In March of 2015, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News wrote an article declaring the Winnipeg Jets as the 2019 Stanley Cup champs. He wrote it because he saw something.
“What we saw was a group that had a lot of promise. That was even before they got Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic and now Patrik Laine who some are saying could be a top, top player,” Campbell said over the phone Wednesday.
The Jets have only grown deeper since the publication of Campbell’s article. The team has made four first round picks since. That list includes the 19-year old NCAA scoring champ and the reigning World Hockey Championships MVP.
In all, the Jets now have 10 first round picks aged 23 and under. Add that to emerging stars like Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Jacob Trouba and Campbell’s prediction of a 2019 Cup could turn out to be a conservative estimate.
“It’s a chance to build something special,” Connor said when asked about the Jets’ youth movement. “All the players the same age, it gives them a great chance to get close to each other, go through the same experience.”
Like Connor, Jets prospect Brendan Lemieux sees a window opening with the youth the organization has stockpiled.
“It’s exciting because you know that when you are there, you’re going to have this incredible group of young talent that’s all going to grow together,” said Lemieux. “I want to be able to make a hell of a hockey club Chevy [Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff] has built.”
To capitalize on that opening window, the Jets have hired a man who has the kind of experience they need. Their new assistant coach, Jamie Kompon, was with the Los Angeles Kings from 2006-2012. In that time, he oversaw a young core of players, including Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar, grow from talented prospects to Stanley Cup champs.
“I see a lot of similarities in terms of the L.A. team we had,” said Kompon. “The youth and some veteran players. But young veteran players. You know, we had Dustin Brown there. And Blake Wheeler is not that old. It’s the same kind of mold.”
Another team created in a similar mold? The Chicago Blackhawks; another club Kompon won the Stanley Cup with, in 2013. Their core of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson also grew together in a similar five-year cluster.
No one is saying the Jets are the next Blackhawks or Kings…yet. Then again, few expected the quick rise those teams made from the NHL’s basement either.
“When I first started in L.A., it looked pretty bleak,” said Kompon, “When things started to roll, it was an unbelievable experience.”
And that’s what the Jets are looking for: a speedy bounce-back from a year that felt like rock bottom. Lucky for them, bottoming out is how generational talent can sometimes be found.
Now the real work begins. Taking the Jets from a team with potential to a team that realizes its potential.
That’s what the Kings and Blackhawks did best on their way to the top: turn elite prospects into elite NHL talent. Sounds easy, but few things are more difficult to achieve in professional sports. If the Jets can do that, they just may fit a Stanley Cup or two through their coming window of opportunity.
