Jets call up four Manitoba Moose players ahead of final regular season game

With one game on deck before the playoffs begin, the Winnipeg Jets have called up some standout players from their minor-league affiliate.

The team announced Thursday that it has recalled Manitoba Moose forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford and Brad Lambert, as well as goaltender Collin Delia.

All four players have made an impression on the Jets’ farm team, with Lambert, 20, making headlines earlier this week thanks to his selection to the AHL’s all-rookie team.

The Finnish forward, drafted by the Jets in the first round in 2022, leads the Moose in points with 54 and shares the top spot in the AHL for assists among rookies.

Chibrikov, 21, is also a new face on the Moose, and currently sits in the league’s top ten in rookie power-play goals.

Ford, an undrafted free agent who signed a two-year contract with the Jets in March of last year, has also had an impressive season, recording 39 points in 70 games.

The most experienced of the quartet of callups is goalie Delia, who has appeared in 52 NHL games throughout his career, backstopping the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks prior to signing a one-year deal with Winnipeg last summer.

The Jets are locked in for a first-round matchup against Central Division rivals the Colorado Avalanche, with the date of game one yet to be announced.

The Moose are also playoff-bound, beginning their best-of-three opening series Tuesday against the Texas Stars.

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