Jacob Josefson
Jacob Josefson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jacob Peter Josefson March 2, 1991 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey centre (retired) |
| Years active | 2008–2021 |
| Known for | Playing for Djurgårdens IF, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres |
Jacob Peter Josefson (born 2 March 1991) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey centre who most recently played for Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Beginning his hockey journey at age five, he entered Djurgården's youth ranks at ten and made his Elitserien debut on 28 February 2008 facing Timrå IK, quickly establishing himself as a consistent presence on the senior squad. His strong play garnered attention from the NHL, resulting in his selection as the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. After spending an additional season with Djurgården, Josefson signed with the Devils in May 2010, remaining with the organization until 2017 before moving to the Buffalo Sabres.
On the international stage, Josefson represented Sweden in four IIHF junior competitions, securing a silver medal at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and a bronze at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He also took part in the IIHF World U18 Championships in both 2008 and 2009.
Early life
Jacob was born in Stockholm to Annika and Peter Josefson and is the youngest among three brothers. He began skating at two years old and started playing hockey with IK Göta at five, following his brothers' path. After spending a year with Hammarby IF, he was recruited by Djurgårdens IF at age ten, joining their 1991 age group. Until age 13, Josefson also played football before dedicating himself exclusively to hockey. While advancing through Djurgården’s ranks, he attended Vittra Gymnasium.
Djurgårdens IF
Josefson’s junior career commenced in 2005 with Djurgården’s under-18 squad. During the 2006–07 season, he contributed to Djurgården’s under-16 team capturing the Swedish championship title. The next year, his Stockholm/Vit team reached the final of the national junior tournament TV-pucken but narrowly lost to Småland. On 28 February 2008, he made his Elitserien debut against Timrå IK, although that season he appeared only once. He mostly played with the J20 SuperElit squad, tallying 14 goals and totaling 31 points while helping them reach the playoffs before being eliminated by Brynäs IF. Additionally, he played a role in leading the under-18 team to win the Swedish championship during playoffs.
In May 2008, Josefson committed to a two-year contract with Djurgården, initially acting as a depth option for the senior team while primarily competing with the J20 squad. He netted his first Elitserien goal on 23 September 2008 during a 4–1 victory over Brynäs IF and secured a regular spot on the fourth line alongside Carl Gustafsson and Henrik Eriksson. By season’s conclusion, he had set a record for players aged 18 or younger by scoring five goals and accumulating sixteen points in Sweden’s top league. Ahead of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, NHL Central Scouting ranked him third among European skaters; ultimately, he was chosen 20th overall by New Jersey Devils and also selected 61st overall by SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL Junior Draft. In July 2009, he participated in New Jersey’s rookie camp and earned comparisons to centers Nicklas Bäckström and John Madden.
During the pre-season Nordic Trophy tournament of 2009–10, Josefson led all scorers with five goals and seven points, including a hat trick against Malmö Redhawks. He contributed three assists in Djurgården’s Elitserien opener against HV71 and scored his first regular-season goal on 20 October in another victory over HV71. After missing six games due to participation in the World Junior Championship, he returned to help Djurgården secure a playoff berth. He completed the regular season with eight goals and twenty points over forty-three games and featured prominently throughout most playoff contests as Djurgården advanced to the finals but ultimately fell to HV71. On 27 April, Josefson extended his contract with Djurgården for an additional year but later signed with New Jersey Devils on 14 May 2010 despite prior assurances from his agent that he would remain in Sweden.
New Jersey Devils
Josefson participated in the Devils' pre-season training camp in September but was initially assigned to their AHL team, the Albany Devils. He was recalled to the NHL roster on 14 October 2010 and made his league debut the following day in a 3–2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at the Prudential Center. On 27 October, during a match against the San Jose Sharks, Josefson sustained a torn ligament in his thumb caused by a slash and subsequent fall, which necessitated surgical intervention. He made his comeback with Albany on 7 January 2011 and netted his first NHL goal on 12 March against Al Montoya of the New York Islanders. Josefson concluded the season with three goals and ten points across 28 appearances, as the Devils failed to secure a playoff berth.
