speaker 3 (30:21):
He's getting up there, but he is just such a.

Speaker 6 (30:23):
Smart player, and you hear the way that players his
teammates talk about his game, and even guys like Dylan Samdberg,
how they learn from a player like that. To me,
here's a guy who's just going to continue to get better,
but is motivated both by and again, a lot of
these guys aren't motivated by points.

Speaker 3 (30:39):
They should point that out.

Speaker 6 (30:40):
I know this is a fantasy hockey show, but I
just think these guys especially, I mean, if you look
at the Jets, you had a pretty big drop off
from Connor and Shifley and then down to sixty two
points with Morrissey. So it isn't that this team, even
though they produced a lot, if you look at him,
what do they do the last two years They've prevented
the goals from coming into the net. So that starts

(31:01):
and begins and ends with Josh Morrissey. So I just
think you're going to continue to see him elevate his
game as he continues to get better in this league.

Speaker 4 (31:09):
And Neil Pianc, the other most prominent defenseman probably on
this team, started on fire last year thirteen points in
the first eleven games, and his scoring ended not at
that kind of pace by the end of the year,
but still thirty nine points in sixty nine games with
triple digit shots, blocks and hits. Like Fallardi, he missed
the stretch of games before the end of the season,

(31:31):
but came back for the playoffs. His power play time
is firmly of the second unit variety, although twelve power
play points was very good for under one hundred minutes
at man advantage. Feels like roles here are pretty settled
and given the presence of Morrissey, unlikely to change a
whole lot. But what do you think of Piank's season
and what kind of role do you expect in the

(31:53):
one to come?

Speaker 6 (31:54):
Well, As I mentioned earlier, one of the things the
advantages that Jets had the benefit of so many guys
had career years, including Neil Piank, because a lot of
the guys were not because necessarily but they were in
contract years, Neilian being one of them. He of course
signs a long term deal with the Winnipig Jets, so
it'll be it's always interesting to watch what guys do

(32:14):
after their they get their big long term contract and
how did they handle it. Are they able to put
it out of their mind and just play hockey and
not try and earn the contract, not try and prove people, oh,
this contract was signed and made makes me look good,
makes team look.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
Good, or vice versa.

Speaker 6 (32:33):
So Neil Pianc, though, is a guy who as you said,
him and Dylan Samberg, the Hermantown duo, the guys from
the luth Minnesota know they've known each other their families
for forever. I think they formed just a phenomenal duo.
I think a lot of that is a lot of
Neil Pionk's success I think comes from the stability of
a Dylan Samberg because he is so good defensively that

(32:53):
it allowed Pianc to play his game. And I don't
anticipate even though again, like I said, he said that deal.
I think he's going to continue to do what he does,
which is annoy the other team, show off his offensive flare,
and know that he's got a guy like Dylan Samberg
beside him that's going to always ensure that defensive stability

(33:14):
is there for that pairing.

Speaker 5 (33:16):
So you just mentioned how good Dylan Samberg is defensively,
we talk a little bit more about that guy. Since
he's so good, he's one of my favorites. He for
the first time had twenty points in a season that
was his career high, primarily played with Pianca. As you mentioned,
one of the things that we notice about him Fantasy
GMS that is his bash really good, four point five

(33:37):
to three per game, ranking him one hundred and fourteenth.
So that's solid perperal contribution, even if his points don't
get too much higher than they were this season. Signed
that three times five point seventy five mil this offseason, Phil,
you mentioned the studying defensive presence, but wondering if there's
even more that he can do in terms of his offense,
or many more opportunity he can get. What do you

(33:58):
think the next is going to bring for Samberg?

Speaker 3 (34:03):
A highly motivated one. To be honest with you, Victor,
I think that.

Speaker 6 (34:06):
When we had a media availability with him not that
long ago after he signed that deal and I'd asked him,
I said, listen, you signed a three year deal. Was
there any consideration for a long term deal, because a
lot of folks in these parts were thinking, Jets have
to sign this guy as for as long as they
can get him, because he's going to be worth it.
But he they signed the two two sides came to

(34:26):
terms with that three year deal. And for Samberg, if
you listen to what he said, he basically talked about
next year be approved me year, because even though he's
got the two years after that, I think he knows
and I think the team wants.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
To see, Look, you were really good this year. We
want to see another one of those years next year.

