Worldwide Sports News
Pep Guardiola said of drawing Napoli and having Kevin De Bruyne return: “It was always going to happen, right?” He might have spoken, too, of his No 9’s ruthlessness, as Erling Haaland broke this game open with Champions League goal No 50 in a record 49 matches, a feat that handsomely beats Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous 62-appearance mark.
His strike was a seventh in five for City – form as ominous as the Norwegian’s in the 2022-23 treble season.
Continue reading...
Clayton Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, will retire at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old is nearing the end of his 18th MLB season, all of which he has spent with the Dodgers.
Kershaw’s final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium will be on Friday, although he is likely to appear in Los Angeles again during the upcoming playoffs.
Related: Mariners’ Cal Raleigh hits 55th and 56th homers of season to break Mickey Mantle’s record
“On behalf of the Dodgers, I congratulate Clayton on a fabulous career and thank him for the many moments he gave to Dodger fans and baseball fans everywhere, as well as for his profound charitable endeavors,” Dodgers owner Mark Walter said in a statement on Thursday. “His is a truly legendary career, one that we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”
As Walter suggested, Kershaw is a lock for the hall of fame. He is a three-time Cy Young winner and was named National League MVP in 2014. He is also an 11-time All-Star – he made the cut again this season – and won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. He has an ERA of 2.54 across his career and maintained a respectable 3.53 ERA in 20 starts this season, even as his fastball started to slow.
If there was a knock on Kershaw’s career, it was a lack of postseason success. The Dodger owns a 13-13 record with a 4.49 ERA in the postseason, a stark contrast from his 2.54 career ERA in the regular season, to go with a 222-96 record. The 2020 World Series win calmed those criticisms somewhat, though (Kershaw did not pitch in the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship due to injury).
The Dodgers have a six-man rotation heading into this coming postseason – although they have not clinched their spot yet, it would require a spectacular meltdown for them to miss out – which may mean Kershaw does not start.
“I feel that there’s a place for him on our postseason roster,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told ESPN this week. “I don’t know what role, but I think that the bottom line is, I trust him. And so, for me, the postseason is about players you trust.”
Kershaw always looked destined for an excellent career and was highly touted coming out of high school. The Dodgers picked him No 7 overall in the 2006 draft, a selection they have never regretted.
Alex Cora presenting picture of calm as Red Sox' grip on playoff spot loosens originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
“It wasn’t a good day for us.”
Those were the words of Alex Cora following Thursday afternoon’s 5-3 loss to the We’re-Not-From-Sacramento-What-Are-You-Talking-About Athletics at Fenway Park, though they weren’t delivered for the reason you might think.
You might think that the walls are closing in, chests are getting tight and hearts are pounding inside the Boston clubhouse. But Cora? He’ll tell you he and everyone else in uniform remains cool as a cucumber.
“The days are the same,” Cora said nonchalantly on Thursday. “Nothing changes. The preparation is the same, and we just keep rolling.”
That’s the message.
Here’s the reality.
That loss, combined with a Guardians win, shrunk Boston’s lead over Cleveland to just 1.5 games for the final AL wild-card spot. It also delivered a series loss to the sub-.500 A’s, the second straight series loss at home for the Red Sox after dropping two out of three to the Yankees over the weekend.
With only nine games remaining and the red-hot Guardians making a charge, one might expect a bit of worry to be creeping into the Red Sox’ clubhouse. Cora — as you know by now — simply says that is not the case.
“I mean, we control our own destiny,” the manager said matter-of-factly. “So, go to Tampa and win a series. That’s the way I see it.”
Thursday’s loss dropped the Red Sox to 7-8 in the month of September, an inconvenient time for bad baseball to creep back into their systems after going 34-18 in July and August. The Guardians, meanwhile, are 13-4 in September, completing a sweep in Detroit on Thursday before heading to Minnesota, where they’ll face the 66-86 Twins (losers of 12 of their last 16) in a four-game set.
