It’s been a long time since the Winnipeg Jets had a first-round hit. Now, drafting as high as they have in a decade, the Jets are under the gun to change that in a big way.
Then again, they could opt for the bold move of trying to change the team’s immediate fortunes by dealing the eighth overall pick. Either way, a home run of some kind is required.
The first five years of Winnipeg 2.0 was defined by the squad nailing its first pick of the draft. From 2011 through 2015, the Jets snagged Mark Scheifele (seventh overall in 2011), Jacob Trouba (ninth in 2012), Josh Morrissey (13th in 2013), Nikolaj Ehlers (ninth in 2014) and Kyle Connor (17th in 2015).
In 2016, Winnipeg took Patrik Laine with the second overall selection. Since then — with the understanding it’s still too early to determine how some of the most recent picks will pan out — there hasn’t been anything close to hits like that, granted the team has been selecting largely in the 15-to-30 range.
So here the Jets are, after a disappointing season, hoping to add a new franchise pillar.
Watch the 2026 NHL Draft on Sportsnet
The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the No. 1 pick as the next group of NHL stars gets set to enter the league. Live NHL Draft coverage begins with the first round on Friday followed by Rounds 2-7 on Saturday. Catch it all on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Broadcast schedule
Of course, much of the talk around the club right now is about the possibility that an existing cornerstone player — 2025 Hart Trophy-winning goalie Connor Hellebuyck, specifically — could be on the move. We’ve already seen some huge swaps involving high picks this off-season and Hellebuyck’s name occupies the top slot on the most recent trade board from Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.
If Hellebuyck is moved before Friday night, it could dramatically alter what type of return the team is after vis-à-vis any swap that involves the No. 8 selection.
Stand pat with the pick, and you do wonder how much the club will consider a player’s origins as part of the equation. Don’t forget, the Jets took American Rutger McGroarty 14th overall in 2022 and the rugged winger ultimately declined to sign with the squad, eventually leading to a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, with the idea that U.S. Olympians like Hellebuyck are souring on the notion of playing in Canada, perhaps Winnipeg will lean Canadian or European with a very high selection it must get right.
With that in mind, let’s take a big-picture look at the Jets’ draft outlook and identify some options for that No. 8 selection.
Draft picks
Potential Round 1 options
A few days ago, it felt possible the Jets might be able to draft a second-line centre of the future — that spot has been a black hole forever in Manitoba — with their top selection. Realistically, though, those odds took a hit when the Calgary Flames — who hold pick No. 6 — acquired young defenceman Simon Nemec from New Jersey. With Nemec now in the fold, Calgary is far more likely to snag somebody like Swedish pivot Viggo Björck, who’s been such a riser he may even be gone by the time the Flames pick. With the other highly ranked centre, Caleb Malhotra, expected off the board by pick No. 5, the Jets are likely looking at a defenceman being the best player available at No. 8.
If that’s a slightly disappointing thought given organizational needs, the good news is there could be one heck of a blue-liner available.
Two strong possibilities come with the always-coveted right-shot profile and the cherry on top is they’re both big, western Canadian boys. Hulking Keaton Verhoeff — six-foot-four, 215 pounds — was ranked at the very top of this draft back in the fall, but has since been surpassed by a few other names during his freshman season with North Dakota. Verhoeff is a safe bet to be a valuable member of an NHL defence corps down the road and if his offence and skating uptick even a little, he could be the kind of total-package player teams kick themselves for passing over.
Meanwhile, Daxon Rudolph — not as big as Verhoeff, but still nearly six-foot-three — could also be sitting there with his right-shot stick in hand. Rudolph knows his way around every corner of the rink and could be a top-four fixture for a club.
A third righty D-man — Ryan Lin, also from Western Canada — will almost certainly be available to Winnipeg, though he’s not as big as Rudolph or Verhoeff. If you like physicality — and, really, which NHL team doesn’t? — start hoping two left-shot defencemen slip through the first seven picks. Latvian Alberts Smits, standing nearly six-foot-three, has already shown his worth playing against men at the Olympics and world championship, while Canadian Carson Carels brings an aggressive game in a six-foot-one package.
The dice-roll here could be Canadian centre Tynan Lawrence. He has average size and scuffled in the back half of his draft-eligible season after a move to Boston University from the United States Hockey League, but if you think those struggles were a blip, perhaps you bet on the kid’s long-term future up the middle.
The dream, though, would be Björck falling to eight if there’s a run on defencemen ahead of Winnipeg.
Last year’s top pick
The Jets took rangy Swedish defenceman Sascha Boumedienne with the 28th pick in 2025. Boumedienne had a fantastic 2025 U-18 World Championship, but the production just hasn’t been there during two seasons of NCAA play.
The 19-year-old is transferring from Boston University to Ohio State for next season, moving to a place with which he’s very familiar. Boumedienne’s father, Josef, used to work in the Columbus Blue Jackets front office and Sascha played youth hockey in the state. All involved will be hoping the shift back to Ohio is a positive move for Boumedienne as he enters his junior campaign.
One bold prediction
The Jets will pull off a Hellebuyck blockbuster that returns key pieces at forward and defence, then turn around and buy low on Adin Hill as the Vegas Golden Knights look to clear cap space by moving the 30-year-old puckstopper.
