Cheveldayoff, Jets prepared for decentralized Draft

WINNIPEG – One day ahead of the 2026 National Hockey League Draft, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and his staff are leaning on the two remote drafts held in 2020 and 2021 as a framework for this year’s decentralized event.

Cheveldayoff remembers that instead of walking from table to table, there were a lot more phone calls and text messages exchanged as a way to negotiate with other clubs in the league.

While he said Winnipeg was one of the teams that voted to keep the draft the same format as in previous years (and would do so again if another vote follows this year’s draft in Los Angeles), he knows that once the event starts the focus is solely on making improvements to the organization.

“People are generally talking about the same names. It’s just what order and where they fit,” said Cheveldayoff. “I guess that’s the fun part, the anticipation. We’ll have a long time to anticipate, less time than last year when we didn’t have a first round pick. At (28^th overall), it will be an interesting process.”

Winnipeg’s hockey operations group will meet in downtown as their homebase, and use everything available to them when it comes time to make each of their five selections. As of Thursday afternoon, the Jets have picks in the first, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds, and will lean on an incredible amount of in-person viewings as well as analytics to make those picks.

“Take those 10 years or those eight years and you see where you had a guy on your list and see where he was taken,” said Cheveldayoff, explaining the analytical process. “You see where other respected outside lists have him on their list and (see) where they’re taken - and guys that are much smarter than me put him into the computer and write the algorithms to try and say that based on history, this guy could here - where we have him on our list and where they have him on their lists - we think there’s a great probability that he’s going to be there for you.”

Then, with a grin, he added “the funny thing is, as soon as a player is taken out of order, those things change. So it’s a dynamic type of situation.”

For both the prospects and the teams, the draft is the culmination of a long journey. From a player and family perspective, it’s hours and hours of practice, workouts, travel, and camps, and it’s similar for the teams. That’s why the NHL Combine, held annually in Buffalo, NY, is a critical week.

Sure there is the fitness testing, but the rest of the week is an opportunity for teams to meet the prospects and talk with them to get a better understanding of their personality and off-ice demeanor.

Cheveldayoff said those chats sometimes lead to funny moments, like one he had with a goaltender.

“We asked where you think you’re going to go. He said ‘somewhere between the fifth and seventh round,’” Cheveldayoff recalled. “And we asked ‘you don’t want to go in the first or second round? Everyone seems to.’ He said ‘no no. Draft a couple good defensemen in front of me, then draft me.’ It was quite funny.”

All of that information will be considered prior to, and including, the time the Jets are on the clock on Friday and Saturday. When the Jets make a selection, player development coordinator Jimmy Roy will be in Los Angeles to greet the player, and the official first conversation with management will happen over Zoom. At that time, the process will also begin in terms of arranging travel and logistics for that player to attend Winnipeg’s development camp – which goes at hockey for all centre from June 30 to July 4.

But, if those numerous conversations with other general managers lead to a trade, perhaps the Jets end up with fewer picks than they came into the weekend with.

“We’re one of the bottom four teams to have picked in the draft in the last couple of years. We’ve used lots of picks in other forms to try and keep pushing this team,” said Cheveldayoff. “That’s why we’ll continue to look at anything that is available to us to keep pushing forward.”

ICE CHIPS

Cheveldayoff did have some updates on a couple players in the organization on Thursday.

Adam Lowry, who underwent surgery on May 27, is progressing well.

“He’s been doing maintenance on it over the course of years,” said Cheveldayoff, adding that after the end-of-season tests, it was suggested that Lowry get the procedure done. “He has a check-up coming up shortly. (Head coach Scott Arniel) said he spoke to him a couple days ago as well. He’s almost off the crutches. So he’s moving along.”

Both Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov had their seasons cut short due to injury. Lambert, who played in five games with the Jets this season, likely would’ve started skating with the team had Winnipeg advanced past the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As for Chibrikov, he will be flying back to North America for a check-up on his lower-body injury, and Cheveldayoff said the forward – who has three goals and four points in five NHL games – will spend his training time in either Florida or Toronto.