Speaker 6 (34:43):
And if you do them were prepared to give you
that really long term deal, and now it's not that
long based on the new CBA, but it will be
a more substantial deal, especially because the CBA expands, right,
and you're going to get the cap Expanse right, not
the CBA, the capital expanse more opportunity to have a
bigger contract with Winnipeg when this one expires. And I

(35:05):
just think that you're going to just continue to see
him elevate his game.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
I really do.

Speaker 6 (35:08):
I think the sky is the limit for him. I
think he is an unknown quantity outside of.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
Winnipeg for the most part.

Speaker 6 (35:15):
I think, of course, folks in Minnesota know what he
did with the Bulldogs, and he is he is just
a really.

Speaker 3 (35:20):
Good, solid player.

Speaker 6 (35:21):
But if you look at the Jets record with him
in the lineup and with him out of the lineup,
and it's not all Dylan Samberg, but without him in
the lineup, with him in the lineup, they were a
seven hundred team, seven hundred plus team.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
Without him, they were just above five hundred.

Speaker 6 (35:34):
So he is a When he went down that Stampcoast
blocking the stamp coat shot in the regular season on
the PK, the season looked very different when he was gone.
So he is a big impact player, and I think
he is a guy who's just scratching the limit of
scratching the ceiling story of what his abilities are going
to be. I think you're going to see more offense

(35:54):
at a Dylan Samberg and the starting next year.

Speaker 5 (35:58):
Awesome. I love to hear it. Let's switch over to
the goalies. The Jets were ranked ninth and expected goals
against per sixty, but conceded the first the number one
the fewest actual goals per game. I think we all
know why. It was the Vesna winning Connor Hellibuck. What
an awesome season he had, leading the league and wins, shutouts,
goal save above expected forty nine point four eight, almost

(36:18):
fifty goals save above expected. It's just bonkers. His delta
Fendwick was one point nine to three. We don't see
numbers as highs. This is just incredible stuff. All of
his numbers all around were great. Second year of an
eight point five million dollar contract, which I think pretty
clearly shows that he's underpaid based on that number.

Speaker 3 (36:35):
And you look at Eric.

Speaker 5 (36:36):
Comery, who had a pretty solid season saving almost five
goals save above expected. Positive delta Fenwick for a guy
who's really bounced around a lot.

Speaker 7 (36:44):
That was nice to see. This is year two of
two at a league minimum. I guess if this is
the status quo, then I think we could be pretty
happy with this. Dave, what do you think we should
expect from the Jets' goalies next season?

Speaker 3 (36:56):
My expectation is you're going to see much of the same. Again.

Speaker 6 (36:59):
I think the only difference this team might have is
they may go a little bit light.

Speaker 3 (37:03):
They might not play Hella Buck as much.

Speaker 6 (37:05):
That's been the rub here in Winnipeg is whether he's
playing too much, and there's been countless conversations that he
and the coaching staff kind of have a sweet spot
in terms of playing him in terms of the number
of games. But my guess is that you're gonna maybe
see a little bit of a downgrade. I know he
likes to play the way he likes to play, and again,

(37:25):
the one benefit he's going to get from the new
CBA is this idea of having potentially another goalie available
because he doesn't want necessarily practicing, So he might get
a benefit in that regard in later years, but for
next year, I think the Jets, to be honest, you
saw that Eric Comery was competent and capable of more,
and he didn't get a lot of wins during that
He had a bit of a stretch. I think it
was seven games where he wasn't getting any wins. The

(37:46):
problem was the team wasn't scoring. So people like Eric Comery.
Eric Comedy is more than capable, but if your team
scoring one or two goals a game, you're not winning
very many of those games. And Eric Comery showed that
he was solid when given that opportunity. And I don't
anticipate because I've been talking using the word motivated throughout
the course of this conversation guys, and Connor Hallibuck is motivated.

(38:07):
And if you don't think, I always laugh at when
people say, oh, we don't listen to this, we don't
listen to this.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Most of these guys listen. Most of these guys know
what's going on. Most of these guys know what's being said.
So my anticipation is that you're gonna see Connor Hallibuck.
I'm not saying he's gonna have the numbers.

Speaker 6 (38:20):
Victor that you just laid out, because those are pretty
hard to replicate. And I don't think the Jets are
gonna have nearly not it should say nearly, but not
as good as season as did last year.

Speaker 3 (38:29):
But my guests would be you're gonna see.

Speaker 6 (38:30):
Connor Hallibuck very similarly motivated and wanting to be especially
again another guy who's going to be an Olympic goaltender,
and you're gonna see a guy who's gonna be very motivated.

