JETS Top 5 23 and Under

Looking at the players in between

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA- 2022 is almost over. Many hockey fans will shift their attention from professional hockey to junior hockey players over the next week or so. The future is near! But what about the now?

When does a hockey player fully emerge from prospect to full fledged member of the pros or a bust? Even professional writers I follow differ in their methodologies but one thing is certain: players do not wake up one day and enter the ranks of full-fledged pros. That is why this piece features 5 DCHL JETS players at age 23 and under. These players may not qualify as prospects but they also have ceilings yet to be reached. For them, the future is still near, but it is also now! In order by points, the top five for the JETS are:

Miro Heiskanen leads the list in points but also carries the largest load in comparison to others on the list. He does not have the safety net he used to with John Klingberg and with Klingberg gone, the pressure on Miro to produce offensively is higher. Some of this pressure was reduced with the signing of Nils Lundkvist, but Lundkvist has yet to find the consistency the front office sought when it traded for him.  Heiskanen was also considered the best player on this team before the emergence of Jason Robertson and growing consistency from Roope Hintz. However, some might argue the nature of Miro’s position makes him extremely valuable to the NHL STARS. Regardless of how you feel, Miro is clearly the best player on this list and the DCHL JETS have no regrets securing him for the best years of his career.

Returning focus to NILS LUNDKVIST, the NHL trade for him was a love it or hate it deal. Some thought it was ridiculous trading away draft capital for a potential AHLer buried on the NEW YORK RANGERS depth chart. However, if anyone has an opportunity to excel in PETE DEBOER’s system, it seems like LUNDKVIST would fit that build. However you judge him, his production has remained uneven in his first 30 games. 23 is a weird age in the NHL, but I’d expect the STARS to give him ample time to find his game given what they paid for him.

GABE VILARDI is the next player on the list and he was the only bright spot for DCHL JETS management in the early days of the season. While the JETS lost 6 straight, GABE VILARDI was setting the NHL on fire. He has 14 goals on the year and is not getting top line minutes but has cooled off considerably since the season started. The DCHL JETS organization values his potential a lot and looks forward to his development in future seasons.

MATIAS MACCELLI is another player who sparks hope for the future. He has points in 17 of 29 games for 22 on the year. He is not going to set anyone’s world on fire with his current numbers but his development could give an affordable in-house boost to a team with future roster holes to fill. He is another player the current JETS organization values highly. Perhaps the hope is these four players play larger roles in the near future for a team with a history of greatness.

The last player is JONATEN BERGGREN who probably is the most prospect quality player on the list. He is off to a promising start in DETROIT but also has a mountain of talent around him on the depth chart. If he wants more minutes, he will need to earn them. At least right now, he is getting his chances in DETROIT!

That is the end of the list for now. A milquetoast send-off for the year in acknowledgement of some current and future contributors to the JETS organization. They aren’t clear draft picks, prospects, or vets, but these five players are in position to stake some ground (or in Heiskanen’s case, more ground) for their careers.

THIS WAS TIMMY T. REX REPORTING