The Winnipeg Jets have been fairly strong in the draft. We’ve never really failed with too many players after moving to Winnipeg. We still have failed a few times and also many times in Atlanta.
Patrick Stefan – 1st overall, 1999
Patrik Stefan was a Thrashers pick, long before the Jets came back to Winnipeg. Stefan is arguably the NHL’s worst ever 1st overall pick. He was picked from the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL, and he was a highly touted prospect who ended up doing nothing. Patrik Stefan ended his NHL career with a poor total of 188 points in 455 games.
If you’re looking for a comparable to Stefan, it’s Nail Yakupov. Exactly the same first overall bust situation, only over a decade later.
Lukas Sutter – 2nd round, 39th overall, 2012
Lukas Sutter was a very exciting prospect when selected. He was part of the Sutter family, and was expected to be a solid NHL player. Sutter was putting up some solid numbers in his draft year, and was playing a hard, gritty, physical game. He was a great two way payer, and everything was looking great for him.
Sutter went into the season after being drafted with the Saskatoon Blades, and absolutely bombed. Generally you improve your play each year in juniors, but this was definitely not the case for Sutter. He wasn’t looking good at all, and wasn’t like the prospect he was drafted as.
Sutter was then traded to the Red Deer Rebels, where his game slightly improved, but needed shoulder surgery. His uncle was the head coach of the team, but that truly didn’t help.
The Jets didn’t sign him, so Sutter then re-entered the draft a few years later where the Islanders picked him in the 7th round. He played a little bit for their AHL affiliate, and also on their ECHL team. This was the end of Sutter’s professional career, and he truly was one of biggest busts for the Winnipeg Jets.
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Alex Burmistrov – 8th overall, 2010
Atlanta made a bad, bad decision with Burmistrov. It wasn’t selecting him that was bad, it was their development plan. He was put right into the lineup, expecting to play right from the get-go. Atlanta should have re-assigned him to the Barrie Colts, but made a bad decision by not doing so.
The next year, Burmistrov moved to Winnipeg like all other Thrashers. The Jets, like the Thrashers didn’t send him down for development when they should have. He was still eligible, but the decision was made for him to stay.
After two years of playing in Winnipeg, Burmistrov had enough. He went back home to Russia to go play in the KHL. He put up some decent numbers, and there was a bit of hype when he returned. There was also lots of talk about the Winnipeg Jets trading his rights before he came back. None of those rumours really turned out, and he came back to Winnipeg. Burmistrov only lasted a season and a half, then was waived.
This season he only played over 20 games with the Canucks before his agent came out to announce his retirement from the NHL. It was unexpected, but it doesn’t surprise me that he did it.
These are just a few of the failures that have happened for the Winnipeg Jets. Hopefully we keep the busts minimal, but sometimes it’s bound to happen.