Speaker 4 (38:41):
All right, this has been a great tour through the
President's Trophy defending winners. Dave, why don't you let people
know how they should keep up with your work? Just
a lot of Winnipeg Jets fans do.

Speaker 6 (38:53):
All right, Thanks Jesse, appreciate it. Thanks appreciate the conversation.
And yeah, we're of course the Legal Curve dot Com,
which is a daily site for Jets and Moose new
and of course the Illegal Curve Hockey show and postgame
show that's on our YouTube channel, So you can just
go to Illegal Curve Hockey and find us on YouTube
and join us after every Jets game where we break
things down and then of course Saturday mornings nine o'clock
to eleven on our YouTube channel.

Speaker 4 (39:15):
Out standing. Thanks so much for coming on today.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
Dave, appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (39:19):
Thanks for having me, all right, all right, will since
then that's good fire patsp oh my goodness, ro Longo
with a cat we gram for.

Speaker 4 (39:38):
Now it's your weekly goalie talk. But Kat Silverman, Cat's instincts.

Speaker 7 (39:43):
Time once again for Cat's instincts with Cass Silver and
have been bull mag we're talking Jets goalies. We're gonna
start with Dominic de Vincensus. He is a six two
and eighteen pounds goalie drafted in the seventh round back
in twenty twenty two. He's now twenty one and he
made his professional transition after three years in the OHL
for the North Bay Italian. He spent time between the

(40:05):
Manitoba Moose of the OHL and the Norfolk Admirals of
the ECCHL. His numbers were not great in the ECCHL,
a little bit better in the AHL. So looking at
the hockey prospecting, it's a low equivalency percent chance of
being a starter. He's covered in that nineteen to twenty
one percent. Not a whole lot of great comps in
that region. But Jimmy Howard is what so that's nice? Yet,

(40:28):
what do your instincts tell us about? Deep in Census,
We do.

Speaker 8 (40:32):
Love a good Jimmy Howard comparable. That's kind of fun
one there. He's a tough one. The Jets have been
maybe one of the most baffling teams trying to get
a gauge on, just because they.

Speaker 9 (40:44):
Really ultimately.

Speaker 8 (40:47):
Have gone so heavily with their commitment to writing Connor
Hallibek for the last what eight or so years here,
so they really haven't even needed to have a true tandem.

Speaker 9 (40:59):
They've experimented with it here and there, but they really.

Speaker 8 (41:01):
Haven't had the need to cycle like a good true tandem,
and so they haven't really given a lot of their
goaltenders a ton of room to shine. And I don't
really know where he fits into their organization at the moment,
just because he looks fine, but he doesn't look great,

(41:24):
and I don't know what their plan for him is.
He pandles the puck pretty well, he doesn't overly like,
he doesn't over commit with his depths, he doesn't have
any issues with tracking his rebounder.

Speaker 9 (41:40):
Serviceable.

Speaker 8 (41:41):
But there's nothing about him that makes me think that
he's a clear and cut.

Speaker 9 (41:45):
Ready NHL starter.

Speaker 8 (41:47):
Nothing about him really makes me feel like he's a
clear and cut NHL backup yet.

Speaker 9 (41:52):
And even if he is getting close.

Speaker 8 (41:54):
I don't know if that's what they want for him,
because eventually they're going to need to have another starter,
And I don't know. Most teams have moved towards a tandem,
and he doesn't look like he is anything but that
they haven't seemed super interested in doing a true tandem.
They've really ridden with that clear cut starter. And that's

(42:15):
not what he looks like to me, all.

Speaker 7 (42:16):
Right, that sounds a little bit underwhelming. We might continue
down that train here with the next guy. That's Thomas Millick.
He's six foot zero, maybe one hundred and seventy nine pounds.
Drafted in the fifth round back in twenty twenty three.
The past season was his second professional season. It was
a bit rough, although he had the opposite of evensensus
because his ECCHL numbers more fantastic, but his AHL numbers

(42:37):
were pretty bad. Looking at his Hockey prospecting equivalency, it's
pretty low. It started off at zero for lack of
equivalency in that league, and then went up into the
high teens and then has covered in the low twenties.
So not a lot of great comps in that neighborhood.
But Tom v Tech Bancheck is one.

Speaker 4 (42:55):
So there's that, Kat. What do your interestingcts to tell
you about Milich?

Speaker 8 (43:00):
I really liked his game when he was first draft eligible.

Speaker 9 (43:05):
He is really small.

