2024-25 Season Spotlight: Jesper Bratt
Carry that weight
A rash of injuries (Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler) has introduced a slim possibility that seemed unthinkable for the Devils halfway through the season: missing the playoffs altogether.
Even treading water, which would be enough to clinch a postseason berth, is proving difficult of late.
Thankfully, Jesper Bratt is healthy and humming down the home stretch, rising to the occasion in order to prevent his squad’s free fall (5-4-1 in its last 10 games). In the process, he’s showing the hockey world that he can command New Jersey’s offense when necessary. Here’s how.
Transition
I probably don’t have to tell you that Bratt is an exceptional skater:
Whereas some players appear to be digging into and actively battling the ice below their feet (e.g. Mark Stone), the 26-year-old glides on it with the greatest of ease. Better yet, he’s both lightning-fast (the eye test doesn’t jibe with his recorded top speed) and slippery.
Combine his wheels with crisp puck-handling, and he can back defenders off their spot like few wingers in the game.
As you might suspect, that’s quite helpful in transition. Hughes’ season-ending injury in early March has only placed a heavier burden on Bratt’s NZ talents, but their diversity is delivering the goods (NJ 63):
The Swede is far more than a north-south sprinter. He boasts the lateral agility, throttle control and vision required to seize the best option at his disposal. And if there isn’t an enticing target, he can just…summon one out of thin air, slicing into corridors that defenders don’t realize are in play before capitalizing on the ensuing scramble.
Watch how his burst dumbfounds Edmonton and Columbus’ NZ defense:
In these clips, defenders have him soft-bracketed. Sure, they aren’t breathing down his neck. They’re close enough to dissuade 95% of players from maintaining possession nonetheless. Bratt isn’t bothered. His willingness and ability to zip through tight windows splits the opposition’s seams, revealing plenty of daylight behind the first layer. Reset the posture —> free entry.
Up against his toolkit, teams can’t afford to commit the slightest positional mistake. A poor pursuit angle or lapse in urgency will result in swift dissection.
Loose gaps are also a recipe for disaster vs. Bratt:
Look at the real estate he’s afforded on this 2-on-2. Clocking Ivan Provorov’s (CBJ 9) conservative depth and questionable line (directly in front of Bratt vs. angling him inside out toward the boards), he knows that he possesses the maneuverability to snatch middle ice vs. a blueliner in his backskate.
Claiming vertical space buys time for Erik Haula (NJ 56) to join the attack, while transporting the puck into the heart of the rink applies a ton of pressure on young defenseman Denton Mateychuk (CBJ 5). Since Cody Glass (NJ 12) swings behind Bratt on entry, occupying some of Provorov’s attention, an even-numbered rush has developed into a small-area 2-on-1.
Dish out wide —> return feed —> one-time blast off the post.
Bratt is indeed a terror with a head of steam. However, he’s exhibiting a feel for stationary link-up passes as well:
Pulling from the Matthew Tkachuk/Nikita Kucherov school of connective NZ play, he uses his off-handedness (left shot on RW) to body-block defenders and peer into the guts of the ice on his forehand.
Although his passing progression begins in the center lane, he’s adept at stalling and hitting the charging weak-side defenseman as well. Always nice when you’ve got a thoroughbred like Luke Hughes pushing the envelope (3rd clip above). Another bonus is his deft work on the backhand, slowing the action to lure forecheckers into his trap. If you commit to his forehand, he’ll swivel off and send the middle driver off to the races.
That tempo is essential to a team whose grasp over proceedings has weakened in Jack Hughes’ absence (24th in xGF% without him):
At 5-on-5, it’s either a bit of Bratt magic or nothing at all in New Jersey.
Dual Threat
A similar feast-or-famine dynamic is playing out in the OZ. In the 11 contests since Hughes’ injury on March 2:
New Jersey’s offense ranks 20th in the NHL.
Bratt is tied for third leaguewide in production rate.
He’s completely and utterly carrying the Devils’ attack, yet he isn’t offering more of the usual fare. The cross-seam globetrotting is impossible to cook up now because no other (healthy) forward can keep pace with him in the kitchen. Bratt has spent the lion’s share of his recent minutes alongside some combination of Haula, Cody Glass, Dawson Mercer and Tomas Tatar. He’s dominating on the strength of simplicity.
