Jujhar Khaira was chosen No. 63 overall in the 2012 draft. He is also 6.03—or was on draft day—and is a truly rare item. If Khara makes it as an NHL player, he will be only the fourth player since 1999 (Mike Comrie, Zack Stortini, Theo Peckham) to be drafted in the third round by Edmonton and play in over 100 NHL games.
As the season winds down, there are a group of Bakersfield Condors we can talk about in terms of progress. I wrote about Anton Slepyshev yesterday, today it is JJ Khaira. Both men made their NHL debuts this past season (Khaira 15, 0-2-2) and I believe the young man from Surrey BC may have a skill set that matches Edmonton’s needs in the coming seasons.
As was the case with the Russian, let’s have a look at the minor league numbers. We are unable to completely duplicate things like time-on-ice, but there are resources that can us an estimate of AHL time—and it can be a helpful
guide.
guide.
- Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal: Khaira’s
parents, Sukhjinder and Komal, were at Rexall Place on Wednesday to take
in his game against the Boston Bruins. It was their first chance to sit
in the stands and watch him play in two years. It was also Komal’s
first NHL game. She had always said if she went to an NHL game, she’d go
when he was playing. Source
JUJHAR KHAIRA AHL 2014-15
- Boxcars: 51GP, 4-6-10 in regular season
- Breakdown: 4 goals at even strength
- SOG: 73 (5.5 shooting percentage, 1.43 shots-per-game)
- TOI/game: 11:06 (EST)
- Points-per-60: 1.06
- NHLE (Regular season): 82GP, 3-6-9
JUJHAR KHAIRA AHL 2015-16
- Boxcars: 44GP, 10-17-27 in regular season
- Breakdown: eight goals at even strength, two on the penalty kill
- SOG: 86 (11.6 shooting percentage, 1.95 shots-per-game)
- TOI/game: 17:53
- Points-per-60: 2.06
- NHLE (Regular season): 82GP, 17-10-27
One thing that really surprised me: Khaira’s NHL equivalency this year is very close to Slepyshev’s last season. I would have thought the Russian to be a far superior player offensively, and that may well be the case. The numbers available suggest they are closer in this area that their back story implies. It will be interesting to follow this coming winter.
RED LINE REPORT, SPRING 2012
- At Red Line, we believe this
kid could be the biggest/best sleeper of the entire draft. Prince
George is so far off the beaten path teams don’t even travel there for
WHL games, much less BCHL contests, so he gets zero exposure. But this
kid is big, mean, aggressive, nasty, and guess what… he can score too.
Does the dirty work in the corners, bangs bodies and wins battles, and
loves to initiate heavy contact. Powerful stride with great balance and
gets leverage on his hits. Has surprisingly soft hands and puck skills
with playmaking ability. Creates lots of space for smaller teammates and
makes everyone braver. Very raw defensively.
Red Line are notorious hard markers, that is one of the reasons I value them so highly. Their scout loved the player and Khaira’s style in pro hockey can be seen in those words.
NEXT YEAR
Khaira showed a range this season that his college and junior career (plus first year pro) obscured. Offensively, he appears to be a much better player than those post-draft campaigns told us—and that can sometimes happen when a prospect is playing in an extremely defensive system. We shouldn’t get too excited—he isn’t going to play LW with McDavid next season—but there may be a player with some dimension here.
Photos by Mark Williams
