Tuesday, July 18, 2017

31 Teams in 31 Days: Winnipeg Jets

Summer has arrived and that means that it's time for my annual '31 Teams in 31 Days' segment (well I guess it's the first annual because of the addition of Vegas bumping it to 31 teams). I review the progress of each NHL team's OHL Prospects and provide some level of prognostication as well.

Each year I alternate which way I start the list. Last year was Anaheim, so this year we'll do reverse alphabetical order and start with Winnipeg.

Here's Winnipeg's (limited) review.

1. Logan Stanley - Windsor Spitfires
Can you really say it was a "tough year" for a prospect when he wins a Memorial Cup? Certainly open to debate. A torn meniscus in his right knee cost him the last three months of the OHL season, but he worked hard to return for the Memorial Cup (a testament to his work ethic). And at the Memorial Cup, he might have played the best hockey that I've ever seen him play (again, a testament to the work he put in off the ice). Not easy to go from a four month layoff to playing against the best teams in the CHL; no rehab assignments. I still have reservations about Stanley's offensive impact at the next level, but it's clear that he's worked hard to continue to improve his mobility. His skating just keeps getting better. And he's still a physical beast who's one of the toughest guys to compete against below the hash marks in the OHL. Next year, he'll return to Windsor where I'm sure the Jets front office staff would love to see him improve his offensive output. And with the way that he's improved every year in the league, I wouldn't be shocked if he did. I could easily see him with 10 goals and 40+ points next year for a Windsor team that will be in tough to mimic this past year's success.

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