With absolutely nothing happening in the hockey world right now, and for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to take the plunge and write player profiles for each member of the New Jersey Devils.
As was the case when I did them last summer, we’ll be looking at the season they just put together and expectations moving forward.
I’ve written up 17 players thus far, with Kevin Rooney being the most recent.
Today we’re going with Jesper Boqvist.
Counting stats: 35 games played, four points (four goals, zero assists), 10:57 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 0.52 points/60, -2.13 CF% Rel, -21.93 GF% Rel, -7.80 xGF% Rel, 95.1 PDO
2019-20 review: I was really excited about Jesper Boqvist heading into the season. I still am. But there’s no denying the 2019-20 campaign did not go as planned for the 21-year-old.
He appeared in less than half of the Devils’ games, recorded just four points, and did not muster up a single assist. His underlying numbers were poor and there were some nights he simply didn’t look NHL ready.
It wasn’t all bad though. He did show flashes of high-end skill, even in the NHL. I know he didn’t actually record an assist – which is not exactly encouraging – but there were some sequences where he would dance around a defender to create a passing lane, or make a slick pass into space from along the wall. They just didn’t amount to anything.
If he was able to make those kinds of plays with more regularity he wouldn’t have gone assistless, and been sent to Binghamton, but at least he showed he has it in him.
His numbers after demotion (eight goals, 11 points in 19 games) were pretty solid and should give him some confidence heading into the off-season.
Fun fact(s): Boqvist netted three goals at 5v5 in 35 games. That equaled or betsed Wayne Simmonds (three in 61), Pavel Zacha (three in 64) and Jack Hughes (two in 61).
2020-21 outlook: There is *a lot* up in the air with the Devils right now. We don’t know who will be coaching and/or managing the team and COVID-19 is almost certainly going to make us wait a while to find out (I realize that’s the least of the world’s concerns. That makes predicting roles for next season much more difficult than it otherwise would be.
Ultimately, I think Boqvist will break camp with the team. He has the skill and he has the track record – he averaged more SHL points per game than William Karlsson, Elias Lindholm, Jakob Silfverberg and co. did at the same stage of their careers – to suggest it’s a matter of when, not if, he’ll become a full-timer.
I’m hoping NHL experience, a solid finish to the season, and extra time to get his body right in the summer, makes a difference and helps him earn a spot come October (or whenever the 2020-21 season begins).
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent Posts Hotstove: Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko?