The Winnipeg Jets are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022, and according to one prominent prospect evaluator, there may not be a quick fix coming through the pipeline.

The Athletic's Corey Pronman ranked Winnipeg's collection of prospects and players under the age of 23 as the 28th-best in the NHL this week, placing the Jets ahead of just four organizations.

Winnipeg fell three spots from Pronman's 2025 ranking, when the organization came in at No. 25.

It's an assessment that comes at an interesting time for the Jets. After years of regular-season success and three consecutive playoff appearances, Winnipeg took a significant step backwards in 2025-26. The Jets finished 35-35-12 and 12th in the Western Conference, just one season removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy.

With much of the team's established core still built around veterans including Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck, the development of Winnipeg's next wave has become increasingly important. Pronman's ranking suggests there are some legitimate pieces on the way. The question is how many.

At the top of the group is 2026 first-round pick Viggo Björck. Winnipeg selected the Swedish centre eighth overall in June, giving the organization the kind of high-end prospect it hasn't had the opportunity to draft in quite some time. Pronman views Björck as an intelligent, highly competitive centre with legitimate top-six NHL upside.

The 18-year-old immediately became one of the most important pieces of Winnipeg's future.

Sascha Boumedienne is another. Selected 28th overall by Winnipeg in 2025, Boumedienne spent the past two seasons at Boston University and helped Sweden capture gold at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

The mobile defenceman has shown an ability to create offence from the blue line, although his development remains a longer-term project. Pronman identified his mobility as one of the stronger attributes within Winnipeg's young group.

Beyond those two, things become less certain. Brayden Yager remains one of Winnipeg's most recognizable prospects after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Rutger McGroarty trade in August of 2024. The former 14th-overall selection made the jump to professional hockey last season and remains a potential NHL centre for the Jets.

Elias Salomonsson, meanwhile, has already begun making that transition.

The 21-year-old Swedish defenceman appeared in 32 games for Winnipeg last season, scoring one goal and five points. A second-round selection in 2022, Salomonsson has steadily climbed through the organization after playing professionally in Sweden and spending parts of two seasons with the Manitoba Moose. He could be in position to take another step with the Jets in 2026-27.

There are other intriguing names further down the pipeline. Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow and Nikita Chibrikov have all spent time developing with Manitoba, while Kieron Walton, Kevin He and Alfons Freij represent younger projects still attempting to establish themselves as legitimate NHL options.

But that is where Pronman's primary concern with Winnipeg lies. There is potential at the top of the system, particularly following the addition of Björck, but considerably less certainty behind the organization's best young players.

It's also important to put a bottom-five ranking into context. Winnipeg spent much of the past several seasons operating as a contender, which meant drafting late and occasionally moving future assets to improve the NHL roster.

The Jets traded their first-round picks in both 2024 and 2025 before eventually getting back into the opening round of the 2025 draft, acquiring the 28th selection from Carolina and using it on Boumedienne.

Missing the playoffs last season provided an unusual opportunity. For the first time since selecting Patrik Laine second overall in 2016, Winnipeg held a top-10 pick. Björck was the result. Now comes the important part. The Jets need more of their young players to turn potential into NHL production.

Winnipeg still has one of hockey's premier goaltenders in Hellebuyck, a 100-point centre in Scheifele and an elite scorer in Connor. The veterans at the top of the roster give the organization reason to believe it can rebound quickly. But that core won't remain in its prime forever.

For a franchise that has historically needed to draft and develop its own talent, The Athletic's No. 28 ranking serves as a reminder of just how important the next few years of development will be.

The Jets have some promising young pieces, but they could certainly use a few more.

Kieron Walton

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