Speaker 8 (43:08):
He is listed at six to zho one hundred and
seventy nine pounds. I have had a few scouts in
the past tell me that's maybe being a little optimistic.
He's probably closer to five ten, five eleven, kind of
the Auntie Ronto side of six tozho instead of someone
who's closer to six to one. He has looked pretty
good in the past, but once again, I'm not really

(43:30):
sure what the Jets want from him. They haven't given
him a ton of indication that he is a promising
prospect for them, and he did struggle a little bit
when it came to.

Speaker 9 (43:44):
Moving the to the pro circuit for them.

Speaker 8 (43:47):
When when he really essentially started playing more regularly at
the HL level, and I don't know. I liked his depth,
I liked his decision making, and then that changed for
me and he's been working his way back, But I
don't know if that's necessarily something that they're going to
give him a ton of chances to prove that he
is still the player that he was when they drafted

(44:08):
him in twenty twenty three.

Speaker 9 (44:10):
He had looked the really promising.

Speaker 8 (44:12):
For a team Canada, and then he I don't know,
he didn't translate it super well into his actual day
to day career, so I don't know.

Speaker 9 (44:19):
I'd guess he's probably going to be I don't know.

Speaker 8 (44:23):
I would assume this is his year to prove that
he can be their de facto number one at the
AHL level, because really he's been splitting fifty to fifty
for the last two years. But I don't know if
that's what the Jets want from him, and I don't
know if they have that much faith in him, So
I would say he's kind of wait and see for me.

Speaker 9 (44:40):
At this point, I had been really high on him,
and then he didn't.

Speaker 8 (44:45):
Excuse me, he didn't really translate it super well in
his first couple of years, at least at the AHL level.
He just looked like he was having a little bit
of trouble with footwork speed, which is surprising for me
because that had never been an issue for him in
the past.

Speaker 7 (45:00):
All right, thanksgiving us your instincts on the Winnipeg Jets.

Speaker 4 (45:02):
Goalies, Victor, there is something else we gotta talk about.
Don't we have something special to give to the listeners.

Speaker 7 (45:11):
That's right, Jesse Dauber Hockey has generously given us a
couple of free copies of their amazing fantasy hockey guide.

Speaker 5 (45:18):
It's the Bible. It's the best fantasy hockey guide out there,
and we're gonna give it away to some of our listeners.
All you need to do is leave us a recent
from the time you hear this five star review on
appule Pad Podcasts or the podcast app of your choice,
and then send it to me, Victor, a screenshot with
your name or a way to identify you and your

(45:38):
most recent five star review, otherwise I don't have a
way to track who it was. And then we'll select
a couple of the winners from all those who enter
and get you your guide.

Speaker 4 (45:48):
We'll be back right after this.

Speaker 6 (46:00):
Dig the.

Speaker 4 (46:07):
Dynasty Dig Winnipeg Jets edition, Victor. The Jets won the
President's Trophy, but if there was an equivalent of the
President's Trophy for prospect system ranks, they would not have
won that. In fact, only if there was an award
for the number twenty four prospect system would they have won. Nonetheless,
they've got good prospects. Starts with a no brainer. Who

(46:27):
is it?

Speaker 5 (46:28):
That would be Kevin He That's right, he is him.
He is a six foot er, one hundred and eighty
one pound left wing twenty twenty four to fourth round pick.
He was definitely one of the biggest risers last year.
After fifty three points in sixty four games in his
draft season for Niagara, he was named captain and popped
off for seventy five points in sixty two games. In fact,
there was a time in the fall where he was

(46:49):
approaching two points per game and we were getting really excited.
But still fantastic season for him. You love to see it.
You look at his FHL player card and all of
most of it's green up and down. He has some
pretty great transition numbers. Most of his play driving is
pretty good. Some of his net expected goals, of course,
he was a little bit lower. His blocks are just

(47:12):
around average, and so add that to his high hits
and shots and he looks like a bash gem ninety
seven percentile for bash. His scoring mostly his shooting, but
also his playmaking is pretty good. So he's looking like
he could be a steal in that fourth round. Six
point four to five is what I have him at
forty five percent chance of being a six. Let's hear
a little bit more about what makes Kevin He's special.

