New Jersey Devils: Is Jesper Boqvist Actually NHL Ready?
By Nick Villano
New Jersey Devils prospect Jesper Boqvist is being penciled in to opening night lineups. However, after he was cut by the Swedish National team, should we be worried if he’s actually ready?
The New Jersey Devils and its fans have a ton to be excited about coming into next season. Number-one overall pick Jack Hughes will be wearing the red and black for hopefully his whole career, but at the very least next season. Taylor Hall will return as healthy as ever. Ty Smith makes his debut after winning the award for top defenseman in the WHL. This is not even mentioning the close to $30 million in cap space Ray Shero has to play with this offseason.
In most years, a prospect like Jesper Boqvist would be the number one excitement for this fanbase. His speed is insane, and he’s already showed flashes of NHL skill playing in the SHL this past season. In his first full season in the men’s league, he scored 35 points in 52 games. That’s very impressive for a 20 year old.
However, expectations were tempered last week when the Swedish roster was announced and Boqvist was not on it. He definitely didn’t excel in early exhibitions for Team Sweden, and he was cut from the final roster.
This is worrisome on paper. Boqvist is automatically being penciled into the opening night lineup, with some people putting him on the second line automatically. That would either put him with Hughes of Nico HIschier, which either would definitely help him along, but they can only do so much. Boqvist has to play up to his talent level for him to stick on that line.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
Here’s the thing, Sweden has a pretty good roster, and it was going to be hard for him to make it. The only player in his age range that made the team is Elias Petterson, who’s an NHL superstar, and Jesper Bratt, his future teammate and has been in the NHL for two seasons. Boqvist may have played with men this past season, but these are the best not left in the NHL playoffs.
It would have been nice for Boqvist to make the IIHF roster, but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Sometimes a rookie needs something to keep him focused. It’s intimidating to come over to a new country, play in arenas with 20,000 people on a nightly basis, go on the road for seven months, and meet an entirely new locker room. If him missing the cut in the World Championships can keep him motivated to prove everyone wrong, this would be worth it in the long run.
The Devils brass haven’t signed Boqvist yet, but about everyone thinks it’s inevitable. He’s likely going to be with this team opening night, and him missing the cut shouldn’t temper any expectations. Boqvist has NHL skill, but he is very young. He needs to fix some of those inconsistencies, but that’s every rookie. Expect Boqvist to crack the bottom six unless the Devils go crazy in free agency.