Drafted 2017, 1 #49 overall by London Knights in the CHL Import Draft

Drafted 2016, 4 #119 overall by CSKA Moskva in the KHL Draft

Cult/Star player for AIK

Jesper Bratt has been making waves around the NHL in 2017-18 for his surprise breakout start with the Devils. Bratt was a 6th round pick for New Jersey in 2016, and at age 19 he was very much not expected to make the Devils’ roster out of camp. Looking to adapt more quickly to the North American game, Bratt was committed to play for the OHL London Knights after they selected him quite late in the CHL Import Draft this summer (#49). He made it very clear, however, that he doesn’t even need to sniff Major Junior hockey to fully adjust to the smaller ice and faster pace.

Bratt was born in Stockholm, and has represented Sweden at every junior age level: U16, U17, U18, U19, and U20. He began his junior hockey with Trångsunds IF, a tier-4 Swedish club located only 15 minutes from downtown Stockholm. He actually played in three games for their men’s team at the age of 14 — a big fish in a small pond.

In 2013, he was picked up by AIK, a Swedish club that was in the top-tier SHL at the time, and played for their 18U team, putting up 34 points in 38 games as a 15-year-old. The season after, he was promoted to their 20U team and put up 40 in 39 at age 16.

In 2015, Bratt stuck with AIK’s big club, which by then had been relegated to Sweden’s tier-2 league, the Allsvenskan. He played two full seasons with AIK at 17 and 18 years old, posting respectable offensive numbers during the regular season (14 G, 25 A in 94 GP), but hardly showing up on the scoresheet in the playoffs (1G, 1A in 18 GP). Offensive numbers never tell the whole story, especially for young guys who are adjusting to the pros. Bratt was garnering a lot of valuable experience in those two years playing with men, and it showed when he turned up at New Jersey’s training camp and emerged as a legitimate threat up front.

While the Devils had a lot of question marks and available roster spots going into training camp in 2017, it’s quite rare for a player to make his NHL club only a year removed from being a late-round draft pick. Bratt has enjoyed his success with a number of different linemates, displaying versatility and chemistry up and down the lineup.

The young upstart Devils have been one of the surprising stories of the 2017-18 season, and Bratt has been a big reason for that. There is reason to believe he’ll be a part of their team for years to come.

(Peter Oundjian, EP 2018)