The 2023-24 New Jersey Devils season opens in just 49 days (at the time of the writing); the Devils will be fighting the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia. To get ready for the season, we're doing a daily piece countdown of all the numbers of the Devils sweaters and moments in Devils franchise history. Since we are 49 days away, we will focus on the rookie who tried to fit in with New Jersey but found a home in San Jose with #49 Fabian Zetterlund.
Zetterlund, who is a Swedish forward, was drafted in the 3rd round with the 63rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, he would spend time in different Swedish leagues, like the J20 and the SHL, and due to injuries, he didn’t get much playing time. On May 13, 2019, Zetterlund would sign his entry-level contract, which was three years at $2.75 million.
Zetterlund would spend his next three seasons playing in Utica and Binghamton, in which he had a great 2021-22 season with 52 points. Zetterlund would get called up before the game against the Florida Panthers on November 18th, 2021. He played just three games in that tenure, not getting any production, before being sent back down.
Zetterlund would get called back up later in April and would score his first two points on two assists in a game against the Dallas Stars on the road, and his NHL goal on April 12, 2022, in Arizona against the Coyotes to tie the game at 1 in a 6-2 win. Zetterlund would score two more goals during the season's final two games against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road and the final game at home vs the Detroit Red Wings.
Before the 2022-23 began, Fabian Zetterlund would likely play his first entire season in the NHL due to having a good training camp. For the first 45 games of the season, Zetterlund scored 20 points with six goals and 14 assists. Zetterlund’s best game came on November 5, 2022, on the road against the Calgary Flames, where he scored two goals, one of which was the powerplay overtime winner which helped the Devils complete a sweep of the Western Canadian teams they were playing during that stretch.
While Zetterlund was an excellent forward piece to have, and he did have great stats, Tom Fitzgerald decided to use him as a one of a great trade piece for a big trade the Devils made on February 26, 2023, to acquire Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks.
After Zetterlund was traded to the Sharks for the final 22 games, he couldn’t initially get used to the system that Mike Grier ran, scoring just 3 points. In his first season in San Jose, he became the 3rd highest scorer with 44 points on a terrible Sharks team. Thankfully for Zetterlund and the Sharks, they got the 1st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, in which they used to select Macklin Celebrini, a player the Sharks hope can be a franchise player they can build around to make them a contender. The move could be a wonder for Zetterlund as if they can create the right chemistry with each other, and he could be Celebrini’s best linemate.
For right now, however, here in New Jersey, he will always be remembered for trying to stand out and helping us acquire a player whose primary goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and we can’t thank Zetterlund enough for making that deal happen.