(47:33):
For MYRIFHL scout Jesse.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
Kevin he is the topic on the table today. Austin Kelly,
our FHL scout is on the case, says that Kevin
is one of the best skaters in the OHL, perhaps
even the CHL. A mobile forward who has a strong
person skating stride that makes him a menace with the puck.
Also shown much more elusiveness to his game and using
footwork to do fine playmaker, but the passing game seems

(47:58):
a bit basic, shorts, simple passes without a lot of
higher end creation plays. It works, but he can play
a bit too simplistic at times and prefers to play
a little too safe with the puck. Can move the
puck well enough, but needs to get better at scanning
the ice and finding the right play rather than the easiest.
For shooting, he is a very strong shooter who's shown
a versatile bag of scoring tricks, whether it be from

(48:21):
the point or from distance. Capable of finding the net
from a slap shot or jamming the pucking close has
found success in the multiple facets of the game, getting
the puck to the net and can get goals no
matter where he needs to be. Austin says of the
Hockey IQ plays with a lot of composure and awareness
on the ice, never overtly flashy, but he makes the
smart plays and doesn't make many mistakes with the puck.

(48:43):
On defense, there's defensive calmness in his game. He is
more of a hard worker than he is a powerhouse
and willing to play an intense, scrappy game even if
he's not the most physical. All he does well defending
the net and keep composed in one on one. All
that's missing is the strength. The ability to score from

(49:05):
anywhere and the intensity to compete are the two things then,
that could make Kevin he a specialty player in the NHL.
A guy who plays hard and fights to get goals
is something that could make him a valuable asset if
he's just a bottom six player with any team really
needing that sort of energy player who can provide offense.
The biggest concern he can play it a little too
safe at times. Needs to open himself up more to

(49:26):
have a higher projection. A lot of his game has
the habit of being a bit basic, and he risks
not being able to flash higher end skills at a
higher level because it works well now against the Ohl competition,
he's going to need a flasheer of toolkit at the
pro ranks. The top tier outcome then, per Proston, he's
a peak at peak, a middle six winger with second
line potential, possible twenty to twenty five goal fifty to

(49:49):
fifty five point producer who can play on the power
play too. The justification, he's a mobile goal scoring winger
with good intensity. He's able to continue getting heiser and
more dynamic. He could very well rise as a player.
He has a bit of a simple player, but there's
that added layer of craftiness and if it gets unlocked,

(50:11):
it'll be a big boost the fiftieth percentile outcome. Third
line goal scoring winger who can provide energy ten to
fifteen goals, twenty five to thirty five points. As mentioned before, Kevin,
he is not the most advanced player at times, and
it could limit him to a bottom six role. Now
that's a role where he should be fine appearing, but
depends on how much more creative of a player he

(50:32):
can be and if he can move the puck more
often stylistic comparable, could he be a Josh Norris type
player who gets goals and plays with energy and good skating.
Might not reach Norris's peak, but Kevin he could become
a good value version of what Norris does. And the
NHL rank King Mason Black says Kevin he should go
up against match Chew catafour of the Vegas goal of

(50:55):
the Knights draft system, and Catiford is the victor in
a narrow margin fifty point eight to forty nine point two.

Speaker 5 (51:03):
Victor, oh Man, this is a hard one. I really
I want to pick he. I think that he's such
a great riser and all that, and I think that
I probably will go with him, even though I like Catiford.
Vegas Golden Knights prospect third round pick back in twenty
twenty three. He's looked pretty good. He was with Ramuski

(51:23):
and the Q this past season, with Halifax previously, and
his scoring has been pretty good, although it didn't rise
as much this year as it has in the past,
so there was a little bit of a dip, whereas
he has more of an upward trajectory and finished with
a little bit higher PNHLLY, so I like to see that.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
You look at the Hockey.

Speaker 5 (51:41):
Prospect in between the two and he went from nine
to twenty one percent chance of being a star, and
then Catiford nine to seven to nine to three percent
chance of being a star. You look at the FHL
player fart card for Catiford and it looks pretty great.

Speaker 3 (51:57):
There's a lot of.

Speaker 5 (51:57):
Green, there's a lot of lighter green and mostly positive
numbers up and down the card. With transition perferle passing
all that, his bast figures to be eighty two percent,
so also pretty good. Looking at some other more reasonable
comps for Kevin, he I think that Lowston Kraus is
a good one. He might not hit quite as much,
but he tends to do that a fair amount, and

(52:20):
maybe he'll have similar scoring to Kraus, maybe a little
bit more, that's the hope. But looking at the jfresh card,
three percent chance of being a star, twenty percent chance
of being an NHLR, so as usual, a little bit
more pessimistic.

