- Viggo Bjorck opened the scoring in his first game with the Jets and finished with two points
- Winnipeg beat Montreal 3-1 to open the 2026 Prospect Challenge in Gatineau
- Read below for the buzzer beater that broke the game open with 2.8 seconds left in the second
The eighth pick in June’s draft needed one period to get on the scoresheet.
Viggo Bjorck opened the scoring in the first period of his first game in a Winnipeg sweater, finishing a passing play with Brayden Yager, and he walked off with two points in a 3-1 win over Montreal’s prospects on Saturday afternoon in Gatineau.
Here’s the goal:
The 18-year-old Swede was asked afterward about the afternoon, and he kept it short.
“Yeah, I mean, fun game. Nice to get a first win with the new organization, and yeah, it’s nice to get a goal as well.”
Yager, a 2023 first-rounder, got a closer look than anybody. He was on the other end of the opening goal and on the top power play unit with the kid all afternoon.
“He’s a very unique player. You know, he’s so good in both ends of the ice. He’s got a great stick, and the puck just seems to find him.”
Montreal took the second period over and had Winnipeg pinned back. Then the Jets drew a late power play, Lucas Wahlin found Yager alone in the slot, and Yager beat Arseni Radkov with 2.8 seconds on the clock.
Watch the buzzer beater:
Kevin He made it 3-0 early in the third. Behind them, third-round pick Samuel Hrenak stopped 22 shots and nearly put his name on the scoresheet too, lifting one down the ice at Montreal’s empty net late in the period.
This group had been together a little over 24 hours, with one skate in Winnipeg on Friday and no practice once they landed. Head coach Mark Morrison graded it accordingly.
“I thought we made some plays and some passes. Second period, not so much. I thought we got out competed in the second period, but we came back in the third and had some offensive chances in the third period. So, you know what? I think that’s a great start.”
Toronto and Ottawa round out the four-team field, and Gavin McKenna is sitting the weekend out while the Leafs keep their first overall pick wrapped up for camp. Winnipeg plays Toronto on Sunday at noon Central.
Bjorck put up 15 points in 42 SHL games with Djurgardens last season and was already on the short list of 2026 picks who could stick on an NHL roster. One rookie game settles nothing, but a goal and an assist against other teams’ best prospects is a better opening argument than most of his draft class got on Saturday.
