New Jersey Devils star Jesper Bratt finally gets his respect from national media

At long last, New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt is finally getting the respect he deserves from national media and the greater NHL community.

On Wednesday, the NHL Network released its annual rankings of the top 20 wingers in the NHL and, after being left off entirely last year, Bratt took a huge leap and surged up the latter to represent the Devils.

The 27-year-old Swede placed 12th in the rankings out of the top 20 wingers, trailing only the likes of Jake Guentzel, Artemi Panarin, Kyle Connor, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Kirill Kaprizov, David Pastrnak, and Nikita Kucherov.

By extension, this also makes Bratt the highest-ranked Swedish winger behind only Nylander. It's a bit peculiar, given that Bratt finished 9th in scoring in the NHL amongst wingers (88) ahead of his fellow countryman (84), but maybe Nylander is still getting a bit of the Toronto Maple Leafs bump in the national spotlight.

But, given Bratt's long-standing status as an underrated player and the Devils' inability to insert themselves into and remain in national conversations for extended periods of time, I'm sure they'll take that trade-off and build on it for next year.

A certain faction of Devils fans might be frustrated to hear that Bratt, placing 12th, ranked ahead of the likes of Brady Tkachuk (14th), Jason Robertson (16th), and even Matt Boldy (19th). But, Bratt has more than earned his place over the last few seasons, and his recognition should now be proof beyond proof that his star power is real.

Perhaps the next step for the Devils will be seeing if Timo Meier can finally take the leap and join Bratt on the list where they thought both players would be by now.

Bratt, a former sixth-round pick, finished the 2024-25 season with 21 goals, 67 assists (a Devils single-season franchise record), and a career-high 88 points, as well as a goal and two assists in five playoff contests.