Winnipeg Jets First Round Draft Success Isn't Over

The Winnipeg Jets have become so good, largely on the success of their draft success. That success has mostly come in the first round. That round has brought them studs such as Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Jacob Trouba and Mark Scheifele.

The Winnipeg Jets built such a strong core on that first round success. But we’re excluding a couple players when we talk about those aforementioned players.

And we’re not excluding them because they’ve failed, they just haven’t arrived yet. These two players are D Logan Stanley, who was taken 18th in the 2016 NHL Draft, and Kristian Vesalainen, who was taken 21st overall the year after.

Having had so many good players graduate from the system, one would think the Jets farm has been almost depleted. But the depth of this system is fantastic and certainly was not talked about enough.

Now that they’re succeeding in the NHL, everyone else is on notice. But there’s more on the way. And we’re going to focus on the first rounders, because that’s fun. Also, Vesalainen just might be the best prospect down on the farm. And you will probably see him this season.

“I think I’m a bit more an all-around player…he has a better shot than me” Vesalainen told the Winnipeg Sun about being compared to Patrik Laine, another Finnish forward.

He does have a pretty good shot, though (although Laine has one of the best two or three in the game). I’m excited to see him, and he’ll be in training camp this year.

As for Logan Stanley, he’s a bit more divisive. The big lefty (he’s 6’7), which is ridiculous, has struggled a bit recently in the lower leagues. As you might imagine, he’s a physical player, who loves to clear some space down low.

But the NHL has left big, slower defenseman behind for the quick players who can move the puck (and themselves) through all three zones.

Stanley has a bit of Dylan McIlrath in him, being a big dude who needs to improve on his skating. I love seeing him play, throwing the body around and using his size well.

He just needs to improve his lower half. His offensive game is behind a bit, and I’ve seen the word “bust” thrown around, but I believe in patience with blueliners, especially at a bigger size.

I would expect to see Stanley with the Manitoba Moose this season, which definitely makes him a call-up candidate. I would honestly be surprised to see him on the big club this season, however.

Next: The John Tavares Pipe Dream

But yes, there’s a few more chips down on the farm that Cheveldayoff has to work with. Whether he uses those to call-up or to upgrade via trade remains to be seen, but they’re still there.

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Winnipeg Jets First Round Draft Success Isn’t Over

The Winnipeg Jets have become so good, largely on the success of their draft success. That success has mostly come in the first round. That round has brought them studs such as Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Jacob Trouba and Mark Scheifele.

“I think I’m a bit more an all-around player…he has a better shot than me” Vesalainen told the Winnipeg Sun about being compared to Patrik Laine, another Finnish forward.

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