Speaker 4 (52:36):
And victor the need to know prospect.

Speaker 5 (52:39):
The need to know is Kiernan Walton twenty twenty four
hundred and eighty seventh overall pick. We're talking some of
the late picks here for Winnipeg, which, hey, when you're
a good team, you got to do that to stay relevant.
So you like to see that there's some some guys
of interest there. Six foot six, two hundred and twelve pounds,
big dude, and he had a pretty season for Sudbury.

(53:01):
After being under point per game in his draft season,
he went to ninety two points sixty six games for
Sudbury this past season. At the end of the season,
he did join Manitoba for a few HL games one
point in four games, but it's good to get that experience.
He should be back in the AHL this season. Fortunately
he's in April twenty second birthday, so he it's either

(53:24):
NHL or OHL for him right now, and he could
probably use a little bit more more help.

Speaker 9 (53:32):
So.

Speaker 5 (53:32):
Looking at some other tracking data for Kieranan Walton, his
FHL player card looks like his transition is excellent eighty
nine percent across the board, the play driving only at
forty percent, including pretty low coursey and net expected goals,
but all of those are pretty low for him. The
Priss look pretty good mostly his shots, though his hit

(53:52):
some blocks are only in the thirtieth percent. Tile passing
and shooting all looks pretty good, and he does pim
a lot. So if you like penalty minutes, then while
think can help you with that. I've met a six
point four or five, so forty five percent chance of
being a six. Let's hear a little bit more about
what makes him interesting though, from MYFHL scout Jesse.

Speaker 4 (54:13):
What does FHL scout have to Austin have to say
about Kieran Walton's a fine skater for his size. He
moves well, isn't too lanky overall, a slower skater who
lacks strong acceleration and footwork, but capable enough to make
the lack of foot speed work with good intensity. A
strong puck handler, He's highly mobile, does well setting up

(54:33):
plays with a puck. There's some good deceptiveness in his
game that he's grown more this season as his game matures.
For shooting, Kiaren isn't a gifted shooter and doesn't have
the most dominant shot, but has taken up the load
of scoring chances for a Sudbury team that lacks goals
from their top six, except of course, from Quentin Musty.
With Musty in the AHL next season, Walton will have

(54:53):
to step up again and will lead the goal scoring
department again, which he's managed to do in terms of IQB.
Walton's a smart player when he's trying out, but there
are a few cases when he's a bit of a
floater who can be a step behind if he's caught
watching the puck. Anyway away from the puck, Walton is
a bit inconsistent and doesn't have the best effort level
without the puck on his stick. On defense, Austin uses

(55:18):
his or Walton uses his six to sixth frame to
deliver his play and play a physically imposing game. Doesn't
play as much of a power forward as he could,
but there are a lot of good moments of Walton
using his reach to shut down plays and use his body.
Best asset, then, is that mix of size and puck
moving ability. Walton's reach allows him to move the puck

(55:38):
upward with ease and create plays. The biggest concern Walton
can be a bit inconsistent and caught watching, and when
he has the puck he's engaged, but when he doesn't
have it sometimes he'll take a step back and not
be as active. The top tier outcome potential thirty thirty five,
sixty five top point producer and a peak of seventy
points at his best with powerplay one penalty killed two opportunities.

(56:02):
It's hard to see him peaking as high as Tah
Thompson among tall guys, but it's possible depending on how
much freedom he's given and the line mates around him.
Upside is based on Walton's growth this season and if
it's something that continues to show progression on the coming seasons.
The media outcome twenty thirty fifty a middle six energy
winger with a chance to be powerplay two, Walton could

(56:24):
be a bit inconsistent. If that carries over to the
NHL and he becomes a liability in the league, it
could restrict him from being able to reach a top
six role at least regularly. And the stylistic comparable Walt
has been compared by some to Tage Thompson. There's elements
in the twos game, but Walton's hitting that level doesn't
appear all that certain. Thank you Austin for that scouting

(56:46):
report and the NHL ranking. Mason Black has this to say,
Karen Walton versus Idar Suniev and Suniev comes out ahead
fifty four point six to forty five point four victor.

