Jacob Josefson

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Jacob Josefson
Josefson with Djurgårdens IF in 2019
Born (1991-03-02) 2 March 1991 (age 33)
Stockholm, Sweden
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
Djurgårdens IF
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 20th overall, 2009
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2007–2022

Jacob Peter Josefson (born 2 March 1991) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre who last played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).[1] After Josefson began playing hockey at the age of five, he was acquired by Djurgården's youth organization at the age of ten, where he also began playing junior hockey in 2005. Josefson made his Elitserien debut on 28 February 2008, against Timrå IK, and became a regular member of Djurgården's senior team. His achievements in the Swedish Elitserien drew attention from NHL and he was selected in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, 20th overall. Josefson played with Djurgården for an additional season, before signing with the Devils in May 2010 and played for them until 2017 when he left for the Buffalo Sabres.

Josefson has represented Sweden at four International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) sanctioned junior events, winning the silver medal at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He also participated in the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, but only played three of Sweden's six games, and the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Early life[edit]

Josefson was born on 2 March 1991, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Annika and Peter Josefson.[2] He is the youngest of three brothers.[3][4] At the age of two, Josefson began skating and joined IK Göta at the age of five. His older brothers had played for the same club.[4] He played with Hammarby IF for a year[5] before he was acquired by Djurgårdens IF at the age of ten,[2] playing for the 1991 team.[6][7] He also played football until the age of 13, before deciding to focus entirely on hockey.[3] Josefson attended high school at Vittra Gymnasium in Sweden while playing for Djurgården.[5]

Playing career[edit]

Djurgårdens IF[edit]

Josefson in 2009.

Josefson started to play junior hockey in 2005 for Djurgården's under-18 team.[8] During the 2006–07 season, he helped Djurgården's under-16 team to win the Swedish championship.[9][10] The 2007–08 season began with the national junior hockey tournament TV-pucken. Josefson's team Stockholm/Vit reached the final which ended with a 2–1 defeat to Småland.[11] He made his Elitserien debut on 28 February 2008, against Timrå IK.[2][12] This proved to be the only appearance Josefson would make in the Elitserien during the 2007–08 season. Josefson played for the J20-team during most of the season scoring 14 goals and 31 points. His team reached the playoffs, but were defeated by Brynäs IF in the semi-finals.[13] After the loss, he joined the under-18 team during the playoffs where he helped the team defeat Färjestads BK to capture the Swedish championship.[14]

He signed a two-year contract with Djurgården in May 2008.[15] The club's initial plan for Josefson was to move him up to the senior team when regular players were out of the lineup with illness or injuries, while his usual team would be the J20-team.[15] He scored his first goal in Elitserien on 23 September in his third game, a 4–1 win against Brynäs IF.[16][17] Ultimately, Josefson played almost every game of the regular season, and usually played along with Carl Gustafsson and Henrik Eriksson on the 4th line.[2][18] At the end of the season, Josefson had scored 5 goals and 16 points, a record for players 18 or younger playing with the senior team.[19] Josefson was ranked third in the midterm rankings among European skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.[4] He was selected in the first round of the 2009 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils, 20th overall.[20] Josefson was also drafted in the third round, 61st overall, in the 2009 KHL Junior Draft by SKA Saint Petersburg.[21] He participated at the Devils rookie camp in July 2009.[22] He has been compared with centres Nicklas Bäckström and John Madden.[18][23]

At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Djurgården participated in the Nordic Trophy pre-season tournament. In the second game, Josefson scored a hat trick and added two assists against the Malmö Redhawks.[24] At the end of the group stage, Josefson was the scoring leader with five goals and seven points.[25] He scored his first points for the regular season, three assists, in the Elitserien premiere away against HV71.[26] Djurgården lost the game 7–6, but on 20 October, Josefson would get his revenge when he scored the game-winning goal in the 3–2 victory over HV71 20. This was also his first goal of the regular season.[27] Josefson missed six Elitserien games due to the World Junior Hockey Championship, but was back in the roster against Timrå IK on 9 January.[28] He recorded an assist against Rögle BK on 30 January, which was his 17th point of the season, putting him ahead of last season's total.[29] At the end of the regular season, Josefson had scored 8 goals and 20 points in 43 games. The 2009–10 playoffs were Josefson's first Elitserien playoffs, and he played almost every game missing the first two semifinal games against Linköpings HC due to illness.[30][31] Djurgården lost the finals 4–2 to HV71. Josefson re-signed with Djurgården for another year on 27 April.[32] Despite this and an oral guarantee the club received from Josefson's agent Peter Wallén that Josefson would stay,[33] Josefson signed with the New Jersey Devils on 14 May 2010.[34]

