The Winnipeg Jets have a number of top prospects currently playing in the AHL. Here are 3 players who could make their NHL debuts this year.
In the first couple of weeks of the 2022-2023 NHL season, we have seen some top prospects start well for their respective teams.
Out of the 2022 NHL draft class, only two players have made their NHL debuts this season. Those players are Juraj Slafkovsky and Shane Wright.
As you look through each recent draft class more players from that respective draft are appearing in the NHL. The 2020 draft year currently has 20 active NHL players, while the 2021 draft year has nine players currently playing in the NHL.
While looking at these stats, it made me ask the question of which prospects from the Winnipeg Jets franchise could make their NHL debuts during this 2022-2023 regular season.
Here are three Winnipeg Jets prospects who could make their NHL debuts during this season:
3. Chaz Lucius
The Winnipeg Jets’ 2021 first-round draft choice caught some by surprise when he left the University of Minnesota after one year and signed an entry-level deal with the Jets.
The now nineteen-year-old had nine goals and ten assists in 24 games with the Golden Gophers last year and missed some time due to injury.
So far this season, Lucius has one goal in his first three AHL games played. The Lawrence, Kansas native also has eight shots in those games including five shots in his AHL debut.
One thing that has been apparent regarding the Jets this season is their inability to score goals. There is an argument that the Jets lack pure goalscorers in their bottom three lines.
Lucius is known for his outstanding release and shot and good fit well on the Jets’ second or third lines.