Foto: Pär Bäckström / BILDBYRÅN / COP 225 / PB0039
RW - Luleå HF J20 (J20 Nationell)
6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Shoots: R
DOB: 01.02.2007 - Adelaide, Australia
Coming into the 2024-2025 season, Jakob Ihs-Wozniak was a player heavily considered to be a potential top ten selection, thanks to a monster year in his D-1 season. But as the season progressed, inconsistent play brought about concerns of stagnation and caused him to fall out of that early first consideration. So what happened? Well, while there have definitely been improvements to his game from last year, he hasn’t evolved his game enough to warrant an early first-round selection. The offensive production from last year is pretty much the same this season, but he has some consistency issues, and there are still questions about his off-puck engagement from shift to shift. However, the flashes of his playmaking and goalscoring ability are high-end, especially his one-timer. Offensive upside is hard to come by, and in a weak draft year, he should still be considered for the first round.
Putting up the type of numbers he did last year could’ve gotten him drafted in the first round - it was that impressive. 50 points, 22 goals in 36 games was the best point per game by a skater in the J20 National League that year; only Anton Frondell came close, but with 7 fewer played games. If you compare that production in the last decade, it’s the second-best point per game season, only behind Viggo Björck (who is considered to be a potential top-five pick in next year's draft). Safe to say, the expectations were high for Jakob.
Starting his draft year campaign at the Hlinka/Gretzky Tournament like many prospects, it became apparent then that Ihs-Wozniak’s season may have some turbulence. At the Hlinka/Gretzky, he shied away from engaging in physical contact and was perimeter-focused. Being 6’3”, you would like to see Wozniak utilize his size more. Having a bit of a slow start to the year also resulted in him not being invited to Team Sweden for the World Junior Championship. But in the second half of his season, he started to display better physical ability, winning battles along the boards and engaging himself more off the puck. Finishing the season off with a silver medal at the U18s in Frisco, Texas, Jakob put his tools together and validated that he has worked on his weaknesses.
While you would’ve liked better production from a guy with this kind of talent, Jakob still projects as a top 6 winger at the NHL level. His shot is one of the best in the draft, alongside his fellow countryman Anton Frondell. He also possesses a great hockey mind to be able to find passes through traffic and see plays that others don’t. Skating as good as he does for a 6’3” kid is impressive, too. If he can continue to improve his off-puck game, contribute more in transition, and be consistent in his defensive work, he’ll also raise his floor to a top 9 scorer.
The two-way game exists for Jakob, it’s all about consistency. By displaying that he has the ability to play a 200-foot game, there are several options for him to reach the NHL someday. It comes down to putting in the work, like it does for all young men dreaming to play in the best league in the world. Securing a contract with Luleå that extends to 2026/2027 is going to do wonders for his development. It’s quite obvious that his offense is not going to develop a lot more, playing junior and playing at the SHL level is only going to help him round out his game.
Skating
Being as tall as Jakob is, it's always going to be tougher for a guy like him to develop good skating ability. But already as a U18 player, he possesses solid overall straight-line speed. For bigger guys, it tends to take longer to reach your top speed, and the same thing applies for Jakob. The top-end speed is good, and his acceleration can be solid at times, but it comes down to mechanics. His technique can be awkward as he’s not skating with his upper body straight and is instead perpendicular to the ice. He’ll also have issues with getting full power through each stride and will waste energy by taking smaller steps. Some of this will be shown in the clips below.
His edgework is pretty decent, but it’s definitely the area that needs the most work. Making pivots in corners, creating separation speed along the boards, and making quick turns are issues for Jakob, which leads to him playing a more north-south type of game, creating chances on the rush or setting himself up in open areas. His play-driving ability is not as good as it could be, and instead, he lets his linemates do it for him. But if he could improve his edgework and ability to shake off defenders to the inside, there’s more opportunity for him to be able to skate around with the puck in the offensive zone.
Overall, though, Jakob is a smooth skater and would already be above average compared to NHL skaters. Putting in the work with a skating coach would iron out those deficiencies he has and could project to become a really solid skater.
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This is one of the better clips that really exemplifies Jakob’s skating ability. Produces great power in each stride and quickly gets up to speed so that he can catch up on the backcheck, while looking very smooth on the ice.
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Jakob makes a terrible turnover, showing some question marks in his decision making, but gets on the backcheck in full force and quickly gets back in a defensive position.
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Compare this clip to the previous two, his skating technique looks a lot more choppy than before.
