Winnipeg Jets Make Final Cuts, Announce Full 23 Man Opening Day Roster

The Winnipeg Jets needed to finalize their roster Tuesday, a day before the team heads to St. Louis ahead of the season opener. They, of course, did finalize the roster.

The Winnipeg Jets roster decisions weren’t big deals, really. It came up to a couple of depth players at the forward and defenseman spots. Eric Comrie had been sent down a week or so ago, and even before that, there was little confusion about who would be the backup netminder.

The full roster is as follows:

Forwards: Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mathieu Perreault, Jack Roslovic, Kristian Vesalainen, Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev, Marko Dano, Brendan Lemieux.

Defenseman: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Josh Morrissey, Jacob Trouba, Ben Chiarot, Joseph Morrow, Dmitry Kulikov.

Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Laurent Brossoit. Nic Petan is also on bereavement leave following the death of his father. Hope the kid’s okay, must be a tough time.

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So, let’s start with the big news. Jack Roslovic seems like he’s going to be centering a third line. That third line may also contain Nikolaj Ehlers, whose skill could only help Roslovic’s development.

Kristian Vesalainen has also skated with that line, which will make for a really fun third group. If that’s the case, Perreault would take Ehlers’ place along the second line.

I don’t know if I love that, but this third line could be fun, and Patrik Laine can score on a line by himself. I think if Bryan Little struggles, they’ll flip him and Roslovic, and possibly Perreault and Ehlers.

Especially if Roslovic and Ehlers develop a good rapport. Lemieux also breaks the roster, but I think the Jets will only put him in if they need his…grit. So he can grit people in the face. But, good for him.

According to yesterday’s practice, that’s what we got. Lemieux and Marko Dano are the extras, and Kulikov is the seventh D-man. I’m interested to see what they do with the second and third pairings.

I’d rather see Morrow with Byfuglien, but it’s been Chiarot. Morrow was skating with Tyler Myers. Those are three pretty good pairs, but the Morrissey-Trouba duo is the best of the bunch.

I’m really excited about Vesalainen and Roslovic. The Winnipeg Jets have been so good at developing young talent, and their success is owed almost entirely to it. Almost all of their big draft picks have panned out (Looking at you to do something, Logan Stanley).

But if they can put out two more high end youngsters? This team could theoretically waltz into the SCF and win the damn thing.

Another thing of note, the last cut, Tucker Poolman, had a decent camp and I thought he might get a spot over Chariot/Kulikov. The Jets went with the vets. Even if it’s the wrong call, you can’t blame them. I was rooting for him, despite the fact that he’s an adult human with the name Tucker.

Either way, there’s a lot of depth waiting in the AHL, at every position. Even Eric Comrie could come up and challenge for the goaltender job should Brossoit falter. Poolman or Stanley could come up if there’s injuries on the blueline, and Kulikov is better than a seventh defenseman.

He’d be on the Rangers second pairing, at worst.  I’m excited for this team, and the fun all starts tomorrow in Missouri.