5 Recent New Jersey Devils Prospects Who Never Lived Up To The Hype

2. Jacob Josefson

We are still waiting for Jacob Josefson to break out despite being 29 years old and playing in the Swedish league for two seasons, going on three in 2020-21. Josefson just had so much talent that it seemed impossible for him not to work out. One year after Lou Lamoriello moved up to draft him 20th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, Josefson played well for Djurgårdens IF in the SHL. We love to see teenagers excelling against men.

The next season, he was spending his first season on the Devils. It looked like the start of a promising career. People were using Josefson to say this team has a bright future. He was supposed to be the next star alongside Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. Then, he got injured. Then he got injured again. We’re not sure if this impacted his confidence, but something wasn’t clicking anymore after a few seasons lost due to injury and lackluster play.

Things just kept getting worse. In his rookie year, Josefson had 10 points in 28 games. During his sophomore campaign, he was given a shot to stay on the roster. He then dropped in points, with 9 in 41 games. His last four seasons, he was a full-time member of the Devils. He ended up playing in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings, but his immense skill didn’t lead to production.

That’s the story with Josefson. Look at his shootout prowess. When it came to a pure skills competition, he could do it as good as literally anyone. For the Devils, he went 11 for 21, making him one of the best shootout players in the league while he was there. Beating the goalie more often than the goalie beats you is incredibly hard in this league. Yet, that was his only addition to the Devils despite a ton of chances. It just never worked. We’d still give him one last chance if he decided to give the NHL one last chance. Apparently, we will never stop believing.