Will Jesper Boqvist Make the Devils’ Roster?

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2175 days ago

Jesper Boqvist, who is the brother of Blackhawks prospect, Adam Boqvist, is surging to make the Devils. He has been making quite a case for himself too. He highlights shot power and accuracy. Boqvist was drafted in the second round, 36th overall by the Devils back in 2017. Last season, he played in the SHL for Brynas IF. In 51 games, he put up 13 goals, 22 assists, for 35 points as a 19/20 year old. He played for Team Sweden in the WJC-20. In six games, he only registered one goal. Despite not playing his best in the WJC-20, he played better in the WJC-20 International tournament. In 13 games, he recorded four goals and an assists for five points.

Jesper Boqvist (Right) shakes the hand of New Jersey Devils General Manager, Ray Shero (Left) (Courtesy of TT Nyhetsbyrå)

The Devils’ Left Wing Depth

The Devils have a solid core of left-wingers (LW). Taylor Hall, Nikita Gusev, Blake Coleman, and Miles Wood are all usual left-wingers. Hall and Gusev are both staying because of their elite talent in the goal-scoring and point producing department. Coleman is different from those two. He is a big penalty killer for the Devils, and put up 22 goals last year. I think that he stays on the team, he plays an important piece as a leader in the locker room, and a guy who has shown us that he can play special team minutes. Wood is interesting, most people know him as a speedy guy. He typically gets bottom-six minutes and doesn’t play much of any special team minutes, and in my opinion, could be one player that could be beaten out for Boqvist.

What He Has Done This Preseason

As of Sept 22, Boqvist has played in three games. In his first game of the preseason, he failed to put up a point. He took a minor penalty, took a shot, and got one hit. His next game came against the New York Rangers. In this game, he also failed to put up a point. Yet, in this game, he looked speedy. Again, he took a shot and made a hit. He was a plus-minus of plus-2 in the game. In a game against the New York Islanders, his point production would change. He would score the Devils’ first goal and their late go-ahead goal. This game, he took four shots and was a plus-minus of minus-1.

Closing Thoughts

There is definitely room on the Devils roster for Boqvist. He is a talented, speedy young forward and will be an impact player in the NHL. In my opinion, he will make the lineup. What do you think?

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