In a 1-on-1 interview with The Hockey News, Boston Bruins forward Jesper Boqvist discusses the growth he’s experienced this season ahead of Boston’s two-game road swing. The 25-year-old has seven points in his last seven games.
In a 1-on-1 interview with The Hockey News, Boston Bruins forward Jesper Boqvist discusses the growth he’s experienced this season ahead of Boston’s two-game road swing. The 25-year-old has seven points in his last seven games.
BRIGHTON, Mass. – The last time the Boston Bruins played the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, Jesper Boqvist was in a different place in his Bruins career.
Boston called up the 25-year-old forward – who last played in the NHL on Oct. 26 – on Dec. 12. He played his second game with the Bruins on Dec. 15 against New York. In just 4:47 of ice time, Boqvist had no points, no shots on goal and one penalty. He did not see a shift after the 13:32 mark of the second period, which was shortly after the Islanders went up 2-0 with Boqvist on the ice.
The Bruins eventually won 5-4 in a shootout, but Boqvist was reassigned to AHL Providence two days later. Despite the missed opportunity to stick at the big club, he was happy to get the experience.
“Always good to get a game in like that, even though it wasn’t my best,” Boqvist told The Hockey News on Friday. “Always good to get a feel of the system and the guys, and it was something I brought with me to Providence and kept working on, and now we’re here.”
‘Here’ is much different than two-and-a-half months ago. With the Bruins heading to UBS Arena for the second and final time this season for a Saturday night matchup with the Islanders, Boqvist is not only back with the NHL Bruins, but thriving as the fourth-line center.
After the unsuccessful call-up in December, Boqvist returned to Providence and shined with five goals and nine points in seven games before getting called back up to Boston on Jan. 6. Given time to work into his role with consistency, Boqvist has scored seven points (three goals, four assists) over the past seven games in Boston.
Boqvist told The Hockey News that playing with fellow Providence Bruins call-ups such as Justin Brazeau and Anthony Richard has helped him get acclimated given the chemistry he has with them. His line with Brazeau and Jakub Lauko dominated on Thursday in Boston’s 5-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights, outshooting Vegas 8-2 and out-chancing them 7-1 at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, while also contributing a goal.
“What we care [about] is whoever’s on the third or fourth line, that you’re creating anxiety and you’re playing to your strengths,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “Like we see Boqvist doing it with his speed and gaining entry and creating offense for us, but like how hard he’s coming back defensively, he gets us out of our zone, and that’s just as important as the offensive part.”
That production has led to more ice time – he’s played 12-14 minutes in three of the past six games – which in turn has led to more chances to make plays. Montgomery said Boqvist continues to build trust with the coaching staff and earn more playing time, which is helping the Bruins as much as it is Boqvist.
It’s been quite a turn for Boqvist this season, who signed in Boston on July 12 with 189 NHL games under his belt playing for the New Jersey Devils. He eclipsed 20 points in each of the past two seasons, and despite entering Bruins training camp with an inside track for a fourth line spot, he started the season in AHL Providence.
While the trade deadline is on the horizon and Boston could add more depth pieces to shake up the roster, Boqvist has the trust of the coaching staff after pushing himself into a key role within the lineup, and he doesn’t plan on repeating what happened after his last trip to Long Island.
“You want to be out there as much as possible, and [the coaches] are the guys that put you out there,” Boqvist told The Hockey News. “So I gotta make sure they trust me when they put me out there, so I’m gonna keep working on that every day so they can keep me out there more.”
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