The Red Sox may still “control their own destiny,” but that status likely won’t last through the weekend if they drop another series to an opponent that is, on paper, inferior.
“Yeah. I mean, we never want that, but obviously we’ve got to turn the page,” Cora said. “We’ve got two (series) on the road — we go to Tampa and Toronto — we’ve gotta play better baseball. That’s it. I think offensively, there were some signs today, but we’re not there. We’re not there offensively. We’ve just gotta make sure we understand who we are as an offense, try to keep the line moving.”
Despite seven hits and a pair of homers, the Red Sox’ offense didn’t really do enough damage against J.T. Ginn, who allowed a pair of runs over his six innings. Boston managed to get just two baserunners aboard against the bullpen over the final three innings, and with Brayan Bello allowing three runs in the first inning en route to an ineffective four-inning outing, it was another one of those days at Fenway Park for the home team.
Cora’s statement of it not being a good day for the team was not about the big picture, though. Cora made that comment in reference to shortstop Trevor Story’s pair of throwing errors, each of which came with two outs — one in the third inning, one in the seventh — and allowed a run to cross the plate.
Story, along with Alex Bregman, represents the vocal veteran leadership core of the team. And while he tried to follow his manager’s lead by expressing confidence in the team, he ended up making a statement that borders on delusion.
“We haven’t been playing our best brand of baseball. It’s as simple as that,” Story, who hit a solo homer in the eighth inning Thursday, said. “We have the mindset that we’re gonna be playing for a month after this, so we’re not just trying to limp in. I think that’s a trap in itself. So we can keep looking ahead and keep trying to chase down that division.”
The division Story referenced is a chase that died with a 3-5 stretch against Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Arizona. The AL East-leading Blue Jays entered Thursday night six games clear of the Red Sox, likely not having to even worry too much about the Yankees, who sat 3.5 games back in second place.
The Red Sox, quite clearly, will not be making a run at the division, contrary to whatever assertion Story might have tried to make.
Still, the 32-year-old did present a simple approach for his teammates to follow.
“We can control what happens. We play good baseball, we get in. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “We know what we’ve done. We know what we can do. We’ve played some of the best baseball I feel like all season long over a good stretch of time, and I think that’s where we get our confidence from, is we know how good we can be.
“We’ve proven that, but also it’s time to do it when the time is right. And that’s now.”
For Cora, the resilience shown by the 2021 team to sweep the Nationals on the final weekend of the regular season (after a 1-5 stretch prior to that series) to reclaim a postseason spot provides evidence that there’s no reason to worry at this moment in time.
“For me, I take it the same day I took it in ’21,” Cora said. “Take it one day at a time. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. It’s part of the season. It’s 162 for a reason.”
One could point out that the ’21 team was filled with veterans and World Series champions — Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Kyle Schwarber, Nate Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale among them — while also having fifth-year third baseman Rafael Devers ascending to All-Star status that season.
This team, outside of Bregman and closer Aroldis Chapman, doesn’t quite have the same pedigree. And losses like Thursday’s — and Tuesday’s, and Friday’s … and last Wednesday’s — provide a glimpse of a team that struggles to score runs in the season’s most critical stretch.
With the goal of “winning the series” in Tampa for the weekend, even that may not be enough. If the Red Sox win two of three over the Rays while the Guardians take three of four in Minnesota, they’ll still lose ground on the Guardians entering the final week.
FanGraphs gave the Red Sox a 98.2 percent chance of making the playoffs on Sept. 2. The current number of 82.6 percent still paints a pretty picture, but momentum is clearly moving in the direction that could lead to the dirty word of collapse resurfacing in the greater Boston for the final week of the season.
Maybe.
With a magic number of eight, the Red Sox can still make life fairlyeasy for themselves with a 6-3 record over the final 10 days of the season. That would, of course, require the Guardians to lose just twice in their final 10 games to punch Boston’s tickets to the Wild Card Series.
