Jesper Boqvist (born 30 October 1998) is a Swedish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Boqvist was selected 36th overall by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the

2017 NHL Entry Draft The 2017 NHL Entry Draft was the 55th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 23–24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The first three selections were Nico Hischier going to the New Jersey Devils, Nolan Patrick going to the ...

Playing career

Boqvist made his

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

debut playing with

Brynäs IF Brynäs IF is a Swedish ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden. The club has played in the top-tier league since 1960, longer than any other team. History ...

during the

2015–16 SHL season The 2015–16 SHL season was the 41st season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2015 and ended in March 2016. The playoffs were played in March–April 2016. Modo Hockey and Karlskrona HK were forced to pl ...

. On 16 May 2017, Boqvist agreed to extend his contract with Brynäs IF for a further two seasons through to 2019. Boqvist was drafted 36th overall, in the second round of the

, by the

. On 10 June 2019, Boqvist signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils. Boqvist scored his first NHL career goal in a 3–2 loss against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

on 26 November 2019. Boqvist's goal, which tied the game 1–1 in the first period, caused controversy by the play of

Wayne Simmonds Wayne Simmonds (born August 26, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Simmonds has previously played for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predato ...

. The Wild used its coach's challenge for the play, but the goal was allowed to stand. The NHL then issued a statement during the third period that the goal should not been allowed. On 22 July 2022, Boqvist agreed to his qualifying offer with the Devils, re-signing to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2022–23 season. He made a career high 70 appearances for the Devils and matched his previous season tally of 10 goals while adding 21 points to help the Devils return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. In the following off-season, Boqvist was not tendered a qualifying offer to remain with the Devils, releasing him as a free agent. On 12 July 2023, Boqvist agreed to a one-year, one-way $775,000 contract with the Boston Bruins for the 2023–24 season.

Personal life

Boqvist's younger brother Adam Boqvist is a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people Binghamton Devils players Brynäs IF players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Sportspeople from Falun Ice hockey people from Dalarna County Swedish ice hockey centres Timrå IK players Utica Comets players {{Sweden-icehockey-centre-stub