Naturally, Chibrikov was named the First Star of the game and Lambert grabbed Second Star honours. Jets head coach Rick Bowness was impressed with the debuts of both players.
“First of all, you give (Moose head coach) Mark Morrison and his staff a lot of credit for the job they’ve done. Lambert and Chibrikov, those two kids step in, and they look good. So, Mark is doing a fantastic job with the Moose getting those guys ready to go, and that’s on him and Arnie (Scott Arniel) and Brad (Lauer),” said Bowness.
“It’s a good game for them to break into because they didn’t have their A squad out there, and we didn’t, but they were able to get some ice time. We weren’t matching lines; we were just throwing four lines out there and they really felt comfortable out there. Again, give Mark and his staff a lot of credit, because those two kids were ready to step in and were ready to play.”
MOOSE UPDATE
Speaking of first appearances, the Moose saw three players in Colby Barlow (1st round, 2023), Connor Levis (7th round, 2023) and Dylan Anhorn make their American Hockey League debuts in the month of April.
Barlow joined the team soon after the Owen Sound Attack were eliminated from the opening round of the OHL Playoffs by the Saginaw Spirit. Barlow scored 40 goals in just 50 games and finished with 58 points and the Jets first round pick then added three points (1G, 2A) in his three regular season games with the Moose.
“It was a great experience for me, I learned a lot. Went into some different situations on the ice in games and practice,” said Barlow at the Moose year end media avail.
“So just learned a lot about myself and what it’s going to take to stick here.”
Like Barlow, Levis joined the Moose after his junior team, the Vancouver Giants were ousted in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. The 19-year-old recorded 55 points (24G, 31A) in 65 games and played in two games with the Moose and did not manage to register his first point as a pro.
Anhorn signed a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season with the Moose in early April, and he joined the team for the remainder of the 23-24 campaign on an amateur tryout agreement. The 25-year-old defenceman recorded 33 points (6G, 27A) in 38 games with St. Cloud of the NCAA and was a Hobey Baker Award nominee. Anhorn registered his first AHL point with an assist on a goal from Carson Golder in Texas on April 20th. He also played in one of the two Moose playoff games against the Stars where Manitoba was swept in a best-of-three opening round series.
The Moose made some big steps in the last half of the season to grind their way to the fifth-place finish in the Central. Manitoba followed an eleven-game losing streak with a 20-10-1-1 record over their next 32 games. Their 20 wins were tied with Rockford for the most in the division over that time frame.
“We started off with a lot of young players especially down the middle (Lambert, Chaz Lucius, Danny Zhilkin and Henri Nikkanen). I think we had four young centremen that we had to overcome some issues there with defensive zone coverage and things. It’s always hard teaching new guys the systems and stuff,” said head coach Mark Morrisson.
“So, I think that was hard, but we got through it, and we ran into an eleven-game losing streak which I think everyone grew from. When we came out of it, I think we were stronger for it. I think we worked hard thought that time and it made us a better team.”
OTHER PROSPECT NOTES
- Defenceman Elias Salomonsson (2nd round, 2022) won the SHL championship with Skelleftea AIK defeating Rogle AK four games to one. The 19-year-old played 16 playoff games and recorded six points (1G, 5A).
“We all felt that it would be an important year for him to go back and play and develop and that he was going to have a big role. And he did and that was great. So, we’re looking forward to him coming over,” said Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“Obviously he’ll be here in development camp and then go from here. Where he fits in the grand scheme of things, that’ll be up to him.”