The question is … can they actually do it? Has anything this month provided reason for belief that as the pressure mounts, the Red Sox will produce, and pitch, and win?
From inside the clubhouse, the manager is putting forth a message of calm confidence. From the outside, doubt continues to mount.
The 0-2 Fighting Irish look to get on track at home against the Boilermakers.
So sport mirrors society? You have no idea how much until you sit in on a College Football Playoff mock selection panel for a day.
No. 22 Auburn Tigers at No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners Game Preview
Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball knows its schedule to try and repeat as Big Ten champs and deliver Izzo a record 12th regular-season title.
On Friday night, Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to take the mound at Dodger Stadium for the 246th time in his illustrious career.
On Thursday afternoon, he made a long-awaited announcement that could make it his last trip atop the bump.
After 18 seasons, three Cy Young Awards, one MVP and two World Series titles, the 37-year-old Kershaw announced he will retire from Major League Baseball after this season.
After 222 wins, more than 2,800 innings, over 3,000 strikeouts, and a career 2.54 ERA, his countdown to Cooperstown will begin this winter.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 18, 2025
Kershaw’s retirement had been a long time coming. Over each of the past four offseasons, he contemplated whether or not to walk away from the game. An 11-time All-Star and five-time ERA champion, he long ago ensured his spot as a future Hall of Fame pitcher. As the enduring face of the Dodgers franchise over the last two decades, his stature in club lore had been cemented.
Yet, he continued to want to play.
Despite an elbow injury at the end of the 2021 season, a shoulder surgery after the 2023 campaign, and foot and knee procedures this past offseason, Kershaw continued to come back and play for the Dodgers — never ready to give up another title chase.
This year, however, he authored the kind of renaissance season that once felt beyond him. He is 10-2 in 20 starts with a 3.53 ERA. He has been an integral member of a first-place Dodgers team. And though one more title hunt remains ahead, with the Dodgers trying to defend last year’s World Series, he decided his time in baseball was finally up.
This season served as a closing chapter on a storybook career.
Originally drafted seventh overall by the Dodgers out of Highland Park High School in Texas in 2006, Kershaw has spent his whole career in the organization, going from top prospect to young sensation to Cy Young winner to pitcher of his generation.
He made his MLB debut in 2008, and broke out as a star the following year. By 2011, he had earned his first All-Star selection, his first ERA title and his first Cy Young Award. The accolades would keep coming after that — with Kershaw leading the majors in ERA each season from 2011-2014, winning two more Cy Youngs in 2013 and 2014, and becoming only only the 22nd pitcher to ever win MVP honors with his 21-3, 1.77-ERA season in that historic 2014 campaign.
The back half of Kershaw’s career was plagued by injuries, starting with a bad back that sidelined him for part of 2016.
Still, he earned another ERA in 2017, while helping the Dodgers win their first pennant in 29 years. He had a resurgent performance in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 6-2 in the regular season with a 2.16 ERA before finally experiencing a World Series title.
Up to that point, the postseason was the only area were Kershaw struggled. In 32 playoff outings from 2008-2019, he was 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA — numbers that included painful collapses against the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros and Washington Nationals along the way.
But in 2020, Kershaw vanquished such demons, making five starts and going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in the Dodgers’ first victorious World Series run since 1998. The title, Kershaw has said since, meant more than even he could have ever imagined.
And once he won it once, he craved to do it again.
That’s why, even as his body has continued to break down in recent years, Kershaw kept coming back every spring. He believed, when healthy, he could still contribute to a World Series roster. And despite numerous free-agent flirtations with his hometown Texas Rangers, he always saw the Dodgers as the best way to get there.
Read more:A dominant Blake Snell provides 'a huge boost' as the Dodgers shut out the Phillies
It made last year’s World Series run a sentimental one for the iconic left-hander. Kershaw was a limited participant, making only seven starts in the regular season before missing the playoffs with his foot and knee problems. But he relished in the celebration, especially the title-winning parade that the 2020 team had been denied by the pandemic.
