The Winnipeg Jets don’t want their best prospect overseas, playing out the season in the KHL. But they didn’t have room to play him in their current roster, and a decision was made.
The Winnipeg Jets are affiliated with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Jokerit of the KHL? Yeah, not so much. Also, they’re in Finland.
The Jets did not want to see Kristian Vesalainen go back to Europe. You want him here, in the AHL, playing every day, but ready for a call up at any point.
Now, they’ll have to live without having their top prospect available for quite some time. It’s okay, he’s just 19. He’ll have time to develop and he’ll be available to the big club before you know it.
It’s a tricky situation. The Jets brought KV overseas, and he won a spot on their opening day roster. I was unaware of the clause at the time, but the stipulation in his contract that says he can go back to Europe if he wasn’t on the NHL roster after Nov 17, probably played a part.
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Stick him on the roster, see if he can start off hot, and then he’ll probably want to stick around even if he has a few stints in the AHL. He played five games early on, had an assist in his first game, and then was sent down.
The Winnipeg Jets recalled him the day before his clause was set to trigger, obviously trying to keep him close from bolting to Europe.
But if you’re Vesalainen, and you’re not playing in the NHL, why wouldn’t you want to go home? Jokerit acquired his KHL rights a few days before the stipulation, so we knew this was a possibility the whole time.
The Jets recalled KV to prevent him from bolting, but he was a healthy scratch the whole time. I get it, they’re in a tight race, they need wins. They can’t be trying to develop a prospect if it could be costing them on the ice.
They didn’t deem him ready for regular NHL action, and I don’t blame them. But they know he’s close. If they didn’t think he was almost ready, they wouldn’t care if he went back to Europe and came back next year.
They want KV this season. But KV wanted to go big or go home. The Jets didn’t think he was ready to go big, so they let him go home. It’s the right decision. If he wants to be home, let him.
He needs to play everyday. Sitting on the NHL bench is useful to a degree, but at some point, you just have to get out there and play.
Now, Vesalainen will be able to do that in his home country. I’m not certain how close Jokerit’s arena is to his home, but it’s closer than Manitoba.
But he’ll be stuck in the KHL until Jokerit’s season ends, which is in mid-January. If they make the playoffs, it could extend. But KV will be available late in the season, but there’s no guarantee we’ll see him back.
It was a short and uninspiring first run for Vesalainen, but he’s still got a lot of promise, and I’m certain he’ll be more than useful in the KHL.
I wished he would’ve stuck around, but oh well, he’s not gone for too long. It was always an uphill climb for a teenager in the NHL. Not everyone is Patrik Laine or Connor McDavid, but that doesn’t make KV a bust.
He’ll be back, I just don’t know when. But I’ll be waiting.