What JJ Peterka Will Add to the Bruins’ Roster, ‘He’s Got an Elite Shot’

BUFFALO –– Lukas Reichel would not pick up the phone.

​It was, after all, nearly 2 a.m. in Germany, but his friend JJ Peterka had some news to share. The former Utah Mammoth had just been traded to the Bruins in exchange for Boston's 2026 first-round (23rd overall) pick and Florida's 2028 first-round selection.

It was still Friday night in Buffalo, New York, where the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft was taking place. Peterka was in Munich, about to go to bed.

“It was pretty late here. I wasn’t even planning on watching the draft, but then my agent called me and told me. Obviously, super pumped. German coach, I know the assistant coach super well. A few buddies there I played with in the past,” Peterka said. “Super excited, just overall, especially with Boston, an Original Six team. So much history. Just super excited when I got the news.”

​Peterka and Reichel have played together on the German national team throughout their careers, including World Juniors, World Championships and the Olympics. Peterka, accordingly, was hoping Reichel — who signed a one-year contract extension with Boston in May — would see his phone buzz.

​“He wasn’t even awake. I texted him and called him. He called me back this morning. We were chatting a little bit. It’s just awesome. Super cool to share the ice with him again,” Peterka said. “Last year as well he did the last month or one and a half months in Munich, skating-wise. We actually got a lot of minutes training together last summer. I am pretty sure he plans on doing that again this summer, so we’ll spend a lot of time together even before camp.”

Peterka is also familiar with head coach Marco Sturm and assistant coach Matt McIlvane. Sturm was behind the bench for Germany’s national team from 2015-18, and while Peterka never played for him, both know each other’s games and philosophies well. McIlvane has experience coaching the newest Bruin; Peterka played 12 games for EC Salzburg in 2020-21 while on a loan in the ICEHL when McIlvane was head coach of the club. McIlvane was also an assistant coach for Germany at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, in which Peterka represented his country.

“The hockey world in Germany is pretty small, so you kind of know everyone that is in the United States. Just the fact that when I was even talking to [Sturm] yesterday, chatting with him in German a little bit, was cool,” Peterka said. “Talked to a few players as well this morning who played under him at the national team, and they all said how good of a guy, how good of a coach he is. Makes me excited.”

Peterka offers a speed, skill and offensive upside that general manager Don Sweeney made clear he was on the hunt for as soon as the 2025-26 season came to an end in the first round of the playoffs for the Bruins, fittingly enough, against the Buffalo Sabres, who originally selected Peterka in the second round (34th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.

The 24-year-old forward had a career-high 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) in 2024-25 with the Sabres before getting traded to Utah in June, 2025. Peterka posted 47 points (25 goals, 22 assists) through 82 games in his first year with the Mammoth.

“He’s got an elite shot. Probably gives us another look on the elbows in a power play situation. His power play minutes dipped a little bit last year; his 5-on-5 production has been really good, plays both wings, can probably play with a couple different types of centers,” Sweeney said.​

Peterka had a similar assessment for himself.

“I think a pretty fast game, likes to score goals,” he said. “Just overall, exciting player that loves to make plays.”

Sweeney also sees a versatility in Peterka’s game that can benefit his new teammates up and down the lineup.

“I think he fits into a good group age-wise because he’s able to have played in the league with all the experience he’s had, the success he’s had, so he can ride shotgun with David because he has had scoring,” Sweeney said. “He can go down and drive a line, which he has done.”

The prospect of him playing with someone like David Pastrnak is something that excites both Sweeney and Peterka.

“That would be pretty sick, not going to lie,” Peterka said. “If you have that caliber of a player, I think everyone wants to play with him. From the past, playing against him, even watching him, was always super special. I would be super honored, for sure.”

While Peterka has already played four full seasons in the NHL, he still has his whole career in front of him. He joins a young new wave of Bruins players – alongside the likes of Reichel, Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov and James Hagens – who will carve the future identity of the team. The ceiling is high for Peterka.

​“In JJ’s case, he has had success. We have to come in and put him in the right situations so he continues to score at the level we think he can. Morgan [Geekie] is a great example,” Sweeney said. “Did we think he was going to score 39 goals when we first acquired him? No. But that’s always the hope – that a player will take advantage of a new opportunity and playing with different types of players than what they were in their other environment.”

Peterka is ready for the challenge and to prove that he has another gear to his game to help the Bruins win.  

“I think it’s always nice to have a fresh start. I think especially after the year I had last year where I wasn’t really happy with the performance I put on the ice,” Peterka said. “For me, I feel like it’s a fresh start. And for a team like Boston, it couldn’t be any better.”