"I love you guys, thank you!” Kershaw shouted to the crowd at Chavez Ravine that day.
“Dodger for life!"
On Thursday, Kershaw made that distinction official.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
It's possible that 22-year-old Mets rookie Jonah Tong was pitching for his spot on the roster on Thursday against the Padres at Citi Field, one start after failing to make it out of the first inning.
If that was the case, he answered the question emphatically, firing 5.0 innings of often-dominant ball while allowing one unearned run on four hits as he walked none and struck out eight in New York's win over the Padres. He threw 82 pitches on the day, with 59 going for strikes.
The line does not do Tong's start justice.
He allowed a scratch unearned run in the third inning, but was literally untouchable after that. Tong retired the last seven batters he faced, striking out four batters in a row at one point.
Tong's biggest weapon on Thursday -- as will be the case most of the time -- was his four-seam fastball.
The fastball was sitting around 93-94 mph at the start of Tong's outing, but he reached back for more as the game went on, regularly hitting 95 mph and topping out at 96 as he induced plenty of swings and misses up in the zone.
That ability to use the fastball to miss bats -- while mixing in his changeup, curve, and slider -- is what made Tong such a monster this season as he tore through the minors while striking out an eye-popping 179 batters in 113.2 innings.
If Tong is able to unleash that version of himself this season in the majors, or simply come close to it, he has to be in consideration to be one of the Mets' starting pitchers should they reach the three-game Wild Card Series. Or to at the very least be included on the staff in some way.
With Kodai Senga still working on things in the minors and David Peterson pitching to a 5.23 ERA in the second half, it appears highly likely that the only locked in option right now to start a potential playoff game is Nolan McLean, who has been dominant over his first six big league starts.
While not having the sample size McLean does, fellow rookie Brandon Sproat has been sharp over his first two big league starts, allowing just three runs in 12.0 innings -- including 6.0 shutout frames his last time out.
So it can be argued that Sproat -- as of now -- also has a strong case to be penciled in to start in a possible Wild Card Series.
Another option could be the piggybacking duo of Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea.
What about Tong?
If he has a strong outing his next time out in what will be his final start of the regular season, the Mets will have a big, layered decision to make.
The easy part of decision would be whether to carry Tong on the playoff roster (again, should they make it). That would have to be yes.
The hard one would be how to deploy him.
Using all rookies in the Wild Card Series rotation would be unprecedented. And as tantalizing as that might be, it's hard to see the Mets doing it.
That means the possible move could be Tong in the rotation and Sproat in the bullpen or Sproat in the rotation and Tong in the bullpen.
In that scenario, no matter which way they go, the Mets will have an electric trio of arms ready to help them take on the Dodgers. Again ... should they get there.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders once almost gave up a sport for acting. Now he said his son may follow that path if NFL doesn't work out.
The Mets beat the Padres, 6-1, on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field...
- Pete Alonsoopened the scoring in the first inning, rocketing a solo homer 445 feet to left-center that landed just to the left of the center field black that surrounds the Home Run Apple. It was Alonso's fourth consecutive game with a homer, setting a career-high.
- After San Diego got a scratch unearned run against Jonah Tong in top of the third inning to tie things, 1-1, the Mets answered back in a big way in the bottom half.
Following back-to-back singles by Cedric Mullins and Francisco Lindor, Juan Sotodrove Mullins in with a ground out to second to give New York a 2-1 lead -- it was Soto's 100th RBI of the season. With Brandon Nimmo up, the Padres removed starter Randy Vasquez in favor of left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, but Nimmo greeted him by blasting a three-run homer to right-center to make it 5-1, Mets.
It was Nimmo's 24th home run of the year, tying his career-high, which he set in 2023.
- Tong's start began inauspiciously, as he allowed a one-out single to Luis Arraez before Manny Machado rocketed a ball over Nimmo's head in left field. But the Mets gunned down Machado at second base and Tong struck out Jackson Merrill to strand Arraez at third base.