New Jersey Devils[edit]

Josefson with the New Jersey Devils in September 2014

Josefson participated in the pre-season camp with the Devils in September,[35] but was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Albany Devils after the camp.[36] Josefson was called up to the Devils on 14 October 2010, and made his NHL debut the next day, in a 3–2 victory against Colorado Avalanche at the Prudential Center.[37][38] Josefson was slashed on his left hand and later fell on the same hand during the game against San Jose Sharks on 27 October,[39] this caused a ligament in his thumb to tear, and forced him to undergo surgery.[40] At last, Josefson returned from his injury on 7 January 2011, when the Albany Devils played against the Charlotte Checkers.[41] Josefson scored his first NHL goal against Al Montoya of the New York Islanders on 12 March 2011.[42] The Devils failed to reach the playoffs and Josefson ended up with three goals and ten points in 28 regular season games.

In the fifth game of the 2011–12 season, Josefson broke his right clavicle after crashing shoulder first into the boards.[43] He underwent surgery the following day on 22 October 2011, and was expected to be sidelined for three or four months.[44] On 3 April 2012 in a game against the Islanders, Josefson bumped awkwardly into Jay Pandolfo resulting in a broken left wrist. He returned to the lineup on 21 May 2012 in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals against Rangers[45] and played a total of six games in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring one point.

Buffalo Sabres[edit]

After seven seasons within the Devils organization, Josefson left as a free agent and signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres on 1 July 2017.[46] In the 2017–18 season, Josefson was limited to just 39 games through various injuries to contribute with just 2 goals and 4 points for the bottom placed Sabres.

Return to Djurgården[edit]

Having played 8 successive seasons in the NHL amassing 315 games, Josefson as an impending free agent from the Sabres opted to return to his original club in Sweden, Djurgårdens IF, agreeing to a multi-year contract through 2022 on 27 April 2018.[47] While struggling for the puck against Frölunda player Joel Lundqvist on 15 November, Josefson was cut by Lundqvist's skate which tore his urethra.[48] Josefson missed 8 games due to his injury and he returned to play in a home game on 26 December against HV71.[49] Josefson ended the 2018–19 season regular season with 12 goals and 35 points. He was awarded the Guldhjälmen as the most valuable player as decided by the players in the league.[50]

International play[edit]


Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Canada

Josefson played in his first IIHF sanctioned tournament when he was part of Sweden's team at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships. He managed to score a hat-trick in the first game against Belarus.[51] He left the team in the morning before the fourth game due to an accident in which his father and uncle had been exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning.[52] He made his second appearance at the U18 Championship the following year, at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he also took the role as alternate captain.[53] He managed to score three goals and seven points in six games. Josefson was a part of Sweden's national junior team at the 2009 World Junior Championships. He played in all of Sweden's six games but did not score any points.[20] A few months later he yet again played for Sweden in the U18 Championship but could not help his team go further than fifth place in the tournament.[54]

Josefson participated in the World Junior Championship for the second time when he was named for Team Sweden by head coach Pär Mårts for the 2010 World Junior Championships, along with fellow Djurgården teammates Daniel Brodin and Marcus Krüger.[55] He scored his first goal of the tournament and the first goal of the game against Austria in the preliminary rounds.[56] He scored two additional goals in Sweden's 7–1 victory over Finland in the last game of the preliminary rounds.[57] Josefson, who also had three assists in the tournament, had six points in total.[58]