Don’t get it twisted: The 5’10”, 175-pound forward hasn’t transformed into a net-crasher. Instead, Bratt has pared his long-range, dual-threat tendencies down to the bare essentials:
While he’s pulled off the occasional highlight, crafty movement and clever shot/pass decisions have defined his hot streak for the most part. It’s not as flashy as the stuff he concocted next to Hughes over ~60 games, but operating from distance is working at a key juncture for the Devils. It’s also presenting defenses with a dilemma.
You want to protect the house, right? So what do you do when an opponent excels at wheeling and dealing from outside your property?
Moreover, how should you defend a forward who’s equally dangerous when climbing uphill?
Bratt has blossomed into one of the most potent and prolific high forwards in the sport. After OZ faceoff wins, he zooms back toward the blue line to outnumber the defense up top. On extended possessions, he curls into high-low exchanges to cut against the grain and into middle ice.
Defenses would much rather surrender these locations than the slot, but he’s been squeezing greasy chances—and goals—out of progressive point passes and shots for traffic.
If you want to challenge him on the fringes, it’s not like pinning him down is easy anyway. He’s as elusive as they come, playing low to the ice and throwing a multitude of head/shoulder fakes at defenders to coax a reaction before screaming in the opposite direction (often favoring his forehand). He’s smooth and powerful in his 10-and-2. He boasts a nasty stutter step as well. You don’t want this dude reaching into his bag of tricks.
For fear of letting him race downhill, you have to accept his point play. His current performance makes this an uncomfortable choice. On the PP, when he doesn’t need to fight for space, his proficiency on the perimeter grows sharper still:
Bratt doesn’t travel much, preferring to engineer the PP from his pocket. And unlike playmakers who indulge their every whim (e.g. Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner), he demonstrates surprising restraint as the left flanker rolling into Hughes’ (NJ 43) short setups. His choices are efficient and varied, running through his options with the precision of a seasoned quarterback:
Return feed if the strong-side PK forward exerts pressure
Seam pass for the right-flank timer
Screened high-glove wrister if the PK sags off
Goal-line pass to trigger a backdoor/bumper design
There’s no apprehension. He’s decisive and typically lands on the correct decision. Considering he and Luke Hughes are also capable solo artists, the Devils’ PP is terrifying once they both hop on the rails.
It ranks fifth in the league since early March, and that’s primarily due to Bratt’s composure and unpredictability:
In the first clip, he catches at the top of the umbrella and is granted the room to probe east-west. Small fake —> larger fake —> Sean Kuraly (CBJ 7) and Zach Aston-Reese (CBJ 27) bite inside. Bratt is allowed to steam into the circle, which forces Provorov to give up ground and cover Nico Hischier (NJ 13) by the crease. The Timo Meier lane is now open for business. Iron.
Six seconds later, New Jersey plays through him again without letting Columbus’ PK recover (notice where its forwards are). Zach Werenski (CBJ 8) opts to press Bratt while counting on a handoff (Provorov to Hischier, Aston-Reese to Mercer, Kuraly to the hashes) that never occurs. Bratt spots the strong-side flare-out (Hischier) and puts enough mustard on his pass to encourage a redirection rather than a reception. Goal.
This shift speaks not only to his playmaking multiplicity but also his enormous creative burden. Watch the clips again. It’s ALL Bratt. The Devils are standing around waiting on him to manufacture the telling play.
Despite his status as the team’s de facto biggest threat—and by a country mile—opponents are struggling to contain him. He’s posted 16 points in his last 11 games (84 points in 73 games overall) and is producing at a higher clip than he did next to #86:
I’m not suggesting the star center is holding him back or anything. This is merely an illustration of the degree to which he’s stepped up with Hughes on the sidelines (i.e. the very reason for this article).
Less is more at the moment. Almost like an elite puck-moving defenseman, he’s turning innocuous touches into gold.
The Eastern Conference wild-card race has been exhilarating. For the Devils, it’s…becoming a tad frightening.
No matter how it shakes out, Bratt’s Herculean efforts deserve recognition. He’s clearly New Jersey’s top gun right now, and his dogged attempts to drag the club over the finish line suggest he might be its best player. Full stop.