In the fifth game of the 2011–12 campaign, Josefson suffered a fractured right clavicle after colliding with the boards, which required surgery and sidelined him for an estimated three to four months. Later that season, on 3 April 2012, he broke his left wrist following an awkward collision with Jay Pandolfo during a game versus the Islanders. Josefson returned to action on 21 May for Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers, participating in six playoff games that year and recording one assist.
Buffalo Sabres
After spending seven seasons within the Devils organization, Josefson signed a one-year deal worth $700,000 with the Buffalo Sabres on 1 July 2017. During the 2017–18 season, injuries restricted him to only 39 games, where he contributed two goals and four points for the Sabres, who finished last in the standings.
Return to Djurgården
Following eight seasons in the NHL and a total of 315 games played, Josefson returned to his original Swedish team, Djurgårdens IF, agreeing to a multi-year contract extending through 2022 on 27 April 2018. On 15 November during a game, he endured a serious urethra injury caused by a skate blade but missed just eight matches before returning on 26 December against HV71. Josefson completed the 2018–19 regular season with 12 goals and 35 points and was honored with the Guldhjälmen award as the league’s most valuable player as voted by fellow players.
International play
Josefson made his international debut at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he scored a hat-trick in his opening game. Although he had to leave early due to a family emergency, he returned for the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships serving as alternate captain and recorded three goals and seven points over six games. He also competed in all six games of the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, though he did not register any points.
At the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Josefson tallied six points (three goals and three assists), including pivotal goals against Austria and Finland. He was selected for Sweden’s squad at the 2019 Karjala Tournament, appearing in two games without scoring.
Regular season and playoffs
(2019–20 SHL season)| (Djurgårdens IF)| (SHL)| (30)|(5)|(11)|(16)|(6)| ( — )|( )—|( )—|( )—| (2020–21 SHL season)| (Djurgårdens IF)| (SHL)| (27)|(7)|(7)|(14)|(24)| ( — )|( )—|( )—|( )—|| 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 | 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 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (28) | (3) | (7) | (10) | (6) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | ||
| (2011–12 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (41) | (2) | (7) | (9) | (6) | (6) | (0) | (1) | (1) | (0) | ||
| (2011–12 AHL season) | (Albany Devils) | (AHL) | (4) | (2) | (1) | (3) | (2) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | ||
| (2012–13 AHL season) | (Albany Devils) | (AHL) | (38) | (10) | (15) | (25) | (29) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | (—) | ||
| (2012–13 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (22) | (1) | (2) | (3) | (2) | (—)|(—)|(—)|(—) | ||||||
| (2013–14 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (1)|(2)|(3)|(4) | (—)|(—)|(—)|(—) | ||||||||||
| (2014–15 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (6)|(5)|(11)|(24) | (—)|(—)|(—)|(—) | ||||||||||
| (2015–16 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (4)|(10)|(14)|(20) | (—)|( — )|( — )|( — ) | ||||||||||
| (2016–17 NHL season) | (New Jersey Devils) | (NHL) | (1)|(9)|(10)|(16) | ( — )|( — )|( — )|( — ) | ||||||||||
| (2017–18 NHL season) | ( | (
NHL|) |
(
39)|(2)|(2)|(4)|(6)| |
(
)—|( )—|( )—|( )—| | ||||||||||
|
(Djurgårdens IF)| (SHL)| (40)|(12)|(23)|(35)|(32)| (15)|(1)|(6)|(7)|(6)| | ||||||||||||||
| 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
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sweden | WJC18 | 4th place | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Sweden | WJC | Template:Silver2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Sweden | WJC18 | Finished 5th | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Sweden | WJC | Template:Bronze3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Sweden | WC | 5th place | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Junior career totals | 21 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 26 | ||||
| Senior career totals | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||