Tong settled in after the first. He allowed the aforementioned unearned run in the third inning, but was otherwise largely dominant. He twirled perfect innings in the fourth and fifth, striking out four consecutive batters at one point.
After starting the game sitting mainly 93-94 mph with his fastball, Tong dialed it up a bit in the middle innings while topping out at 96 mph. And the heater had plenty of life up in the zone, leading to a bunch of swings and misses.
Overall, Tong allowed one run (unearned) on four hits while walking none and striking out eight. He threw 82 pitches, with 59 going for strikes.
In the process, he became the first Mets pitcher aged 22 or younger to strike out eight or more batters since Noah Syndergaard in 2015.
- Tyler Rogers tossed a perfect sixth inning in relief of Tong, with Brooks Raley twirling a spotless seventh. Gregory Soto worked around two hits (that both caromed off him) in a scoreless eighth.
- Edwin Diaz retired the side in order in the ninth.
It was a monster outing for Tong after he struggled his last time out.
Two more strikeouts for Jonah Tong in the fourth! pic.twitter.com/fNIDZ1dHlK
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025
Pete Alonso has a home run in four straight games! pic.twitter.com/L4vfdXLVao
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025
Juan Soto puts the Mets back on top with his 100th RBI of the season pic.twitter.com/vk1RLwDy2Q
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025
BRANDON NIMMO!
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025
The Mets have taken a 5-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/LejzOPDpZU
Two more strikeouts for Jonah Tong in the 5th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XPMC8OAHgo
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025
The Mets open a three-game series against the Nationals on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
Brandon Sproat gets the start for New York, opposed by Andrew Alvarez for Washington.
Gold team defenseman Tanner Molendyk (50) looks to shoot past Blue team defenseman Luke Shipley (57) during the Future Stars Game at the Ford Ice Center Bellevue in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, July 5, 2025.. © Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Luke Evangelista wasn’t the only one absent from the first day of practice with the Nashville Predators.
Defensemen Tanner Molendyk and Cameron Reid were both not present due to injury, according to the team.
Molendyk is nursing a lower-body injury he suffered during the first practice of Predators rookie camp last week.
The 6-foot, 181-pound blueliner delivered a hit along the boards while performing a drill and left that practice shortly thereafter. He did not play in any of the three games during the prospect tournament, and is currently listed as day-to-day.
Reid also suffered a lower-body injury during the final game of the tournament against Florida. He played in the team’s first two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes before exiting the Panthers’ contest early.
The Predators selected Molendyk No. 24 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, while Reid was taken 21st overall in 2025.
Last season, Molendyk tallied 21 points (4-17-21) in 21 games for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He also appeared in 28 regular-season games with the Medicine Hat Tigers, recording 26 points (5-21-26) and 20 points (4-16-20 in 18 playoff games.
Molendyk had a chance to compete for a spot on the NHL roster coming into training camp. Depending on how long he is out, that opportunity could be delayed. Most likely, he will start the season with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL.
As an alternate captain with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in 2024-25, Reid collected 54 points (14-40-54) in 67 regular-season games. In 14 playoff games, he had five assists.
Reid is expected to be back in Kitchener for his third season in juniors.
It is an exciting time of year for hockey fans, as NHL teams are back on the ice for training camp. However, unfortunately for one former Montreal Canadiens forward, he will need to spend some time recovering before he gets his training camp started.
According to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, former Canadiens forward Lars Eller is recovering from a minor abdominal procedure and will miss the beginning of the Ottawa Senators' training camp.
Eller signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Senators after hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) on July 1. Now, he will need to wait a bit before he can show his new team what he can do.
Eller is expected to be a solid part of the Senators' bottom six as they look to build off their solid 2024-25 season.
Eller split this past season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, where he recorded 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points, 57 hits, and a minus-5 rating in 80 games. This was after he posted 15 goals and 31 points in 82 games with the Penguins during the 2023-24 season.
