Jesper Boqvist was born on October 30, 1998 in Falun, Sweden. Jesper’s brother Adam is a right-shot defenseman in the National Hockey League. Adam was drafted 8th overall in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. The 22-year-old played two seasons with Chicago and is now with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jesper began his hockey career playing with Brynas of the Swedish Hockey League. From 2014-19, Boqvist played in the Brynas system with his best season being in 2015-16 with the J20 team in the SuperElit league. Boqvist scored 23 goals with 35 assists in 38 games.
Related: Jesper Boqvist Stats
The left-shot center won the Silver Medal with the U18 team at the World Junior Championships in 2015-16 as well, scoring two goals in the tournament. The 6-foot 190-pound forward became a top prospect heading into the 2017 NHL Draft.
Jesper Boqvist was Drafted 36th Overall in the 2017 NHL Draft
The New Jersey Devils selected Jesper Boqvist with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft. Boqvist was the 18th center chosen in the first 36 picks. The scout on Boqvist according to eliteprospects.com was “an offensively skilled player with impressive skating and puck skills. A shifty player who scores spectacular goals from time to time. There were some consistency issues, but when on top of his game, Boqvist can be quite dominant with the puck and an offensive threat”. That consistency has been a concern so far in his NHL career as well.
Jesper Boqvist’s NHL Debut to Today
Jesper Boqvist made his NHL debut on November 2, 2019, with the New Jersey Devils in a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Boqvist played 14 shifts in 9:25 of ice time and collected one shot on the net. Boqvist scored his first career NHL goal on November 26, 2019, in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. In 35 games that season, Boqvist scored four goals. In 236 games overall, Boqvist has scored 34 goals and collected 35 assists. In the 2022-23 season, Boqvist had 10 goals and 11 assists in 70 games. In six postseason games, the forward did not register a point.
On July 12, 2023, the Boston Bruins signed Jesper Boqvist to a one-year, $775,000 contract. The 25-year-old posted six goals and eight assists in 47 games with Boston and is currently a restricted free agent.