Speaker 5 (57:02):
Yeah, I'm definitely taking Sonyev here. He has been really awesome,
going from the BCCHL to UMass and putting up twenty
five points in thirty six games in his first season
and then going over point per game this past season.
He even got a game with the Flames. Most likely
he'll be in the HL next season, so he's also
getting really close to being ready for the NHL. And

(57:23):
the fact that he had some pretty great scoring in
the NCUBA, I'm taking Sonyev. The PNHL looks similar, but
I have more confidence in Sonyev doing it at the
NCUBLA level. Both of these guys have pretty low hockey
prospecting their equivalency because it was really low in their
draft season. It just hasn't really recovered or taken off,
so both of them are really low. Looking at Sonyev's

(57:45):
FHL player card, it looks pretty awesome. His play, driving, transition, passing,
shooting all really high in the eighties or nineties percentile.
Even his bash looks pretty good. His hits are pretty high,
his shots are really high, and his blocks are close
to average. So got a nice floor there his pims
are high, so yeah, I have him met at six
point four to four, but I would definitely take him

(58:05):
due to his proximity to the NHL and doing it
at a more difficult level. Looking at some other comps
for Kernon Walton, I mean, I guess if you're aiming high,
then Carteriver Haagy is certainly one Verhagey always had pretty
low equivalencies, and obviously he's turned out to be a star.
But most of the guys who look like Kierenon Walton
in this model are replacement level or bus so that's

(58:27):
what we're hoping he'll avoid. Looking at the jfreshcard four
percent chance of being a star, sixty one percent chance
of being an NHL or as usually a little bit
more pessimistic.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
And victory to keep your eye on prospect.

Speaker 5 (58:40):
Brandon Yeager is the keep your eye on. I think
some people might have expected him to be higher, but yeah,
he's fallen down quite a bit. Twenty twenty three, fourteenth
overall pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they swapped him
for Rerecor mcgrorty in that trade. Six foot, zero hundred
and seventy pounds, he obviously was with the Moushow Warriors previously,

(59:03):
and then he was traded to Lethbridge and had a
pretty good season there, forty two points in thirty three
games and a pretty strong playoff run. He was on
that U twenty Canada team and overall pretty solid season.
He should be getting some HL time as early as
next season. He's now twenty, so that'll be a really
important transition for Branden Jeger. Looking at his FHL player
card from his WHL time, the play driving didn't really

(59:27):
look as good as you would have hoped. That was disappointing.
His transition game was pretty good, but the priffs really low.
His hit some blocks are extremely low, so he's definitely
more of a points only a guy, and he doesn't
really pi him either, So mostly you're hoping that the
playmaking translates. That's probably his best skill, but overall I'm
not super confident that the scoring is going to translate
a lot. Let's hear a little bit more about what

(59:48):
might translate from my FHL scout Jesse.

Speaker 4 (59:51):
One more from FHL scout Austin Kelly on Branden Yegger's
a solid skater with good edgework and mobility. Not the fastest,
but as strong first and acceleration and with a touch,
does well at being elusive while uses edges well. With
a good skating coach in the pros, he should be
able to become a very strong skater. Passing and handling
sixth among WHL players in the past two seasons and assists,

(01:00:14):
and yet it seems like the playmaking element of his
game has always been secondary to his scoring touch. Jeger
has shown more of an ability to create plays and
is getting better at exploiting open space to set up
scoring chances for his teammates, although in the pro level
it's likely his goal to assist ratio will be more
balanced shooting. Despite not appearing as a shooter on the
score sheet, Jeger has been one of the more skilled

(01:00:37):
shooters in the WHL since his last Since his draft year,
Yeager has shown the ability to score from just about
anywhere and does well taking possession of the puck and
creating his own shot, something that should translate to the
pro level better than it does now. Jeger is a
very smart player who's quite methodical. In his earlier years,
Jeger had relied a bit more on his skill and

(01:01:00):
has done better now at planning out routes and not
getting himself into trouble. Can struggle at times on defense
despite not being active defense in not being active enough
and has caused a few poor goals, but shows that
his vision and hockey senses there, just needs to use
it better in physical play on defense. Up until last season,
Yeager wasn't a player who from a personal standpoint, stood

(01:01:21):
out as defensively dominant, always a bit too small to
be overtly physical, never seemed like a shutdown player, although
he was capable enough. Austin says, Jeger has improved immensely
as a defensive forward. Perhaps it's his age helping him,
but Yeger has become a lot better at breaking up
plays battling for the puck. He looks a lot more
engaged as well in physical moments and is applying more

(01:01:43):
pressure defense. He'll never compete for a Selkie or be
a top defender, but there's a lot of positive growth
in Yegger's defensive game, and he's been willing to step
up on his own end, so the best asset. Jigger's
one of the most skilled prospects right now, a natural
offensive creator who has a strong upside as a forward.
Based on the skilly possesses with the puck, Jeger has

