MJHL alumni battling for Moose spot

By Derek Holtom
MJHL Web Correspondent

A pair of Manitoba Junior Hockey League alumni recently skated with the Winnipeg Jets at the annual Young Prospects Tournament in Penticton, B.C.

All of the Western Canadian NHL teams – the Jets, Oilers, Flames and Canucks – put their best young prospects on the ice to better evaluate their crop of up-and-comers. And the Jets included a pair of former Winnipeg Blues on their roster – Peter Stoykewych and Brendan O’Donnell.

Stoykewych, who played with the Blues from 2008-2010 (scoring 31 points in his final year with the team), is auditioning for a spot on the Manitoba Moose – the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate who will actually play out of Winnipeg this winter.

Stoykewych actually played six games with the St. John’s IceCaps last season (where the Jets‘ AHL franchise used to be located), collecting one assist and 11 penalty minutes. A former seventh round pick of the then Atlanta Thrashers (now, obviously, the Winnipeg Jets), the Winnipeg-native recently wrapped up his college career with Colorado College.

O’Donnell, also a Winnipeg product, skated with the Blues in the 2009-10 season, scoring 61 points before being traded to the Penticton Vees the following year, where he scored 72 points.

O’Donnell also recently finished his college career, playing four solid years with the University of North Dakota, where he scored 35 points in 40 games as a senior.

O’Donnell, a sixth round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, was invited by the Jets to take part in the tournament.