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Here, Jakob shows that he can change his pace of play to create offense. He starts with floating around in the neutral zone, and when he realizes that the defensemen are on their heels, he starts accelerating and finishes with a power move towards the net for a goal.
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Makes a good play here by pushing off his left skate to go around a defender and drives towards a better scoring area for a good finish.
Grade: 55
Shot
If there’s one skill that stands out above all for Jakob, it is most definitely his shot. This is the main reason why NHL teams are going to draft him: because of his sniping prowess. The one-timer is top-notch among his shooting arsenal. He likes to set himself up on the half-wall during the powerplay and will frequently take slappers towards the net. Not only does he put up volume when he’s on the powerplay, but he has tremendous power behind his shot as well, and it’s very accurate.
However, Jakob is not a one-dimensional shooter. His wrist shot is slightly less effective but still possesses the same qualities as the one-timer. It’s hard, accurate, and he gets himself into good spots for a release. The shot comes off his stick extremely rapidly, and this is an important quality to have in the NHL, as it can be hard for goalies to get a read on. His puck skills are pretty decent as well, and he utilizes them in his goal-scoring ability. Although more uncommon, he does sometimes put himself in front of the net to tip in pucks, and he has consistently been able to do so when he’s in that spot. That’s a good quality to have, as playing on the half-wall may not be guaranteed at the NHL level, and it’s only going to help Jakob to be versatile and play other positions like the bumper.
One knock on his shooting ability is how consistently he shoots from game to game. When Jakob is at his best, he shoots frequently and produces good scoring chances. Other times, he’s a bit invisible and overall will not produce a lot of offense. Though this is more a knock on his character than his shooting ability, specifically.
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Not a goal, but look how quickly the shot comes off his stick on the one-timer.
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Jakob Ihs-Wozniak is showing off his hand-eye coordination.
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Here he sneaks behind the defence, gets a breakaway and finishes off with a sweet deke.
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Displaying some good offensive instincts, combining a lot of tools in this clip. First, he soaks a check like it’s nothing, takes a few good strides to gain separation speed and moves himself to a high danger scoring area for a good finish.
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Great speed in this clip as he goes end-to-end for a breakaway goal. Most impressive here is how he gets past the last defender, doing a body fake left and changing directions immediately after.
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Ridiculous wrist shot, Jakob displays here. He’s on a bad angle, the goalie seems to have the short side covered, but it’s not enough to stop his elite finish. A goalscorer’s goal.
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Jakob sets himself up well near the hash marks and just obliterates the puck past the goalie with his one-timer.
Grade: 60
Skill
While goalscoring is Jakob’s go-to ability, he’s no slouch in slinging the puck around. He has the offensive awareness to be creative with the puck, find space through traffic, and make cross-ice passes. A confident Jakob is also very poised with the puck and will wait out the defenders, slowing the pace down to find better plays. But he hasn’t been consistent in doing this, and it could just be because he’s a shoot-first kind of player. The playmaking is more consistent in the sense of being a play connector and getting the puck to the crease when he’s behind the net. A lot of his assists came on the powerplay this season, and that is not unusual for NHL forwards, either, who are on the top powerplay unit. But he’s got the vision to get his assists, a question is just how consistent it will be at the next level and how much he’ll lean on his shot instead.
One thing is certain, though, and that is that Jakob is going to need good teammates around him to perform well himself. He doesn’t drive play much, is often the third man into the offensive zone, and will more often than not float around in the offensive zone. In his bad games, this will unfortunately make him quite impactless, but he has shown that he’s good at finding those open spots. And with the type of shot that Jakob possesses, a cerebral play-driving playmaker accompanying Jakob’s line would be a perfect combo.
However, the argument could be made that his puck skills are underrated. He’s got smooth hands, which will be evident in the clips below, and utilizes his body well in protecting the puck. He might not use his body in being a dominant physical force on the forecheck, but it’s encouraging to see a player of his stature combine stick handling and being able to fend off attackers.
One of the weaker parts of Jakob’s game is his transition ability. He rarely supports his defensemen by the blueline or by contributing through the neutral zone for zone entries. More often than not, as mentioned, Jakob is the third man into the offensive zone. He displays some contribution to odd-man rushes, but it hasn’t been consistent enough this season. His grade could’ve been a bit higher, but his transition and play drive ability have been too lacklustre this season to be able to grade his overall skill set higher than 50.
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Great job in winning the puck race, being strong on the puck behind the net, and using his outstanding vision to find a teammate for a high-danger scoring chance. Side note, while his edgework never has been his strength, he displays great edges here when he goes around the net.
