Devils’ Jesper Bratt Has Turned into a Hitting Machine

Last season, captain Nico Hischier told The Hockey Writers, “(Bratt) is working really hard on himself. You see that every year. He’s a super competitive guy and such a nice guy obviously, too. He’s a big part of our group and he’s earned everything…I just think seeing his work ethic, a lot of people look at him and see ‘That’s what it takes’. On the ice and off the ice, he does the right things.”

Given that, it should come as no surprise that Bratt has worked to add yet another element to his game. THW asked head coach Sheldon Keefe for some insight towards how the newfound physicality came to be. Here was his response:

“You know, I think it’s just (his) competitiveness, right? When I describe a lot of contacts to somebody, I say: contacts and hitting is your competitiveness on display, like you’re showing everybody: ‘I’m engaged, I’m here.’ It requires one or two extra strides to get there and close on your guy. So, we’ve tried to (ramp) up the overall competitiveness of our entire team all season, from training camp all the way through. Bratter, with his speed that he has, he can get there. There’s no reason why he’s not able to register more contacts, because he’s just closing quickly on people. So that’s what I like about him, whether he registers, or gets credit for it or not. He closes on people quickly and creates turnovers that way.”

– Sheldon Keefe

Some had previously pinned Bratt’s stellar statistics as a byproduct of playing with Jack Hughes. But since Hughes went down, Bratt’s 18 points in 14 games is tied for ninth in the NHL…and a big reason the Devils now have a 99.7% chance to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs (via MoneyPuck).

The still just 26-year-old forward leads all Swedish NHL players in points this season and has made his way to 44th among Swedes all-time. Adjusted for points-per-60, he’s fifth all-time, just ahead of Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

The physicality and intensity is only going to ramp up come playoff time. In the 2022-23 postseason, he held his own with six points and 12 hits in 12 games. But sans-Hughes, the Devils are going to need more than that. And based on the work Bratt has put in, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if he rose to the occasion.