Josefson was named in the roster for the 2019 Karjala Tournament and played two games with no points scored.[59]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Djurgårdens IF J18 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2005–06 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 4 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2006–07 Djurgårdens IF J18 14 10 12 22 20 — — — — —
2006–07 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 11 4 5 9 2 3 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J18 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 1 0 1 1 12 6 0 6 6 4
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J20 34 14 17 31 22 7 2 3 5 8
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF SEL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J20 3 0 1 1 6 6 1 3 4 4
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF SEL 50 5 11 16 14 — — — — —
2009–10 Djurgårdens IF SEL 43 8 12 20 20 14 3 2 5 4
2010–11 Albany Devils AHL 18 3 9 12 4 — — — — —
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 28 3 7 10 6 — — — — —
2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 41 2 7 9 6 6 0 1 1 0
2011–12 Albany Devils AHL 4 2 1 3 2 — — — — —
2012–13 Albany Devils AHL 38 10 15 25 29 — — — — —
2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 22 1 2 3 2 — — — — —
2013–14 New Jersey Devils NHL 27 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 62 6 5 11 24 — — — — —
2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 58 4 10 14 20 — — — — —
2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 38 1 9 10 16 — — — — —
2017–18 Buffalo Sabres NHL 39 2 2 4 6 — — — — —
2018–19 Djurgårdens IF SHL 40 12 23 35 32 15 1 6 7 6
2019–20 Djurgårdens IF SHL 30 5 11 16 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Djurgårdens IF SHL 27 7 7 14 24 — — — — —
SHL totals 191 37 64 101 96 29 4 8 12 10
NHL totals 315 20 44 64 84 6 0 1 1 0

International[edit]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Sweden WJC18 4th 3 4 1 5 0
2009 Sweden WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 0 0 0 2
2009 Sweden WJC18 5th 6 3 4 7 2
2010 Sweden WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 3 3 6 4
2015 Sweden WC 5th 8 2 2 4 2
Junior totals 21 10 8 18 26
Senior totals 8 2 2 4 2

