The New Jersey Devils have some big decisions to make with the 12th overall pick. Viggo Bjorck is someone to think about.
There can often be a negative connotation when it comes to selecting undersized players in the entry draft. Sometimes it can hinder them, but lots of times you get stars like Jack Hughes, Patrick Kane, Cole Caufield, and Zach Benson.
The New Jersey Devils, when coming up to pick at 12, should not allow that outdated mindset to hinder them from selecting Viggo Bjorck out of Sweden. He is a forward capable of creating offense at a high level.
Bjorck spent the 2025-26 season playing with Djurgardens of the SHL, where scoring is not high. He, as an undersized underage player, had 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points. While there, he also had an emphasis on being a solid two-way player.
This is a forward who can play center or wing, but the New Jersey Devils would certainly use him on the wing with one of Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier if he made it to the NHL roster at any point.
With Bjorck's ability to be a shifty offensive player, playing with one of them would make his development easier.
At the World Junior Championships, on a stacked Gold Medal-winning Team Sweden, Bjorck had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in seven games played. With stars like Anton Frondell and Ivar Stenberg on that team, it was hard to stand out, and Bjorck did.
Jesper Bratt is a big part of what the New Jersey Devils do offensively, and being a countryman for Bjorck to learn from at the NHL level would do wonders for him as a prospect, both on and off the ice.
Sunny Mehta has never run a draft room on his own, but we know how the Florida Panthers have drafted while he was there. Bjorck would make a perfect Panther as a complement to their big forwards.
With New Jersey, he'd fit in with the same idea. Jack Hughes is an undersized player, too, but Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier are not. Plenty of depth forwards on the team also have size.
Honestly, it is Florida that could end up with Bjorck 9th overall. If they take a pass on him for whatever reason, and he falls a few more picks to 12, his size should not be what gives New Jersey cold feet. If they like another prospect better, that's a different conversation, but Bjorck has the making of an impactful NHL forward.
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