Winnipeg Jets' First Round Draft Misses From 2016 – Hockey Writers – Jets History

*This article was originally written in June 2023

Hindsight is 20/20 and can be a bitter pill to swallow or a reason for joy. This is especially true in the NHL Entry Draft where there is always a chance for a player to slip through the cracks and become a gem for another team. Looking back at past drafts, many general managers (GM) are either grinning from ear to ear or shaking their fists in disgust.

Related: Meet the 2019 draft class of the Winnipeg Jets

There is no perfect formula for exploring and evaluating possibilities when you are 18 years old. One player may appear to steal but be overtaken by the player behind him. If it were easy, the scouting staff might not care so much. Unfortunately for the Jets, they are no exception and have missed out on a few quality players.

Whether your team misses out on their pick, like the Bruins in the 2015 Draft, or select a player like Kyle Connor, who will end up influencing the production of the roster for the next decade. The art of drafting is like a game of chess, each GM is your opponent and you are trying to gain the upper hand.

Here are the players the Jets missed out on, selected with the next pick from the 2016 NHL Draft.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

In the 2016 edition, the Jets drafted Finnish shooter Patrik Laine with the second overall pick, and the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Canadian center Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall.

It turns out that the Blue Jackets were looking for a sniper and the Jets were looking for a center who will do everything, and they chose to change the three picks.

Dubois played six-plus seasons in the NHL, split between the Blue Jackets, Jets, and Los Angeles Kings, with 144 goals and 333 points. Laine split his time between the Jets and Blue Jackets in his 480 career games with 204 goals and 388 points. However, Dubois' impact outweighs Laine's as he is effective in all three areas, while Laine is a more offensive weapon, thanks to his shooting and composure on the power play.

Ryan Poehling

It's tricky to compare a wing player to a center, so comparing the Jets' 2017 draft pick, Kristian Vesalainen to Ryan Poehling is a bit difficult. However, in terms of production, either on the stat sheet or on both ends of the ice, both players have been lacking.

Poehling played most of his career with the Canadiens before being sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Jeff Petry in a trade that saw Mike Matheson and a 2023 third-rounder go back the other way. He then signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2023.

Both Poehling and Vesalainen have been very strong given their draft stock, but Poehling has spent more time at the NHL level and has been more productive than Vesalainen. The latter spent the 2022-23 season split between the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and the Finnish Liiga, and while he averaged close to a point per game with HIFK, the former is playing against stiff competition in the NHL for a regular game. the role.

Samuel Poulin

Ville Heinola was the Jets' 2019 first-round draft pick. He's a great skater, and his work on the edge allows him to make dynamic moves to avoid defenders. If he does hit his ceiling, the Jets will have a nice one-two punch with Josh Morrissey in terms of puck movers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took Samuel Poulin with the 21st overall pick, and statistically, he ranks above Heinola. Heinola's game is based on pushing the pace and supporting his leading players in transition. Poulin is a powerful big-bodied forward with a nose for the net and the ability to hold on to defenders before slipping a key pass to a teammate or using his quick release to challenge the goalkeeper.

He transitioned from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to the professional level with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in 2021-22. In his first AHL season, he played 72 games, scoring 16 goals and 37 points. He made his NHL debut in 2022-23, recording one point in three games, before taking a personal break.

Yaroslav Askarov

The Nashville Predators selected Russian goaltender Yaroslav Askarov with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 Draft, the pick after the Jets selected Cole Perfetti. He was a top goalie and with good reason. His in-form play solidified his status, and the Predators hoped he would be one of Russia's next great strikers. He posted a 2.00 goals against average (GAA) and a .920 save percentage (SV%) in one game with the Kontinental Hockey League's (KHL) SKA St. Petersburg and moved on to the Supreme Hockey League's (VHL) SKA-Neva Petersburg and finished with a 2.45 GAA and .920 SV%, to go along with a 12-3-3 record.

Askarov made his transition from the KHL to North America in the 2022-23 season, playing one game with the Predators, then being sent to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, posting a 26-16-5 record before moving to the -6- 6-0 in the AHL playoffs. Although the skill forwards who drive the game are very important; like Perfetti, the number one goaltender is the most important piece of a successful Stanley Cup contender. While the careers of both players are still in the early stages, Askarov, for now, stands at the forefront.

The Method to Their Madness

While there will never be a perfect draft, each GM is always a challenge game. That approach of trying to siphon top talent away from the club's rival, and dominate the search for Lord Stanley keeps the competitive juices flowing. The 2023 draft will be no exception, as the upcoming one could change the course of the franchise. So, the internal planning for the next draft steal continues and the goal remains the same, find the next NHL star and prevent the next team from selecting top talent.