The Winnipeg Jets were spectators for the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry draft on Friday Night at the Sphere in Las Vegas after surrendering their 26th overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Sean Monahan.
But when the second round started Saturday morning, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and the scouting staff were able to actively participate, and with the 37th overall selection it went to Swedish defenseman Alfons Freij.
The 6-foot-1, 187-pound left-shot blueliner had 14-19-33 in 40 games with Vaxjo Junior during the 2023-2024 season.
Some scouting reports describe Freij as “boom or bust,” but McKeen’s Hockey described him as a diamond and “a dynamic, mobile, offensive puck-moving defenseman.”
The Jets acquired this pick, which originally belonged to Montreal, from the Los Angeles Kings last June as part of the trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Winnipeg traded their own second-round pick to Nashville just before the deadline on February 25, 2023, to acquire Nino Niederreiter from the Predators.
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Barring a trade on the draft floor in Vegas, Winnipeg will not have a pick in round three, as that was the price paid to New Jersey for Tyler Toffoli last spring.
The Jets will join the rotation for Round Four (123rd), Round Five (155th), Round Six (187th) and Round Seven (219th).
This year’s draft marks only the second time Winnipeg has not had a first-round pick since moving from Atlanta in 2011. The Jets did not have a first-round selection in 2018 due to the Paul Statsny trade earlier that year with St. Louis and ultimately took David Gustafsson with the 60th overall pick.
The Canadiens dealt Winnipeg’s 2024 first-round pick to Los Angeles, along with the 57th selection in round two and the 198th in round seven, to move up five spots where they signed center Michael Hage of the USHL’s Chicago Steel at #21 selected.
With the 26th pick, the Kings went for Windsor Spitfires forward Liam Greentree.
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