New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt will be keeping a blog throughout the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend. In his first entry, he writes about the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft on Thursday, his thoughts on being selected by a team that features one of his best friends and teammate, New Jersey Devils captain Jack Hughes, and his reunion with Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks:
So, unlike some replacements, I wasn’t completely surprised that I was picked to come here.
As soon as the injury to Jack Hughes happened a few weeks ago, there was talk out there in the team that ‘Hey, this could happen, and we're obviously going to wait out Jack and see how everything goes, but just so you know that you might get a call in the future that you're going, in case we want to be precautionary with Jack’. Obviously, I’m excited getting the call. It wasn't too big of a surprise; I kind of got a heads-up beforehand.
Plus, I was still able to get away for a bit. We played our last game down in Tampa Bay this weekend. So, I had my girlfriend fly down, meet me there and watch the game, and then we flew out of Florida to Cancun the next morning. We were there for two-and-a-half days. We got a little quick break in and then came right up here. It was the perfect break before this.
I was always hoping Jack would take me in the draft. Assistant captain Quinn Hughes came through for the Vancouver guy and I knew Jack was going to have my back, and it was awesome when he called my name. It was great experience. Obviously, this is a cool concept to do this kind of draft, and I'm happy to get to be a part of it. I enjoyed the night a lot; I thought it was a great experience.
I think our team is awesome. We have Vancouver guys, a lot of Michigan and U.S. national team guys that Quinn and Jack know well. We are going to have a fun, exciting team. I'm looking forward to getting out there and get on the ice and fit in with the guys.
I used to play with Elias Pettersson when we were growing up in the Swedish national team. We are the same age, so we kind of went through that whole process together, and I’m extremely excited to be back on the ice with him. Last time we were together, it was a game in the World Championship a couple of years ago, so I’m excited to be back on the ice with him.
I don’t know if Pettersson and I will play on the same line, but I have 48 hours or something like that until the game starts. I'll bring it up at some point. We'll see. There are some pretty good players on our team, so whoever I play with will be great. I’m just looking forward to the game.
It was great having the celebrity captains involved. Some of these celebrities that we have right now have been making a huge impact on the League and getting the word out there and getting the sport out there a little more. I think that's awesome. They've been helping out and pushing to have more fans come in and watch hockey. Our captain, Michael Buble, has been around in the Canadian area with his music and is at the forefront in getting the sport out there. It's been awesome to see, and it helps to grow the game a lot. Plus, I’m a fan. The past few months around Christmas time, his music has been playing a lot at home.
Having the game in Toronto is amazing. Even though it’s my first All-Star Game and I don’t have much experience with all of this. But this city is one of the places where hockey belongs, and having an All-Star Game here in Toronto is obviously extremely cool. I think the fans and people here in Toronto live for hockey, and this is just such a great place to have it.
As for tonight, now that the draft is done, my dad, Conny, is here with his friend and my girlfriend, Nicole, is here. We are going to go out and enjoy a good dinner and spend some quality time together. This is a cool experience and a neat experience for the whole family, and I’m excited to share that with them too.
