Smooth-skating Salomonsson back in the lineup

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Elias Salomonsson knew the learning curve would be steep. But the young defenceman figures a tough introduction to life in the National Hockey League will ultimately benefit him in the long run.

Salomonsson, 21, was back in the lineup for the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild, fresh off his second career call-up from the Manitoba Moose.

“I’m way more comfortable,” he said following the morning skate at Grand Casino Arena.

The first promotion happened back in late November, when the smooth-skating Swede was thrown into the deep end in his debut against the Washington Capitals in D.C. He went minus-two in a 4-3 loss, which included a misplay that led to Connor McMichael’s third-period breakaway game-winning goal.

That was quickly followed by games in Carolina and Montreal, followed by his lone big-league home game against Buffalo.

Salomonsson’s early NHL numbers don’t exactly pop off the page — four games, no goals, no assists, no points, three shots on goal and a minus-four rating — but they hardly tell the whole story. The 55th-overall pick from 2022 showed several flashes of why he’s the most prized blue-line prospect in Winnipeg’s system and got more comfortable with each outing.

“Those were tough teams. I think it was valuable for me to play against those teams and see how fast everything is, and try to learn and adapt from that,” said Salomonsson.

To his credit, he returned to the AHL and never sulked or pouted, playing rock-solid hockey which made him the obvious choice to fill a big hole in Winnipeg’s lineup. Defencemen Neal Pionk, Colin Miller and Haydn Fleury are all out week-to-week with injuries.

“We’ve been playing some good hockey,” Salomonsson said of his past six weeks with the Moose. “There’s a lot of older guys there I can learn from, and I think that is helping a lot. Many younger guys down there can learn from them.”

Salomonsson has eight points (1 goals, 7 assists) in 25 games with the Moose this season after posting 27 points (5G, 22A) in 53 games as a rookie last season.

He’s likely going to get an extended look during this stint, which should benefit both him and the organization in the long run. Miller, Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn are all in the final year of their contracts, which could usher in a bit of a young movement on the backend.

“We have good depth in this organization,” said Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg, who was paired with Salomonsson against the Wild.

“We have guys that can come up and fill, which is awesome. We’re seeing some new faces around here, which is great. It’s unfortunate with the injuries that we’ve had, but that’s part of the season that we’re having. When (the schedule) is so condensed guys are going to get injured, but I have confidence in the guys who come up and their ability.”

The Jets also have 24-year-old defenceman Isaak Phillips up with them right now following his call-up from the Moose. He’s played 56 career NHL games over four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2020 and traded him to the Jets last year in exchange for blue-line prospect Dmitry Kuzmin.

Ville Heinola, Winnipeg’s first round pick from 2019, could also get another look. The 24-year-old Finn has 18 points (2G, 16A) so far this season with the Moose.

Up front, the Jets currently have forward Danny Zhilkin in the fold, who made his NHL debut last week against Edmonton. Although he was a healthy scratch against Minnesota with the return of Morgan Barron from injury, he has impressed with his play.

Forwards Brad Lambert, Parker Ford and Nikita Chibrikov got looks with the Jets earlier in the year, as did goaltenders Thomas Milic and Dom DiVincentiis. There could be more where that came from if Winnipeg doesn’t get itself back in the playoff race and moves into “next season” territory down the stretch, which could include trading some veteran pieces.

Salomonsson could eventually represent a Swedish takeover of the Jets, who also have blue-line prospects Alfons Freij (2nd round, 2024) and Sascha Boumedienne (1st round, 2025) in the pipeline. The pair just helped lead Sweden to the gold medal at the World Juniors held in St. Paul. Salomonsson played on the 2024 squad, which won silver.

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR

Speaking of Milic, the 22-year-old goaltender has been selected to play in the AHL all-star game which will be held Feb. 11 in Rockford, Ill.

Milic has gone 8-4-2 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .902 save percentage with one shutout in 15 games with the Moose so far this season. He went 0-1-0 with a 3.46 GAA and .871 SV% in one start and two relief appearances with the Jets earlier this season.

Milic, hails from Coquitlam. B.C., was drafted in the fifth-round by the Jets in 2023 and has racked up quite the list of accomplishments and accolades.

In 2023, he helped Canada win the gold medal at the World Juniors, was named the Western Hockey League goaltender of the year that season and chosen for the CHL and WHL all-star teams. Milic was also an ECHL all-star in 2024 as he got his pro career underway after finishing up with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre