5 Manitoba Moose Players to Watch in 2025-26

Even though he never managed to recreate his 46 goal, 79-point 2022-23 that played a big role in the Jets drafting him as high as they did — and even though his stock may have fallen in some’s eyes — Barlow still has a wicked shot, maturity, and leadership skills he built by captaining the Attack for two seasons into the fold full time. Watch for him to work hard to continue his momentum.

Domenic DiVincentiis

Despite being a 20-year-old rookie, DiVincentiis was the best of the four Moose goalies who saw action last season. He took the starter’s role from February onward due to Kaapo Kahkonen’s and Thomas Milic’s struggles, and seems poised for the starter’s role — or at least a good bulk of starts — in his sophomore season.

The 2022 seventh rounder posted a 13-12-2-2 record, 2.84 goals against average (GAA) and .906 Save Percentage (SV%) while capturing his first professional shutout in the Moose’s final game of the season on April 19 in a 1-0 win over the Texas Stars.

Now 21 and with a year of professional hockey under his belt, DiVincentiis will look to be more consistent and also stick with the Moose for the whole season rather than bouncing between them and the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, where he had three separate stints. He should have better defensive play in front of him that a season ago considering the team added a number of older players with plenty of AHL experience in Kale Clague, Phil Di Guiseppe, Walker Duehr, Samuel Fagemo, and Ethan Frisch.

While not the biggest goaltender out there at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, DiVincentiis is an athletic and agile guy who is already technically sound. If his progression continues, he could become a viable NHL goaltender in just a few seasons.

Samuel Fagemo

The Swedish left winger, signed to a one-year, two-way contract, scores in the AHL seemingly at will. The 25 year old, originally selected 50th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, potted 29 goals and added 17 assists for the Ontario Reign last season, had and eye-popping 43 goals in just 50 games for them in 2023-24, and has racked up 132 goals and 70 assists for 202 points in 268-career AHL games. No AHL player has more goals than him since he joined the league in 2021.

Fagemo hasn’t produced much in his limited NHL opportunities with just three goals and one assist in 21-career games between the Kings and Nashville Predators. However, he should provide a huge boost for a Moose club that finished dead last in the league in goals last season with 169 (2.34 per game) and were shut out seven times.

Parker Ford

The undrafted 24 year old, who re-signed a two-year deal this summer, was one of the Moose’s more-productive players when in the lineup last season, scoring 14 goals and adding seven assists for 21 points in 41 games. He put up 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points in 72 games in his rookie professional 2022-23 season out of Providence College.

The gritty forward made his NHL debut  on Jan. 30 against the Boston Bruins and scored a goal in the third period of a 6-2 rout. It was his first of three games with the Jets before being sent back down.

Unfortunately, he suffered an upper-body injury in late February while playing with the Moose that caused him to miss the rest of the season. While he will be one of the players pushing for a full-time NHL spot this season, the time he lost due to injury and the fact he’ll be battling Chibrikov and Lambert for that big-league work make it more likely he will at least start the season with the Moose.

A hard-nosed, hard-working, high-energy guy who is great net-front, one can depend on Ford to be right in the thick of things every game. He’ll be key on the Moose’s top six and special teams and will be a good bottom-six call-up option for the Jets when injuries inevitably arise.

Brayden Yager

Like Barlow, Brayden Yager will be turning pro after a decorated junior career. Yager, who the Jets acquired last summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins for disgruntled 2022 first-rounder Rutger McGroarty, was undeniably one of the Western Hockey League’s premier players last season, posting a cool 82 points (25 goals, 57 assists) in just 54 games between the Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes. He added eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 16 playoff games and also repeated as the CHL’s Sportsmanlike Player of the Year.

The 2023 14th-overall pick has leadership experience as he served as Warriors captain before being traded to the Hurricanes in early December and also captained Canada’s squad at the 2025 WJC.

“The thing that jumps out at you about Yager’s game is his shot and his willingness to use it,” THW’s Devin Little wrote in a prospect profile. “He’s got a quick release and hits his target with deadly accuracy… his shot does not rival the best goal-scorers in the world, but it is dangerous enough that he could develop into a 30 goal-scorer in the NHL at his peak.”

While noting his playmaking game is straightforward, Little added “he knows how to identify the simple plays that maintain possession and lead to scoring opportunities. In other words, he’s more of a finisher than a facilitator, but he is more than capable of being the ‘tic’ or ‘tac’ in a tic-tac-toe play.”

While a natural centre, there’s a good chance he could be deployed on the wing with the Moose for his rookie season as wing carries less responsibility than centre (similar to Cole Perfetti and Lambert in the past.) The Moose will hope he has a smooth transition to the pro ranks and that he can provide another offensive punch.