Eller spent six seasons with the Canadiens from 2010-11 to 2015-16. In 435 games as a member of the Habs, he recorded 71 goals, 83 assists, 154 points, and 560 hits.
Training camp is officially underway, and hockey is back. This means the team get to take a closer look at all their line combinations and ideas on the ice rather than just on paper.
One thing coaches would like to look at is what sort of talent they have coming up from the AHL. Some will get the opportunity to share a line with some great NHL players and participate in a few pre-season contests to prove their worth.
Here are a handful of wingers who played in the minors last season, looking to become full-time NHL players.
The Edmonton Oilers got younger in the off-season, acquiring NCAA star Isaac Howard, and all signs point to Matthew Savoie becoming a regular in this upcoming season.
Savoie is coming off a great rookie campaign with the Bakersfield Condors, scoring 19 goals and 54 points in 66 appearances. The 21-year-old right winger is going to be given plenty of opportunity and responsibility in what will likely be his first full NHL season alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
After three consecutive solid seasons with the Texas Stars in the AHL, the Boston Bruins now hold the rights of Matej Blumel, as they signed him on July 1. Blumel was the AHL’s leading goal scorer last season with 39 tallies and finished second in scoring with 72 points in 67 games.
The Czech right winger has a clear opportunity to make the Bruins roster out of training camp, depending on his performance. Boston struggled to score last season, and if he shows that he can be the offensive threat that he was with Texas, he may not have to report to Providence.
Trey Fix-Wolansky signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers following parts of seven seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old right winger registered three straight 60-point seasons with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Last season, he scored 26 goals and 60 points in 65 games for the Monsters. Despite his success in the AHL, including a 71-point season in 2022-23, he was never able to get regular time in The Show. Whether that’ll be with the Rangers or more time in the American League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Fix-Wolansky could make a name for himself this training camp.
Isak Rosen, selected 14th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 draft, is coming off back-to-back 50-point campaigns with the Rochester Americans. The 22-year-old left winger has demonstrated consistency in the minors, with progress and improvements evident with each passing season.
He has dipped his toe in the NHL, playing 15 games across two seasons with the Sabres, but this could be the year he becomes a full-timer for them. Last season, he scored 28 goals and 55 points, leading the Americans in both those scoring categories.
Arshdeep Bains earned some attention as he was a key contributor to the Abbotsford Canucks’ Calder Cup championship. In the regular season, he registered a respectable 11 goals and 43 points in 50 games. In the playoffs, he averaged a point per game, scoring seven goals and 24 points.
If the Vancouver Canucks struggle to score or miss offensive depth, Bains should be an obvious solution to that for Adam Foote’s team. The 24-year-old has played 21 NHL games across the last two seasons, recording one goal.
Vancouver Canucks Announce Contract Extension For Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach Manny MalhotraAbbotsford Canucks Head Coach Manny Malhotra will be staying with the organization for the next couple of seasons. On Tuesday, GM Patrik Allvin announced that the Canucks have picked up Malhotra's option for the 2026-27 season. This will keep Malhotra in Abbotsford for the next two seasons, where he can continue to help develop Vancouver's top prospects.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.
Subscribe now to view the full THN Archives here
Also, go to thn.com/free to subscribe.
JACK ROSLOVIC(GRAIG ABEL/GETTY IMAGES)
THE WINNIPEG JETS HAVE a habit of making their picks count on draft day. From sniper Patrik Laine, center Mark Scheifele and netminder Connor Hellebuyck to secondary standouts such as Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor, Winnipeg has regularly supplemented its veteran talent with young upstarts, and it’s starting to pay dividends with more help on the way. “It goes back to the commitment we made when the team (came) here and the dedication from the ownership to make sure that scouting was an investment, that it wasn’t going to be just deemed an expense,” said GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
RW, 21, 6-1, 187 Manitoba (AHL)
32–15–20–35–8 2015 draft, 25th overall
OVERALL 19
A breadth of offensive talent has allowed the Jets to be patient with Roslovic, but his play in the AHL has forced their hand. He’s been as good with the puck as he has been without it, and now it’s about translating his AHL success to NHL production. “We’ve given him time with respect to different opportunities and different roles,” Cheveldayoff said. “If you watch him play right now…it’s how he’s playing, how he’s reading, how he’s reacting, that the coaches are impressed with.”
