Although the New Jersey Devils are inevitably facing another lost season, it has become commonplace around this time of year over the last decade. One of the only justifiable reasons some of us still tune in and continue watching this subpar squad is to track individual player performances. Seeing some of New Jersey’s young prospects produce and improve developmentally is a silver lining that provides some form of optimism for this pulseless organization’s future, which remains one of the league’s youngest teams.
While most Devils fans are focused on the performances of players like Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Dawson Mercer, one young forward who’s been turning heads lately is 23-year old Jesper Boqvist. Selected 36th overall by New Jersey in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Boqvist was a highly-touted prospect, whose NHL debut was fervently anticipated.
Although the sample size is relatively small and spanned over two seasons prior to 2021-2022, Boqvist had somewhat of an underwhelming start, only posting eight goals and 11 points in his first 63 NHL contests. Having said that, Boqvist was mostly relegated to a bottom-six role, where he played with underperforming forwards, and had very limited ice time.
Things have been different for Boqvist this season since the new year. Although his present totals of nine points in 21 games isn’t much to brag about, he’s produced some notable numbers since early mid-January, tallying three goals and six points in his previous eight games, including five points over his last handful of contests. Although these numbers are relatively bleak, not only did Boqvist already surpass his 2020-2021 numbers (four goals, seven points in 21 games), but set his new modest highs in seven fewer matches.
Nine points in 21 games isn’t anything spectacular, but there’s a few details worth noting. In terms of consistency, Boqvist is averaging at least one point roughly every three games this year - a notable improvement to last season, where he was getting a point every four contests. He hasn’t gone more than four consecutive games without getting on the scoresheet, and all nine of Boqvist’s points came five on five.
For what it’s worth, Boqvist hasn’t seen any significant changes in statistical categories like average ice time, shooting percentage, or per-game shots between this and last year. Yes, he’s been getting more playing time with New Jersey’s core forwards, but has also made headway in important advanced statistical categories that measure metrics like Corsi-For and expected goals.
Again, Boqvist is only 23 and playing his third professional season in North America, all of which he’s split time between the NHL and AHL. If these are signs that Boqvist is finding his footing at this level, keeping an eye on him from here on out to see what he does could be enough justification to continue watching this team’s remaining 35 games.
What are your thoughts of Boqvist’s recent spurt in production?
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET. You can follow Sam on Twitter: @PrimetimeSamWoo 
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