Top prospects for Winnipeg Jets

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the top five prospects for the Winnipeg Jets, according to NHL.com.

1. Brad Lambert, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 30 pick in 2022 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Winnipeg (NHL): 5 GP, 0-1-1; Manitoba (AHL): 61 GP, 7-28-35

Lambert is expected to make the jump to the NHL full time this season after playing the past two seasons in the American Hockey League. The 21-year-old center is a fast, talented offensive player who will continue to work on his defensive game.

"His strength is going to be his speed and his ability to push people back," Jets director of player development Jimmy Roy said. "It's not quite [Nikolaj] Ehlers speed, but it's close and that ability to make plays off the rush and use his speed, I think this past year, he understood how to get more pucks to the net, get inside defensemen."

Lambert (6-foot-1, 173 pounds) got a taste of the NHL last season, and the Jets hope he can help fill the void left by the departure of Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency.

"His biggest thing to make that jump is getting stronger, physically getting stronger, from his legs to his upper body," Roy said. "I think he's done that this summer."

Projected NHL arrival: This season

2. Elias Salomonsson, D

How acquired: Selected in second round (No. 55) in 2022 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Manitoba (AHL): 53 GP, 5-22-27

Salomonsson (6-0, 172) won a championship with Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League in 2024 and had a productive first season with Manitoba of the AHL last season. The 21-year-old is a talented two-way defenseman who Winnipeg would like to see develop into a top-four role.

"The thing that I really like about his game is his ability to get back for pucks and make a good first pass," Roy said. "He's so consistent at that. When he was with [Manitoba] last year, you could see how much more confidence our team had when he was in the lineup, because they knew he was going to be first on pucks. Even when he went into the corner and he was second there, all those 50/50 puck battles, 80 percent of the time he was coming out of the corner with that puck. He also has tremendous skating ability."

Projected NHL arrival: Next season

3. Brayden Yager, F

How acquired: Trade with Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 22, 2024

2024-25 season: Moose Jaw (WHL): 21 GP, 11-19-30; Lethbridge (WHL): 33 GP, 14-38-52

Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the 20-year-old center was acquired by Winnipeg for forward Rutger McGroarty in 2024 and will play professional hockey this season after a successful junior career in the Western Hockey League, which included 82 points (25 goals, 57 assists) in 54 games last season.

Yager (5-11, 180) is an offensively skilled player who played for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship the past two years.

"His explosiveness and his first five steps and separation speed is tremendous," Roy said. "With a lot of players coming from junior, strength is the big thing, and playing against men and understanding that you're playing 82 games a year and how to maintain that strength throughout the year, that's going to be one of the big things for him. On the positive side, his awareness and his vision and his ability to make plays is elite."

Projected NHL arrival: 2027-28

4. Colby Barlow, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 18 pick in 2023 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Oshawa (OHL): 62 GP, 32-29-61

The 20-year-old left wing had a strong final season of junior hockey and an outstanding postseason with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 21 games to help Oshawa reach the Ontario Hockey League Final.

Barlow (6-0, 190) had 40 goals in 50 games with Owen Sound of the OHL in 2023-24 and scored at least 30 goals in each of his four OHL seasons.

"He has such a strong ability to shoot the puck," Roy said. "It's an NHL shot already and now he has to understand how he can get that off quicker and in less time against better goalies and better players. I think that's going to be one of the things he's going to have to work on."

Projected NHL arrival: 2027-28

5. Nikita Chibrikov, F

How acquired: Selected in second round (No. 50) in 2021 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Winnipeg (NHL): 4 GP, 2-1-3; Manitoba (AHL): 30 GP, 7-11-18

The 22-year-old right wing had his season cut short with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 20. A talented offensive player, Chibrikov (5-10, 170) is healthy heading into this season and could challenge for an NHL roster spot in training camp.

"He's a highly skilled player," Roy said. "The one thing that's unique about him is the will he has to want to play in the NHL and how badly he wants it. When he turns the puck over, he works his butt off to get it back. He can play in the high-traffic areas as a small, skilled guy. He's not one of those perimeter players that looks to make plays; he gets on the inside, he goes to the net. He's stocky, he's strong on his skates and he plays with some edge too, which is really nice."

Projected NHL arrival: Next season