Manitoba Moose Take Opening-Weekend Sweep Into Series vs. Grand Rapids Griffins – The Hockey Writers –

The Manitoba Moose kicked off the 2024-25 American Hockey League (AHL) season with a weekend sweep of the Iowa Wild on Oct. 12 and 13, won 6-4 and 3-2. The entire Winnipeg Jets organization is off to a hot start, with the NHL team also unbeaten in three games.

The two wins for the Moose reflect much of what could be expected this season, with outstanding players and key contributions from veterans. This seems to be the formula, at least for now, and it has paid off in the first two contests of the season as they prepare for the next series against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Strong Performance From Jets’ Top Prospects

Names are on everyone’s mind, but Nikita Chibrikov, Elias Salomonsson, and Brad Lambert all found themselves in the spotlight over the weekend. All three of these youngsters found themselves among the final cuts in Jets training camp, and they’ve already shown that their talent could earn them another shot at the NHL in the not-so-distant future.

Related: Winnipeg Jets Youth Poised for Big Seasons in AHL Manitoba

Chibrikov led the way, collecting four points in the team’s first two games. After a strong rookie AHL campaign in 2023-24 in which he posted 47 points in 70 games, he seems determined to take another step forward and these early games seem to suggest that.

In his first AHL action, Salomonsson was also impressive for the Moose. The 20-year-old Swedish defender is in his first season on the small ice of North America, but he already looks comfortable there. He scored his first AHL goal early in the season, while adding two assists in the weekend series. Playing alongside Simon Lundmark in the second pairing, Salomonsson should continue to see opportunities to further improve his game.

Lambert is another influence looking to improve his game, although he has already impressed with his professional performance. In his first professional season in 2023-24, he was named a member of the AHL’s All-Rookie Team. Now, with his fast start, it seems that he is not that far away from growing up in the AHL. The 20-year-old has three points in the first two games, all assists, as he looks to follow up on last season’s 55-point effort.

The Career Debut (and Win) of Domenic DiVincentiis

The Jets’ 2022 seventh-round pick, Domenic DiVincentiis, was given his first professional start in net on Oct. 13, and made full use of it. The rookie netminder earned the win by stopping 37 of 39 shots and looked to work after being thrown into a very small tandem.

After Kaapo Kahkonen was lost to waivers and Eric Comrie was named Connor Hellebuyck’s backup, the Moose were left with DiVincentiis and Thomas Milic, born in 2004 and 2003 respectively. You’d be hard-pressed to find a minor league team, especially when it appears the plan was to deal Kahkonen to the AHL and allow DiVincentiis to find his pros in the ECHL with the Norfolk Admirals.

If the first weekend is any indication, it looks like the Moose will give both pitchers a lane to run, possibly separating them when they can. It will be a serious lesson for both prospects and there will be growing pains, but it will also be beneficial for both of them to lean on each other at their age.

Next up: Grand Rapids Griffins

The Moose now head to Grand Rapids, Michigan to face the Central Division rival Griffins in the third and fourth games of their season. The Griffins split opening weekend games with the Milwaukee Admirals and Rockford IceHogs, and may come out fighting after dropping their last contest.

How Moose handles this coming weekend’s series against the Griffins will go a long way in showing what head coach Mark Morrison plans to do with the personnel. For now, it seems that a top-6 full of youth and crafty veterans is the key to their success. Is that what helps them down the line? That remains to be seen, but that question will be answered as each game is released from the schedule.