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How Jesper Boqvist's 'Wild Ride' Prepared Him for Second Stint With Devils
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- How Jesper Boqvist's 'Wild Ride' Prepared Him for Second Stint With Devils
With equipment strewn across the ice and streamers cascading from above, Jesper Boqvist found himself at the center of the celebration inside Amerant Bank Arena as fans roared and he and his Florida Panthers teammates reveled in their Stanley Cup championship on June 17, 2025.
Yet amid the celebration, one person was foremost in Boqvist's mind: his son, who happened to turn two months old on that unforgettable day.
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"He was there, sleeping through it all," Boqvist said with a shy smile. "It was special, for sure."
At 26 years old, Boqvist already achieved what every hockey player sets out to do: to hoist the Stanley Cup.
But the path from the New Jersey Devils ' second-round pick to Stanley Cup champion was anything but straightforward. With a stop in the Boston Bruins organization in 2023-24, he faced moments that tested his resolve.
After leaving the Devils organization, Boqvist signed a one-year NHL contract with the Bruins. The young Swede was coming off a season where he scored 10 goals and collected 21 points in 70 games.
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After a challenging training camp in Boston , the organization sent him to the American Hockey League (AHL) to start the season with the Providence Bruins.
"It is always hard for anyone who comes in new," then Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the Boston Herald at the time. "You are trying to acclimate, you are trying to understand how we want to play. Almost every player wants to do what you are asking of them. They are trying to assimilate; they are also trying to find their way in a new city. They have got a bunch of new teammates, and they are trying to find their comfort zone everywhere off the ice, and then they are trying to find their comfort zone on the ice."
Back in 2023, Boqvist told The Hockey News that he was going through a learning period and that the system in Boston was very different from what he had experienced in New Jersey .
In Providence, he played under head coach Ryan Mougenel, who recognized that confidence was the catalyst for the forward's success.
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As Boqvist settled in, his game took off.
"He wasn't nearly as good of a player at the beginning of the year as he was at the end of the year," Mougenel said in a phone interview. "He was a totally different player, and I think the only thing that can be attributed to that is confidence."
The versatile forward appeared in 31 AHL games and, while there, made the most of his time, even offering guidance to the young Swedes in Providence.
"The quality of person is off the chart," Mougenel continued. "He came down here, and he didn't sulk. He worked and enjoyed it."
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When Montgomery eventually called Mougenel in need of a call-up, Boqvist was part of one of the AHL's top lines. Serving as a driver, he made his linemates better.
"It was one of those times as a coach where the second (Boqvist) went up; it was 100 percent the right call," Mougenel said.
"I think for a player like him, (whose game depends on his) confidence, I think he needed the American League level to get that back, but it was pretty evident in his last 10 games that we had him that he didn't belong in the American League," he continued.
After his season with the Bruins, Boqvist signed with Florida as a free agent, where he carved out a meaningful role and ultimately became a Stanley Cup champion.
© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
"It has been a wild ride," Boqvist told The Hockey News back in March. "Leaving New Jersey and going to Boston for a year, I learned a lot from my experience there. The locker room and the people there. Then coming to Florida, obviously the reigning champs and the expectations that come with that. Learning from all these guys and seeing what they do day to day.
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"Along the way, I have taken some steps too, and I felt like when I had a chance, I contributed last year, too," he continued.
On June 30, the Devils reacquired Boqvist along with Evan Rodrigues and Ben Steeves, in exchange for forward Angus Crookshank and goaltender Jacob Markström.
Boqvist returns to New Jersey as a father and Stanley Cup champion. He feels his overall game has improved: he's become a more reliable two-way center who can be used on the penalty kill and can add a bit more physicality than he showed in his first stint with the Devils.
Reunited with his Nico Hischier , Jonas Siegenthaler and Jesper Bratt , among others, the addition of Boqvist provides New Jersey much-needed depth and another weapon in their bottom six.
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