(01:02:05):
real potential as a top line forward in the future
if everything goes right. The biggest concern Yegger's not big
by any means, and he'll have to prove he can
match up physically against bigger, stronger teammates. Despite an improved defense,
He'll have to prove he can play physical hockey in
the pros and not rely on his natural skills to
guide him. Top tier outcome potential of fifty five to

(01:02:28):
sixty five point producer, with possible peaks up to seventy
depending on how many assists he can muster. Chance he's
a first line center, although as previously mentioned, first line
may move him to the wing, and that's because Brad
Yeager has always been a very natural offensive talent, dating
back to prior to the WHL, where he seemed like
one of the most surefire prospects out West in years,

(01:02:49):
although he had to compete with connor Bidart for the
hype at that time. Jegger's worked on improving the weaker
elements in his game and if his development hits, he
could manage a top line role with his advanced offensive
skill while having grown on defense, could also play in
both the power play and penalty kill. The media outcome
forty five to fifty point to see with a chance

(01:03:11):
to play power play too, that would be the occasion
if Yeager hasn't yet proved he's physical and offensively skilled
enough to match up against the league's best. He's good,
but its weakest. He doesn't look like a top six forward,
and he can make a few mistakes. And the stylistic
comparable Jigger's got a game similar to Seth Jarvis's. Yeager

(01:03:31):
is similar, but they're both smaller forwards with dynamic two
way offensive games who can both score goals and have
a strong puck moving. Since both play a mature game,
despite lack of physicality, have been competitive impact forwards. In
the final thought, Jeger is a player where you can
see how he'd succeed and become a Seth Jarvis level player,
but you can also see a world where he's just

(01:03:52):
another guy in the mix. He's not perfect. At times
you do want more from him, but at his best
there's a player you can see Yeger very well. We'll
outplay the expectations of him and pretty quickly into his
career and Mason Black puts Braden Yeger up against Liam
Ogrin of the Minnesota Wild, another very prominent prospect, and

(01:04:15):
somewhat to my surprise, Jeger comes out big, fifty nine
to forty one percent over Liam Ogrin. Now, Ogrin was
down a little bit this year, big for but I
believe he's a favorite of yours. Who what do you
think of this matchup?

Speaker 5 (01:04:29):
Yeah, you're right about that, Jesse. I was surprised at
this too. I think it's when you look at the
pn H League between the two, Jaeger's is still a
little bit higher, even though it's trended down, and Ogrin's
equivalency did take a hit because he was in the AHL,
which I'm assuming is what's going to happen for Jeger
next year when he's in the AHL. I think his
equivalence he's going to plummet. And overall, I like Ogrin better.

(01:04:50):
He's more of a play driver, he's more of a
complete player. I really like him. I think he's he's
breaking into the NHL right now. He already played twenty
four games this season. He should be a staple in
that this season. I think he can work his way
up the lineup two, So I like Ogeran a lot more.
In fact, I think this should be not only flipped,
but I would smash except on Liam Ogrin if I

(01:05:10):
got this trade if I had Yaeger. So I think
that one's actually pretty easy for me. Looking at the
hockey prospect between the two, they're pretty similar. Jaeger's at
thirteen percent chance of being a star. Ogren has been
in the low teens his whole time and finished at
ten percent. If you look at his FHL player card
based on his HL time, there's a lot of red here.
I think it shows that there was some hit and

(01:05:32):
miss times in his transition. He was struggling to drive
play and to get the transition going. But overall, I
think that he's going to get there, and I think
that he has some strong metrics that aren't always quantified
in these numbers. And I haven't met a six point
sixty seven, so quite a bit higher than Jaeger. If

(01:05:52):
you look at the hockey prospecting for some other comps
for Yeager, Dylan Holloway is probably a reasonable one. He
actually looks pretty similar in this model, and of course
he popped off a little bit later after making the NHL.
So maybe Yago can do that. I think that's probably
about the best we can hope for looking at the
j fresh card for him, just five percent chance of
being a star, thirty five percent chance of being an

(01:06:13):
NHL or so as usually a little bit more pessimistic.
That's all for our Winnipeg Jets dig. If you're a patron,
you can listen to my top ten prospect recap and
if you're insted in doing some scouting or helping out
the show, shoot me a DM on Twitter, Discord or
email us.

Speaker 4 (01:06:27):
Be right back.

Speaker 10 (01:06:28):
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