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Kevin Cheveldayoff is hoping quality trumps quantity after making just four selections at the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas this weekend.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is hoping quality trumps quantity after making just four selections at the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas this weekend.
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After a slow Friday night at the Sphere, and without a first-round pick after shelling it out for Sean Monahan in February, Cheveldayoff took Swedish defenceman Alfons Freij with his first pick, 37th overall, in the second round.
“We had lots of different conversations, but we didn’t (end up trading for a first-round) pick,” Cheveldayoff said. “Close only counts in horseshoes.”
The Jets did trade up in the fourth round to take China-born winger Kevin He. Finland’s Markus Loponen and Canadian Keiron Walton were taken in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively.
“We were staring at our list and when He was still sitting there, we just felt we had to be decisive there,” Cheveldayoff said.
The Jets sent their fourth-round (123rd) and seventh-round (219th) picks to Buffalo in the deal.
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“We didn’t think he was going to be around that much longer, so we just worked the phones to try and find somebody that we could partner up with to make that pick,” the GM said.
Freij comes in at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds and is a left-shot blue-liner who can play the right side.
“It was kind of blackout, “Freij said. “It was so cool. It was a dream come true for sure.”
“I’m very honoured it’s Winnipeg. I had a good meeting with them at the combine. That was pretty good. I know they have good prospects. They are a good team, as well.”
Described as a smooth skater with an elite ability to move laterally by scouts, some had him listed as a late first-round pick. NHL Central Scouting ranked him 13th among European skaters.
The 18-year-old scored 14 goals and 33 points in 40 games this year with Vaxjo in the Swedish junior league.
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“There’s a good package of speed and skill and hockey sense there that can make him into a good offensive player that can certainly move a puck and give a dynamic there,” Cheveldayoff said. “He seems like a great kid as well. There’s some good upside there.”
With Sweden at the U18 world championships, Freij scored two goals and six points in seven games to help his country win gold.
He’s slated to play in Sweden’s second flight next season after being loaned to Bjorkloven.
“The thing about that is to get the minutes, power play, 5-on-5,” Freij said. “That is a pretty smart move for me.”
Improving his overall game is a goal as well as cracking Sweden’s world junior roster this winter.
“I would say be more able to do better things in the o-zone,” he said. “But my defensive game also needs to step up. Use my size a bit more. I’ve got such a good skating ability but to use my size a bit more, especially now that I’m playing with men.”
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Freij’s dad played hockey in Sweden’s lower divisions, sparking his own interest in the game.
“From morning to the night, I was at the rink with him and spent time there,” he said. “He has been my coach as well. That’s pretty cool.”
Freij shares the same agent—Peter Wallen—as fellow blue-line prospect Elias Salomonsson.
He, meanwhile, became the highest China-born draft pick in NHL history.
Previously, Andong Song held the title after being the first China-born player ever drafted when the New York Islanders took him 172nd overall in 2015.
“Speechless,” He said. “It’s a huge honour, especially to be drafted by an organization like Winnipeg. It’s a huge honour. I’m still a little shocked, a little speechless right now. Still trying to soak it in.”
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Born in Beijing before moving to Montreal when he was five, the 5-foot-11, 182-pound winger scored 31 goals and 53 points in 64 games with the Niagra IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League this past season.
He’s also friends with fellow OHLer and Jets prospect, Colby Barlow.
He is fluent in Chinese, English, and French and hopes to help develop the sport in China, where his grandparents reside. Most of his family lives in the U.S., and many were in attendance on Saturday.
“I have my family,” he said. “My billet family made the trip down. All of my aunts and cousins are here and all the staff from Niagara. The owner, the GM, all of them are here. My agent.”
He’s love for hockey began with his dad, who studied abroad at the University of Moncton.
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“I fell in love with it,” he said. “I started skating with my dad when I was really young. I did a lot of rollerblading. In China, they don’t have a lot of arenas but they have these ice pads in the malls. I started playing in a league, competitive hockey, when I moved to Montreal.”
The Jets dipped back into Finnish waters with the 155th pick, taking the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Loponen.
The 18-year-old scored 25 goals and added 29 assists in 45 games last year with Karpat U20, serving as the team’s captain. He’s expected to step up and play for Karpat in Liiga, Finland’s top tier, next season.
With their final pick, the Jets went bigger, taking the 6-foot-5, 211-pound Walton at 187th.
Walton plays for the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL and scored 18 goals and 43 points in 65 games last season.
The Jets will hold their annual rookie development camp from July 3-7.
Cheveldayoff said that 2022 first-rounder Rutger McGroarty, who wasn’t traded this weekend despite much speculation, will not attend next week’s camp.
sbilleck@postmedia.com
X: @scottbilleck
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