FW17 | No. 2 NHL | 2018-19
LW, 18, 6-3, 209 HPK (Fin.)
44–19–20–39–6 2017 draft, 24th overall
OVERALL 55
Vesalainen got a taste of the European top flights in previous seasons, but his usage and ice time were inconsistent. His eyebrow-raising performance this season has given him some stability. He has a big shot and the offensive acumen to hang with more seasoned competitors, and his bulky frame allows him to fight for pucks. “He’s in a solid situation now as opposed to last year when there were lots of different transitions,” Cheveldayoff said. “He’s confident and having success.”
FW17 | n/a NHL | 2020-21
D, 19, 6-4, 215 Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC)
32–1–8–9–37 2017 draft, 43rd overall
OVERALL 76
Samberg was a standout at the draft combine, and his production in high school was nothing short of brilliant. The leap to college has made offensive success challenging, however, and Samberg has taken his lumps. But his showing at the WJC, where he won bronze with Team USA, was proof that Samberg can finish. His size gives him a foundation with which to work, but he needs to grow into his frame. Improving his stride will also turn him into a more impactful offensive force.
FW17 | n/a NHL | 2021-22
LW, 21, 6-1, 210 Manitoba (AHL)
36–17–16–33–125 Trade (Buf), Feb. 11, 2015
OVERALL 94
An injury prior to camp last season prevented him from putting his best foot forward in the AHL. Lemieux has left those difficulties in the past, and the organization is impressed with the work he has done to transform his body. He’s bigger, stronger and faster – Cheveldayoff raved Lemieux was in “exceptional condition” – and the dedication to training has translated to greater production. He could do a better job walking the fine line between peskiness and the penalty box.
FW17 | No. 6 NHL | 2019-20
D, 24, 6-2, 199 Manitoba (AHL)
14–1–5–6–4 2013 draft, 127th overall
The Jets wanted Poolman to turn pro last season and gain experience, but an extra year in college has benefitted the smooth-skating defender. He stuck around in Winnipeg after camp and has been at the front of the line for call-ups, though he needs more ice time to reach his potential. The belief is Poolman can turn into an NHL hand in short order. “When you skate like him, have size like him, shoot like him, have hockey sense and are a good competitor, he could be a guy on the Josh Morrissey curve,” Cheveldayoff said.
FW17 | No. 5 NHL | 2018-19
G, 22, 6-1, 180 Manitoba (AHL)
16–9–2, 2.54, .921 2013 draft, 59th overall
Splitting time with Michael Hutchinson. Good attitude and a dedicated approach.
C, 22, 5-9, 179 Manitoba (AHL)
39–12–29–41–8 2013 draft, 43rd overall
Return to full-time AHL duty is step backward for skillful playmaker.
D, 19, 6-7, 240 Kitchener (OHL)
54–13–25–38–95 2016 draft, 18th overall
Massive rearguard hitting stride as two-way threat after trade from Windsor.
G, 19, 6-3, 180 Sioux Falls (USHL)
16–7–5, 2.65, .921 2016 draft, 157th overall
Has been solid in U.S. junior circuit. Needs to test himself on the next rung up.
C, 22, 6-2, 201 Manitoba (AHL)
56–18–33–51–47 2015 draft, 168th overall
Transition from college has gone better than expected for AHL rookie standout.
21-AND-UNDER NHLERS | PATRIK LAINE, RW, 19; KYLE CONNOR, LW, 21
