It’s no secret that I grew up in New Jersey and was a huge Devils fan before moving to the Triangle and becoming a Hurricanes fan. I still root for the Devils and when they come to Raleigh, I’ll go to the game in my Devils uniform. One of the most impressive up and comers with the team this season has been Niclas Bergfors.
With the Devils not resigning players like Brian Gionta and John Madden, there was a need for some of the players to step up their contributions. There was also room now in the top 9 skaters for rookies to elevate their game to. One who took a giant leap has been Niclas Bergfors. It’s been a real long road for him, originally from Sweden, he came to the US and spent the last four years playing in the AHL.
With the openings the Devils had on their roster and Bergfor’s play last year in the minors, they gave him an opportunity to win a roster spot. He did that and has now become a go to player. Through 31 games this season he has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. He currently sits behind only John Tavares in goals and total points by rookies. Of course all the attention for rookies this season has gone to John Tavares and rightly so, but make no bones about it, Niclas has been a major factor in the Devils success this season.
His 22 points has him at 4th in points on a loaded Devils team. He is behind only Zach Parise, Lagenbrunner, and Zejac, who are three of the better players in the league. He is a speedy player with great puck handling skills which were on display last Saturday when he had two goals against the Flyers. He’s one of those players that just happens to be where ever the puck is. He is not afraid to shoot or make mistakes.
Many players on the Devils feel as though he might be an elite player. He has all the tools a superstar in the NHL needs, he just needs to harness them into goals and assists. I can see him on the Parise line as soon as the second half of the season. He seems like such a well-rounded player and pairing him with Parise might be what the Devils need to end Pittsburgh’s streak as Eastern Conference Champions.
As far as Bergfor’s cards go, well if you go them before Saturday, good for you. They were running about $5-$10 for autographed game used cards. Of course now they are starting to fetch between $15-$25. Depending on what kind of success he can show, this might just be a bargain. The card below is his OPC Premier rookie card. It’s one of my favorites of him and goes for around $18 on eBay right now (more if you find the patch version of the card). Of course if you really have some fun money to spend, you can always go for his Cup autograph / patch card, which has been getting just over $50 in recent auctions. In the end, I think Niclas is going to become an impact player, one who is fully capable of putting up a 70 point season at some point in his career.
Great to see a little love for Bergy! I actually lucked out before the season began and bought his OPC Premier rc for pretty cheap. The devils have been pretty patient with him over the last few years and it is good to see he is producing more consistently. There is a good core of young guys in the system to follow and I think Bergfors will be a great leader for some of the other young swedes in the years to come!