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Beskedet: Josefson avslutar karriären". 6 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Malin Fransson (18 September 2008). "Josefson het i tonårskedja" [Josefson hot in teenager line]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b Rasid Becirovic (16 September 2009). "SvenskaFans träffar Jacob Josefson: "Att det blev Devils är jag riktigt glad över!"" [SvenskaFans meets Jacob Josefson: "I am really glad that it was the Devils!"]. svenskafans.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b c "Draft Prospect Card – 2009". nhl.com. NHL. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b Brandt, Per (4 February 2008). "Plantskolan som bär frukt" [Plant nursery that bears fruit]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Djurgården Hockey Team 91 – Spelartrupp 2002/2003" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Hästenwännernas Cup i Norrköping – 19/10-2002" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 5 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  8. ^ Hellefors, Patrick (16 December 2005). "J18: Seger mot AIK" [J18: Victory against AIK]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  9. ^ Dammbro, Jerker (25 March 2007). "Djurgården U16-lag vann SM-guld!" [Djurgården U16-team won the Swedish championship!]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  10. ^ Hellefors, Patrick (25 March 2007). "SM-guld till Djurgårdens 91:or!" [Swedish championship for Djurgården's 91's]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Tv-pucken finals 1959–2011". swehockey.se. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  12. ^ Uhlin, Daniel (28 February 2008). "Djurgården kryssar vidare" [Djurgården cruise on]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  13. ^ Dammbro, Jerker (28 March 2008). "Säsongen över för J20-laget" [The season is over for the J20-team]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
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  15. ^ a b Dammbro, Jerker (8 May 2008). "Figren och Josefson klara för DIF" [Figren and Josefson signed for DIF]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  16. ^ Pakarinen, Risto (28 September 2009). "Young guns making noise". IIHF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  17. ^ Alexanderson, Thomas (23 September 2008). "Jacob gjorde drömmålet" [Jacob scored the dream goal]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  18. ^ a b Shawn P. Roarke (28 November 2008). "Josefson's Draft stock continues to rise". nhl.com. NHL. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  19. ^ Dammbro, Jerker (7 May 2009). "Lång säsong med fram- och motgång" [Long season with success and setbacks]. difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  20. ^ a b Chere, Rich (26 June 2009). "New Jersey Devils trade up to pick Swedish center Jacob Josefson 20th in NHL entry draft". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  21. ^ Persson, Stefan (1 June 2009). "Pääjärvi-Svensson förste svensk i KHL-draften" [Pääjärvi-Svensson first Swede in the KHL draft]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  22. ^ Gelb, Matt (15 July 2009). "Swedish prospects Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson spending plenty of time together at NJ Devils rookie camp". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  23. ^ Tom Canavan (26 June 2009). "Devils move up in draft, select C Jacob Josefson". USA Today. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  24. ^ "Djurgården krossade Malmö" [Djurgården crushed Malmö]. difhockey.se. Djurgårdens IF Hockey. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  25. ^ "Stats 2009". nordictrophy.com. Nordic Trophy. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
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  27. ^ "HV-slarv bäddade för Dif-seger" [HV-carelessness paved the way for Dif victory]. svt.se (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 20 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  28. ^ "Laguppställningen mot Timrå" [Lineup against Timrå]. difhockey.se. Djurgårdens IF Hockey. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
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  30. ^ Weichselbraun, Johan (1 April 2010). "Nedsläpp: Josefson borta första semin" [Face-off: Josefson misses first semifinal]. hockeyligan.se (in Swedish). Svenska Hockeyligan AB. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  31. ^ Bodin, Uffe (5 April 2010). "Det är sjukt frustrerande" [It is really frustrating]. hockeysverige.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  32. ^ "Djurgårdenspelare förlänger kontrakt" [Djurgården players extend contracts]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 27 April 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  33. ^ Karlsson, Gustav. "DIF:s klubbdirektör besviken på agenten: "Vi fick en muntlig garanti"" [DIF's general manager disappointed at the agent: "We got an oral guarantee"]. hockeykanalen.se (in Swedish). TV4 Group. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  34. ^ "Devils sign top picks Tedenby, Josefson". devils.nhl.com. New Jersey Devils. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  35. ^ Chere, Rich (20 September 2010). "Jacob Josefson scores goal against Martin Brodeur in Devils' scrimmage". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  36. ^ Chere, Rich (5 October 2010). "Devils assign Corrente, Josefson, Tedenby, McKenna to Albany (AHL)". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  37. ^ Ek, Mattias (14 October 2010). "Jacob Josefson får chansen i NHL" [Jacob Josefson gets the chance in the NHL]. hockey.expressen.se (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  38. ^ "Anderson makes 41 saves, Avs beat Devils 3–2". Sports Illustrated. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  39. ^ Chere, Rich (30 October 2010). "Devils send Jacob Josefson home with hand injury; Jason Arnott's ankle OK". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  40. ^ Chere, Rich (4 January 2011). "Brian Rolston: 'I'm glad to be back with the Devils'". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  41. ^ Bodin, Uffe (8 January 2011). "Jacob Josefson producerade i comebacken" [Jacob Josefson produced in the comeback]. hockeysverige.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  42. ^ Chere, Rich (12 March 2011). "Devils find a dynamic new line as Jacob Josefson gets first NHL goal". nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  43. ^ Chere, Rich (21 October 2011). "Loss of Jacob Josefson with broken clavicle puts Devils in a bind". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  44. ^ Chere, Rich (22 October 2011). "Devils' Jacob Josefson out 3–4 months after surgery to repair broken clavicle". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  45. ^ "Lyckad comeback för Josefson" [Successful comeback for Josefson]. Svenska Dagbladet. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  46. ^ "Sabres sign Josefson to one-year contract". Buffalo Sabres. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  47. ^ "Lovely to be back" (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  48. ^ Norberg, Linus (13 December 2018). "Jacob Josefson: "Värsta dagarna i mitt liv"" [Jacob Josefson: "Worst days of my life"]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  49. ^ "Djurgården nollat i Josefsons comeback" [Djurgården scored zero in Josefson's comeback]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). TT. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  50. ^ "Guldhjälmen till Jacob Josefson". Göteborgs-Posten. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  51. ^ "GAME SUMMARY" (PDF). IIHF. 13 April 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  52. ^ Nilsson, Petter (26 September 2009). "Förväntningarna är höga på Djurgårdstalangen" [Expectations are high on the Djurgården talent]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  53. ^ "SWEDEN TEAM 18 PRE CAMP WITH EXHIBITION GAMES AND 2009 IIHF U18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, USA DURING APRIL 1–20 2009". swehockey.se. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  54. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (19 April 2009). "Swedes fifth, Slovaks survive". IIHF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  55. ^ "PRELIMINARY TEAM SWEDEN U20 ROSTER". swehockey.se. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  56. ^ "WJHC: Larsson, Rodin score two each as Sweden beats Austria". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  57. ^ "WJHC: Sweden beats Finland to advance to semifinals". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  58. ^ "Player statistics by team – Sweden" (PDF). IIHF. 6 January 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  59. ^ Ulriksson, Josefin (8 November 2018). "Svenska debutanternas kväll i Karjala Tournament". Sveriges radio. Retrieved 17 March 2019.

External links[edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
2009 		Succeeded by
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