D-man Jugnauth’s Growth at Both Ends of Ice

With the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics still top of mind, it’s worth noting two of the biggest goals in the men’s ice hockey tournament were scored by a pair of young defenseman roughly the same size as Kraken D-man prospect Tyson Jugnauth, who is 6-foot and 183 pounds. American Quinn Hughes scored in overtime to beat Sweden in the quarterfinals. He is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. Canadian Cale Makar, who tied Sunday’s gold medal game with a highlight-reel shot, stands 6-foot and 187 pounds.  

No doubt Jugnauth, a rookie American Hockey League All-Star, is still developing and comparing him to Hughes and Makar beyond size is all speculative. But it is logical to project that Jugnauth’s size won’t prevent NHL success, plus he is expected to gain some weight and get stronger.  

Jugnauth was a top offensive scorer from his British Columbia Hockey League days when  drafted in the fourth round by the Kraken in 2022. He upped his production as last season’s Western Hockey League Defenseman of the Year with the Portland Winterhawks. He is now repeating the pattern in his first season with AHL affiliate Coachella Valley. Hughes and Makar posted similar numbers for NCAA teams before debuting in the NHL.

Jugnauth’s WHL numbers were downright gaudy during the 2024-25 regular season and a deep playoff run. This hockey year, Jugnauth has six goals and 28 assists for 34 points in his first 50 AHL games. That’s  fourth in scoring among all AHL rookies and tops among first-year defensemen. He is also fourth best in scoring among all AHL defensemen and a closer look reveals all other D-man scorers in the top 10 are in their third to eighth pro seasons.  

Jugnauth and his Firebirds coaches are keenly aware that more development is a must to not only advance to the next level  but also to continue Jugnauth’s success at lower levels at the ultimate testing ground of the NHL. 

“It's different at the AHL level,” said Jugnauth after a recent morning skate in the southern California desert. “In Portland, the coaches had a lot of trust in me. They let me have a long leash there. Here [with the Firebirds] I had to work from the ground up in getting the coaches to trust me. More recently, in the last 12 to 15 games, I have felt more confident making plays. I am using my skating more. I think that has started to show at both ends of the ice.” 

Working the Firebirds’ Defenseman Whisperer 

Stu Bickel is in his fourth year of molding Kraken defensive prospects as a Firebirds assistant coach.  Jugnauth’s emergence as WHL Defenseman of the Year challenged Bickel’s conventional approach with him.  

“With a young defenseman, I'll try to build the defensive game from the [offensive] blue line back,” said Bickel. “At beginning of the year with Juggy, it was a lot of talking about gapping [closing the distance from defenseman to an approaching opponent], developing an understanding for what we want to do as a team in those situations.  

“From there, we get into more technical reading of a line rush against us and what our numbers [in terms of Firebirds players] look like defending that rush. At the beginning, it's building a lot of those reads in terms of where we want to go, what routes we want to take as defensemen.” 

Bickel said all young defensemen must learn these pro systems. In Jugnauth’s case, he was a fast learner during Kraken training camp and the early months in Palm Desert.   

”Now it’s been now working a with Juggy more on the details of, ‘OK, I'm in good spots. How do I close plays out?’” said Bickel. “For him, there are some tricks we can use to win pucks back where he doesn't wind up in a strength-on-strength battle because there are going to be bigger, stronger players. Juggy understands that. There are things he can do, like jamming the [opponent’s] top elbow and working his stick on pucks.  

“He’s got a really good stick, both against AHL players and even in exhibition games with the Kraken. Using his skating ability has been huge in that he's moving his feet to go close plays out, putting him in a much stronger defensive position against players trying to get inside on him. Juggy is super coachable too,”

Giving ‘Juggy’ Room to Operate 

Bickel noted Jugnauth’s growth at the defensive end has afforded an advanced approach to giving the young defender more opportunities in the offensive zone whether quarterbacking the No. 1 Firebirds power play, joining the rush or getting net front during even strength 5-on-5 play.

“Offensively, I don't want to take the stick out of his hands,” said Bickel. “I don't want to limit him in that way.  Early on, there were some reads he was making where he thought he probably had a little more space to do things, and he got jammed a few times. We talked about, ‘Let's pick when we're going to use these moves.’ He's done a much better job at reading those plays. Part of it is experience. You play enough games at this level; you're going to start to figure it out.” 

Checking in With the Head Coach 

CVF head coach Derek Laxdal is pleased with the rookie D-man’s progress.  

“His biggest area of growth is his understanding of how to defend at the pro level.” said Laxdal. “He obviously can't use his size to go through guys. He is using his feet in a manner where he gets through the hands and gets through the stick to put himself on the right side defensively of the offensive man.  

“He's doing a great job at the things we're asking him to do, such as box out at the net. He's big enough where he can get inside and underneath at the net, just to kind of buy enough time to be in good position to recover loose pucks. That's one area I think he's probably never really had to do [in the WHL or his time with NCAA Wisconsin]. He has been taught it, but he's probably never had to do it day in, day out. Not to just survive at this level, but to get the opportunity to play in the NHL.”

Jugnauth has worked hard on making that pro level adjustment against much bigger bodies. 

“For me, it's going to be a lot about using kind of my brain and my stick more than my body,” said Jugnauth. “I'm not the biggest guy out there. I've worked with Stu a lot about different routes to seal guys off from being able to get to the net. It’s big area that I've gotten better at since start of the year. But I know I can still grow.”  

Bickel agrees progress has been made. 

“He is the type of defenseman I'm seeing now where he can go into a corner with you, and he can get into your hands and separate you from the puck,” said Bickel.  “It's not about knocking you over. It's about us getting the puck back.” 

Looking to Veteran Leadership on Blue Line 

Like the other first-year Firebirds defensemen, Jugnauth credits veteran D-man Gustav Olofsson as a teammate and mentor. Learning from peers can be powerful. 

“Goose has been great for us,” said Jugnauth, who is rooming with fellow rookie defenseman Kaden Hammell and forward prospect Carson Rehkopf. “He's played a lot of pro hockey. I gain so much watching his habits, how he plays. I don't think he gets enough credit for the offensive side of his game. He brings a lot in that area. He’s so smart with the puck. I am learning when he jumps into the rush, how he defends, all of it.”