The newest member of the Winnipeg Jets, Sascha Boumedienne was one of three 17-year-old’s to play in the NCAA last season. In fact, the Swedish defenceman was the youngest player in college hockey.
That makes his performance during the 2024-25 season even more impressive with 13 points in 40 games for Boston University, who went all the way to the NCAA Frozen Four Final.
Boumdienne’s father, Josef played pro hockey for 17 years including 47 games in the NHL with three teams, Washington (43), Tampa Bay (3) and New Jersey (1).
“I think he comes from great bloodlines and has been around the game a lot. So, he knows a lot of what to expect. That really did help him play at the college level this past season,” said Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“Again, it all starts now with him taking the next steps to continue to develop and continuing to grow. The base foundation of his skills and his skillset and all those aspects of the game are so high, it’s going to give him a real good base to continue to grow upon.”
Boumedienne has been playing hockey in North America for four years already, last year with the Terriers, the season before in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms. The 18-year-old said it didn’t take long for him to understand the North American game.
“Like you said, I moved here four years ago and played AAA hockey in Columbus where we lived. It probably took a few months. Playing on a bigger sheet in Sweden, it's a little different style of play,” said Boumedienne.
“Maybe not as aggressive and more, a little more, I don't know, pretty, if you will. So yeah. It didn't take too long. A couple of months and I was into it. But yeah. I like the North American style of play better."
FloHockey’s Chris Peters, who is a draft and prospect analyst said this about Boumedienne before the draft.
“He's one of the best skaters in the draft, period, for any position. He's got just remarkable four-way mobility. His edge work is fantastic. He has closing speed. He has the ability to retrieve pucks,” said Peters.
“The one thing that I think we want to see more of his decision making with the puck. If he can improve that a little bit, I think that that's an area where he would have some success, but the skating and the ability to retrieve and move pucks is going to be really important for him.”
Peters had Boumedienne ranked 21st on his top 100 list, on top of his performance at the college level, the Swedish defenceman really stood out at the 2025 U18’s with 14 points (1G, 13A) in just seven games for the Swedes who finished second at the event.
“It’s not easy to change - obviously he’s coming from the college game - and then be part of a different team, different probably style of play. It just showed his versatility and his ability to let his game blossom and learn from the things he’s learned over the course of the year,” said Cheveldayoff.
“It was that development over the course of the year that really intrigued us. Obviously getting him at 28 was an exciting thing for us.”
The 18-year-old has already played in some high-pressure situations at a young age and that certainly bodes well for his future.
“I've kind of jumped rapidly in my development and, yeah, where I've been, and I think it's just been good for my development. I really wanted to challenge myself, especially this year with going to BU and being the youngest guy,” said Boumedienne.
“And yeah, I felt like we had a really good plan and place for me, and I want to challenge myself while playing against bigger players, and kind of playing more of that pro style game with those bigger, stronger, older players. So, I mean, I think it's just good for my development.”
Boumedienne will be in Winnipeg on Monday when the Jets hold their annual development camp. Fellow Swede and 2024 second round pick Alfons Freij will join him. Both defencemen are on Sweden’s list for the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase.
“The nice part about both of them, the kind of players they are, they’re agile, they skate, they play the way the game is kind of trending. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to have some summer views of that,” said Cheveldayoff.
“Again, it’s all part of the development process. We’re looking forward to seeing him and getting him here and getting a chance to see him at development camp as well.”
