Target Acquired

How the JETS approached the 2022 DCHL DRAFT

STEVE’S HOUSE, ONTARIO- The DCHL DRAFT was this weekend and this was the end of a long week where new WINNIPEG management put their stamp on the defending championship franchise. Before we get into the details of the socially distanced draft and which of the co-hosts is more bald, lets summarize the major moves made by WPG Management.

Traded Away:

JT Miller

Josh Morrisey

1 x 1^st Round Pick 2023

1 x 2^nd Round Pick 2022 (50 OA)

3 x 3^rd Round Picks 2022

2 x 4^th Round Picks 2022

DCHL GM Cash

Received:

Miro Heiskanan

Jacob Peterson

Rutger McGroarty

Filip Bystedt

Prospect Taige Harding

1 x 2^nd Round Pick (SAN JOSE) 2023

The JETS had an interesting week. What started as an exercise in asset economy ended with some pick movement that was a bit unanticipated. Sure, the JETS intended to get back into the mid rounds, but the plan was originally to swap some of those picks for 2023 or use them in a package to upgrade early round picks. Then, the MIRO HEISKANAN trade reshaped the strategy.

The JETS scrambled into action in order to acquire a potential long term mid-6 replacement. This they believe they found in JACOB PETERSON. An underrated acquisition, the NHL STARS forward shows a lot of promise as a top 9 forward in a revamped PETE DEBOER system. PETERSON was a 5^th round pick originally but with more certainty after a full time season, the JETS shipped 4 mid round picks for the forward who is still on his ELC and can allow flexibility with regard to FARM or PRO status.

The JETS brought in not one, but two first round picks this week. Sure, this came with the loss of the 2023 first, but if the JETS plan works out, there is more value in the 2022 acquisition. This is because the JETS acquired the 17^th OVR pick in the draft and used it to select RUTGER MCGROARTY who went 15^th in the NHL DRAFT and was selected by the NHL JETS. This selection was one reason why Scott Wheeler of The Athletic declared WINNIPEG a winner of the NHL Draft. Fellow Athletic scout writer Cory Pronman was also high on the player, remarking on his compete level and talent in the offensive zone.

The DCHL JETS used their natural 1^st round pick to select FILIP BYSTEDT of the SAN JOSE SHARKS who fell 6 spaces to the DCHL JETS. The DCHL JETS expressed a lot of optimism about the players around 32, including a chance to land BRAD LAMBERT in addition to RUTGER MCGROARTY but when LAMBERT was selected early, it created a ripple effect across the board allowing the 32 OVR DCHL Selection to convert to an NHL 26 OVR. No small development either as BYSTEDT has high quality upside recognized by the scouts.

TAIGE HARDING rounds out the new acquisitions and plays in the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NHL System. The HAWKS are going through massive organizational transition. However, they are loaded to the gills with defensemen and there is always a possibility those prospects move. How this effects the massively build TAIGE HARDING cannot be projected, but the prospect has natural gifts that are hard to replicate.

Finally, the JETS are not entirely concerned about leaving the draft without a pick in 2023. The feeling is the team has assets to move if entering the draft is necessary, and capturing a 2^nd round pick in addition to HARDING helps with any 2023 draft efforts. The big question with regard to the JETS 1^st  rounders was whether they could fetch affordable players who could supplement the core as they try to run it back. Obviously, there was no market for that, so now the JETS went hard in the second half of the 1^st round using a methodology that led the WPG GM to select the likes of NHL regulars and soon to be regulars such as: Moritz Seider, Ville Heinola, Brett Howden, Joe Veleno.

And let’s not forget that the GM that cut a major deal to land LEON DRAISAITL in DALLAS, also just cut a smaller deal to land one of the league’s most promising puck movers. Things will not be perfect, but the fingerprints are multiplying as the JETS transition to their 3^rd GM in DCHL history.

This was TIMOTHY T. REX Reporting.