WINNIPEG — After selecting forward Kristian Vesalainen in the first round on Friday, the Winnipeg Jets had seven more selections on day two of the NHL Draft.
The Jets went heavy on defenceman in rounds two through seven as they used their second round draft pick on defenceman Dylan Samberg.
Samberg, 18, is another towering blueliner, standing at six foot three. He helped the Hermantown Hawks win a Minnesota High School State Championship last season and will be attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth starting in the fall. In 25 games he notched 10 goals and 18 assists and he also appeared in six playoff games in the United States Hockey League.
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The Jets used their 74th overall selection to grab another defenceman in Jonathan Kovacevic from Grimsby, Ontario. He had three goals and 16 assists as a freshman for Merrimack College last season.
In the fourth round the Jets picked up forward Santeri Virtanen with the 105th selection. The 18-year-old missed a good portion of last season with an injury but helped Finland win a silver medal at the 2017 U18 World Championship.
The Jets went back to the blueline for their fifth round choice, taking Germany’s Leon Gawanke. The 18-year-old suited up for Cape Breton of the QMJHL last season where he tallied 32 points, including eight goals and 24 assists.
With the 167th overall pick the Jets drafted a goaltender. The Jets took Arvid Holm in the sixth round. Holm had a 2.91 goals against average in 26 games with Karlskrona HK of the J20 SuperElit League.
Winnipeg had two picks in the seventh and final round. First they picked up forward Skyler McKenzie of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks with the 198th overall choice. The Jets then closed out the draft by taking defenceman Croix Evingson from Alaska at 211th overall.
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Winnipeg’s Keegan Kolesar was also on the move on Saturday. Kolesar was dealt by the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Vegas Golden Knights for the 45th overall selection in 2017 draft.
After Nolan Patrick and Cody Glass were taken in the opening round, six more Manitobans were selected on Saturday. Roblin’s Josh Brook went to the Montreal Canadiens with the 56th overall pick. The defenceman had eight goals and 32 assists with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors last season.
Strathclair’s Morgan Geekie of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans had his name called in the third round. He’s headed to the Carolina Hurricanes with the 67th overall pick.
Geekie will be joined in Carolina by another Manitoban. Just a few picks later the Hurricanes took Brandon Wheat Kings right winger Stelio Mattheos of Winnipeg with the 73rd pick.
Portage’s Nick Henry came off the board with the first pick of the fourth round. The Regina Pats winger is headed to the Colorado Avalanche after being taken with the 94th selection.
Former Eastman Selects forward Brett Davis of Oakbank was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the sixth round, 163rd overall. Virden’s Wyatt Kalynuk was chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers. The former member of the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals went to the Flyers in the seventh round with the 196th overall pick.
Wheat Kings forward Ty Lewis of Brandon finished 59th among North American skaters in the final Central Scouting Draft rankings but he was not selected.
Only six Manitobans were selected in the 2016 NHL Draft.
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