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Here, Jakob is using his feet while being poised, creating a passing lane eventually and throws a cross-ice pass to the other half-wall forward.
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Other teams are going to realize that Jakob is a shoot-first player, and that is something that he’s taking advantage of in the clip. He sells the shot really well and instead throws a pass last second for a scoring chance.
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Actually shows some play drive in this clip, realizing that the power play is pretty stagnant and decides to use his feet to create an opportunity for his team.
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Jakob is putting his high hockey IQ on display here. He’s playing give-and-go with the bumper guy, catches the defence snoozing and throws a cross-ice pass at the perfect time for a great assist.
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Eyes in the back of his head and makes a good pass for an assist.
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Nice backhand sauce to Frondell for the finish.
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Good job by Jakob to push the play into the middle and get an assist because of it.
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Showing two sides of his puckhandling ability here, protects the puck very well and is able to stickhandle to avoid disruption
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Creative passing play and good speed through the neutral zone for an entry.
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Jakob makes a great solo entry and stick handles through 5 defenders, is poised enough to draw the defenders to him to make his linemate free and gets an assist because of it.
Grade: 50
Smarts
As was described before in the Skills category, Jakob possesses good hockey IQ. The way he sees the ice offensively and how he manages to find teammates is very evident when you watch him play. That points to a smart hockey player. However, as with many offensively gifted players, there are issues in his decision-making. Jakob has a tendency to go for low-scoring chances by simply throwing the puck towards the net or on the cycle, and he’ll pass along the boards behind him to nobody. This could be a consistency issue, as he has shown good poise with the puck before. Being calm with the puck and corralling it for longer will open up more opportunities for him to play with, and his offensive impact will improve as well.
While seeing some improvements defensively, his first half of the season was very underwhelming in that area. The lack of engagement was concerning, floating around and being passive in his own end. His defensive pressure wasn’t adamant enough, and he would stay at the wing blocking shooting lanes. He doesn’t make the critical mistakes, but you want more involvement off-puck. In the latter half of the season, Jakob has been more active in his own end. While not consistent, there were games where he was backchecking hard and pushing the puck carrier to the perimeter, possessed an active stick to break up plays, dug out pucks in the corners or hounded the opposition by sticklifting from behind to regain possession.
The hockey smarts and defensive work are there for Jakob, it’s just a matter of being consistent and motivating himself to bring that game every day.
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Good hustle to force the opponent to turn the puck over and continue having offensive pressure.
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Here’s an example of Jakob blocking the middle of the neutral zone and forcing the puck carrier to the perimeter.
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Displaying some good acceleration as he backchecks well to force a turnover.
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Almost half a second late on the backcheck there, but he makes a good effort by having a disruptive stick and removing the opponent’s pass.
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Tenacious in his forecheck here and makes a great sticklift to regain possession.
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Here’s an example of the decision-making being questionable. Instead of just throwing the puck behind him, he could’ve pivoted and protected the puck behind the net, waiting for a better passing opportunity.
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Same thing here as well, throwing a cycle pass behind him to nobody.
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Solid IQ by recognizing where the play is headed and sneaks behind the defence for a finish.
Grade: 55
Physical/Compete
As has been described before, Jakob’s engagement level has been inconsistent this season. But he has shown multiple times that he can play a forechecking game. He works hard and pressures the defensemen to force turnovers. Jakob reads the game at such a high level, and together with his compete, there should be a good chance that he can turn himself into more of a two-way player.
The physical side of his game is solid, but he’s never going to be a player who uses his size in body checks or separating the man from the puck. He shies away from making physical contact, which is concerning but not game-breaking. Instead, he uses his body in puck protection scenarios and when he’s on the cycle along the boards. This is very encouraging for a winger as the ability to play along the wall is crucial in the NHL.
The biggest issue in Jakob’s game is the overall consistency level, the ability to be a difference maker every night. The offensive potential and talent level are there for him to be able to reach a top-six role in the NHL someday. However, if he doesn’t reach that potential and becomes more of a middle-six winger, he has to bring something else to the table when he’s not scoring. As of now, the off-puck game is too inconsistent, and Jakob disappears from games more often than you would like.
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Great compete level on this play, and thanks to him being able to read the game at such a high level, he can recognize opportunities to jump on the puck for takeaways.
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Such a tenacious beast on the forecheck in this clip makes a great read for a takeaway and continues to hound the puck carrier after.
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Here’s an example of him being way too weak in his pressure and almost looking afraid to engage physically.
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Not an everyday play you see from Jakob, but it shows great strength when utilizing the reverse hit.
Grade: 50
OFP: 54.25
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.