Hillier, Cheveldayoff confident with 60th overall pick

DALLAS, Texas -For the first time since relocating to Winnipeg in 2011, the Jets don't have a selection in the first round of the NHL Draft.
But that didn't change a thing for Director of Amateur Scouting, Mark Hillier. In fact, he, along with General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, and other scouts attending the NHL Combine interviewed around 70 potential prospects.
"We tried to be prepared right from the number one pick on," Hillier said just hours before this year's event. "You never know, if we acquire a pick through a trade, we have to have our list right, and all our ducks in a row."

Hillier admits it's a bit of "a different animal" not picking until late in the second round (60th overall), but remains confident the Jets will still get a quality prospect in that spot.
"Drafts tend to go a lot of different ways," Hillier said. "Our list might look a lot different than another team's list. We kind of key in on a range where we think our picks are going to come from, and try to do a lot of background homework and information on those types of guys."

That homework included going back and checking out previous drafts, and seeing what players were available at number 60, and comparing it to their list at the time. But that comes with a challenge, according to Cheveldayoff.
"The hard part is, Hindsight is always 20/20. So you can always tell where a guy was at that point moving forward, but still don't know where you have guys in perspective to other team's lists," said Cheveldayoff. "But it does help you to give you some perspective that there is a certain area in your own list that you have to focus on. We're pretty comfortable with the group of players that are around there."
They've had late round success before. Vezina Trophy runner-up Connor Hellebuyck came in the fifth round, centre Adam Lowry was selected in the third round, while 2018 AHL Rookie of the Year Mason Appleton was picked up in the sixth round of the 2015 Draft.
"We don't leave any stones unturned. We try to see as many players as we can, do a lot of background information on these guys," said Hillier. "We try to find players with upside. It doesn't matter if it's the first round or the seventh round. They have to be NHL skaters, they have to think the game quickly, good hockey sense, good character people. So there is no secret formula, just trying to find guys with upside."