Jets add two defencemen to their prospect pool –
The Winnipeg Jets added two defencemen, Anton Johannesson, 133rd overall and Tyrel Bauer, 164th overall on day two of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
With their pick in the 5th round, 133rd overall, in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets selected Anton Johannesson from Sweden.
Anton Johannesson
Round: 5 Overall: 133
League: J20 SuperElit Team: HV71 J20
Position: D Shoots: Left
DOB: Mar. 26, 2002 Birthplace: Gnosjo, Sweden
Height: 5’9 Weight: 154
2019-20 Stats:
HV71 J18 (J18 Elit) GP 5 G 3 A 3 Pts 6
HV71 J20 (J20 Super Elit) GP 20 G 8 A 16 Pts 24
Sweden National Team U-18 GP 2 G 0 A 0 Pts 0
What others are saying:
“Johannesson is rising on my personal rankings and is the most skilled Swedish defenseman in this year’s draft. For the draft he could sneak his way into the bottom of the first round or early second round. He has elite puck skills and is very smart with the puck. He skates with ease and can move around coast-to-coast with the puck. He is also a strong first pass defenseman and plays with confidence in tight situations. He processes the game well and has strong awareness.” – Jimmy Hamrin, McKeen’s Hockey
“Johannesson wasn’t among the top 124 in my preseason rankings or October — omitted following an injury-plagued previous season — but has been making up for lost time with a productive draft year. Johannesson is a smaller puck-mover and offensive-minded defender who may have been hyped similar to Erik Brannstrom had he been healthy all along. Instead, Emil Andrae (No. 25 for me) has been getting that push as a first-round prospect, but Johannesson’s ceiling is just as high — if not higher than Andrae.”
Larry Fisher, The Hockey Writers
“When he has played, he’s shown he has a tremendous amount of upside. He is a very smart offensive defenseman. He makes simple plays very effectively and makes creative plays look simple. He also has a very good wrist shot. Because they play on the same team and they’re both 5-foot-9, it’s easy to draw comparisons between Johannesson and Andrae. But Andrae’s skating and defensive play are much better at this point, so that is why there is a pretty big gap between them. But at the same time, it’s difficult to say how much Johannesson can improve over the next couple of years if he can just stay healthy.”
Analysis:
Anton Johannesson was ranked as high as a 2nd round pick and as low as a fifth-round pick where he was selected by the Winnipeg Jets.
Any time you can add high-end skill to can your lineup it is a good thing. To say Anton Johannesson is small in stature would be an understatement. He makes Toby Enstrom look like Zdeno Chara.
Where he is and what he becomes won’t be known for 2-3 years but he was too good to pass up with this pick. Johannesson could be the next Toby Enstrom but with a higher offensive ceiling. A very under the radar pick.
Comparable: Jared Spurgeon and Toby Enstrom
NHL Central Scouting: 31st (Among EU skaters)
Future Considerations: 88th
The Hockey Writers (Bell): 81st
The Hockey Writers (Forbes): 114th
The Hockey Writers (Fisher): 46th
The Draft Analyst: 100th
Grade: B+
With their pick in the 6th round, 164th overall, in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets selected Tyrel Bauer in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Bauer has spent the past two seasons playing in the tough U.S. Division in the Western Hockey League for the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Tyrel Bauer
Round: 6 Overall: 164
League: WHL Team: Seattle Thunderbirds
Position: D Shoots: Right
DOB: Mar. 23, 2002 Birthplace: Cochrane, Alberta
Height: 6’3 Weight: 20
2019-20 Stats:
Seattle Thunderbirds GP 60 G 3 A 14 Pts 17 Pim 85 Plus/Minus -12
2017: Drafted 2 round, #41 overall by Seattle in the WHL Bantam Draft
2018-2019: Seattle Thunderbirds Rookie of the Year
What others are saying:
Tyrel Bauer is not a dynamic offensive defenseman. In 60 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he scored just three goals and 17 points – far from the dominance expected of top prospects. Yet, he doesn’t need to be that kind of player. Instead, he brings an old-school, defense-first style to the game which has made him well-liked in the WHL. He is built like a tank, at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, and he is more than willing to sacrifice his body to block shots or go toe-to-toe with an opponent. His dedication earned him the Thunderbirds’ Defenseman of the Year honor and Most Popular Player last season.
While the style he plays won’t get him ranked highly on draft boards – the CSS placed him 166th among North American skaters – Bauer brings several intangibles to the ice that makes his team better. At the beginning of the 2019-20 season, at just 17 years old, he was named a Thunderbirds’ alternate captain, a testament to his exceptional maturity. He’s also one of the youngest players available at the 2020 Draft, meaning he might not be done growing yet. Altogether, he’s very underrated for what he brings to his team every game and could become a hidden gem in the late rounds of the draft.
Analysis:
Tyrel Bauer is a big rugged defenceman that is definitely a project but the way the copy-cat NHL ebbs and flows every couple of years Tyrel could become an important asset if his game can evolve to a point where he can contribute meaningful minutes and not be just a tough guy. At the WHL level, he is a decent defenceman but he will need some seasoning in the ECHL and/or the AHL for a few seasons.
As much as I love skilled players, I still have a lot of “old school” in me and I like tough hockey and tough hockey players. The Winnipeg Jets lack of jam and pushback vs the Calgary Flames in the play-in round was very evident. For those of you that don’t think grit and toughness matter YOU ARE WRONG. You can get away with being softer in the regular season but when the playoffs start it gets a lot more competitive. There were more than a couple of Jets that shrunk in the playoffs without the likes of Buff and Ben Chiarot, and Jacob Trouba around.
Grade: B
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Just wondering when and if you will be updating the standings from Winnipeg’s Lawn Bowling League?
you must be one of Ben’s friends