Jets target size at draft, while North American focus merely 'the way it fell'

WINNIPEG - Mark Hillier has often said the Winnipeg Jets don’t draft by passport and that organizational philosophy isn't going to change anytime soon.

At a time when this draft and development organization is going through a bit of a reset when looking at its future core, the Jets came away from the 2023 NHL Draft with four Canadians and an American with ties to Manitoba.

The North American focus and emphasis on size was more of a coincidence than anything else.

“Like I said before, there is no real plan there, that’s how it falls. This year it fell with four CHL players and two from the West and one American,” Hillier told reporters after the draft wrapped up inside Bridgestone Arena. “That’s the way it fell, and we’re confident and happy with the players we got.”

The Jets opened Day 2 of the draft in Nashville by selecting forward Zach Nehring from the Shattuck St. Mary’s U18 prep program in Minnesota in the third round.

Nehring is committed to Western Michigan University for the 2024-25 season and is expected to join the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL in the fall.

His mother is from Manitoba and he still has plenty of family residing in the province, including a set of grandparents, and he suited up for the Winnipeg Jr. Jets in the prestigious Brick Invitational tournament for 10 year olds back in 2014-15.

Nehring, who hails from Minot, North Dakota, plays a robust, two-way game and is known as a rink rat that oozes passion for the game.

“I’m a big, two-way forward. I’ve got skill but I’m a big physical guy and I love that part of the game. I bring it every night,” Nehring told reporters in Nashville, before tackling a question on what he needs to work on. “I think right now just filling out my frame, putting on some muscle. I think that’s huge for my physical play. Skating, getting faster, is always important. Especially now, skating is such a big thing in the league. Those are kind of my two main focuses right now.”

Nehring’s connection to Winnipeg was an obvious bonus, but that wasn’t the driving force behind the selection.

“Kind of a raw kid at this point, but we see a lot of upside there. He’s got power-forward tendencies,” said Hillier. “He’s a big kid, six-foot-three (179 pounds), he’s got to fill out and get stronger. He’s going to go for a year in the USHL in Sioux Falls and then off to college to Western Michigan after that, so we’ve got some long runway there. He played at a great program at Shattuck. Really excited about his possibilities.

“Well, we don’t hear enough kids that want to come to Winnipeg. That was his genuine feeling. We were No. 1 on his list.”

Hillier weighed in on having the opportunity to draft Owen Sound Attack captain Colby Barlow in the first round with the 18th-overall selection.

“We were extremely happy to get him. He’s one of those guys we had quite a bit higher on our list. He fell to us and we jumped at the chance to get up and get him,” said Hillier. “He’s a real good two-way player, (has) a real good hockey sense. Good grit and determination to his game. He gets to the hard areas, the greasy areas to score goals, (has a) really good shot. Character kid, leadership, captain of his team, 46 goals in 59 games. (If) he plays a full season, he’s in the 55-goal range. The hardest thing to do in the game today is to score, so we got a good one there.”

Although Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters he received a flurry of calls from other teams trying to move up, conceivably because Barlow was still on the board, that merely bolstered his resolve to make the pick.

“There was tension that he was going to be taken ahead of us but there was no tension or indecision of moving back and gaining an extra pick because we don’t have the chance to draft these type of players too often,” said Hillier. “We got a chance. I didn’t want to mess it up. Let’s make the pick.”

The Jets made two selections in the fifth round, going with a late bloomer in 6-foot-4 centre Jacob Julien from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and goalie Thomas Milic of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.

Julien started the season playing Tier II junior in London, then saw added responsibility with the Knights as the season wore on after he was promoted to the OHL club that is run by Dale and Mark Hunter and has a strong reputation for producing players.

Milic is considered to be a tad undersized by some pundits, but is a proven winner, having just led the Thunderbirds to a WHL title (claiming playoff MVP honours along the way) and to the Memorial Cup final, where his team was defeated by the Quebec Remparts.

He also led Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.

“He’s one of those kids that I have the feeling he’s not going to be denied,” said Hillier. “He’s a (20) year-old. Traditionally goalies are bigger these days. He’s a little over six-foot, but he’s one of those kids that has had success after success.

“He won the World Junior, he almost won the Memorial Cup, his stats are off the charts in the league. He’s one of those kids that has put in a tremendous amount of work. He’s a draft and sign guy, he’ll turn pro right away. We have Dom DiVincentiis (the Jets’ 2022 seventh rounder and OHL goalie of the year) coming next year. I think our goaltending looks good in the future.”

Rounding out the Jets selections in the seventh round was Kamloops Blazers right-winger Connor Levis, who had 27 goals and 40 assists (67 points) in 68 games last season and had the opportunity to compete in the Memorial Cup with the host team.

“He’s 6’2, a big kid, big winger,” said Hillier. “He played all the games, he’s a durable player. The skating probably has to come a little bit and it will as he gets stronger and develops. We just thought it was really good value in the seventh round.”