Focused on the Future, Grounded from the Past | FEATURE

As the new NHL season gets underway, Jesper Bratt isn't spending much time looking in the rearview mirror. The New Jersey Devils star is laser-focused on what lies ahead, determined to elevate both his game and his team's. But while he's not dwelling on the highs and lows of last season, he understands the value in reflection. The lessons learned, from missed opportunities to moments of growth, aren't forgotten. They’ve become part of his foundation, helping shape the mindset he brings into every year. For Bratt, it’s not about rewriting the past; it’s about fueling the future. It's about evolving with every new year.

"I'm a person that looks forward," Bratt shared. "But obviously, the it's also about understanding what's the next step, and then you have to kind of reflect on what you have done. There were always things last year that I thought as a team, that we did well individually. I think the consistency of us as a team is going to be our next step. I mean, until Christmas we played really good as a unit, we got a lot of games in a row, where we built good momentum in the group. And after that, you can't be a successful team if you win every other game. That's just how it is.

"For us to build consistency, like day-in, day-out, really get that team identity and know what it is like to play every night," he continued. "Not everyone is going to have fresh legs every night, everyone's not going to feel their best, but there's still going to have to be a way to win. That's going to have to come from our team identity. I think that's something we're building. We're taking steps every year in terms of that. That has to be one of our key points for this year."

Almost everyone who played on this Devils team last season is talking about the next step. Too often has there been disappointment, with first and second-round exits, or no playoffs at all. To Bratt, and to the rest, that's no longer acceptable.

"Every year my expectations are high," Bratt said. "I think we learned a lot from last year. We all have some fire in the tank about just really how last season went. I think we took a step last year, but we’re far from where we want to be."

To get there, it's a two-fold process. The individual and the collective. Both will inevitably fuel the other.

"For me, my focus has always been, how can I take steps every day, and how can I try to do everything that I can do in terms of preparation to make myself the best individual the next day?," he remarked. "And I think that if everyone on the team just to have that goal that, 'Okay, today I'm gonna get better. Today I'm going to find a way to help the team to get better. Today I'm going to be on my A game.' I think that is usually what then helps the team. We all come together."

You won't win every game. No team does, no matter how talented or well-prepared you are. Of course, the goal is always to come out on top, and you'd love to win every time you step onto the ice, but the reality is, it doesn't happen. Some things are beyond your control, some nights just aren't your night. But what you can control, every single time, is your preparation, your mindset, and your effort. If you can align those things, Bratt has learned over the years, every night can be a version of your best night.

"If you take yourself in the first perspective to just be like, 'Okay, I'm going to be careful with what I'm eating, I'm going to make sure I do the right recovery. I'm going to make sure I train the right way. Today is to get another day to get better, every day. Then the whole team will just follow up on that," he noted. "It becomes an identity that you have to just follow. So I think that's kind of where it starts.

"But then it has to be from a team perspective, too," he continued to elaborate. "It's 'okay, am I willing to sacrifice a few shifts for us to win the game, or something like that. Sometimes just shutting down a game and not scoring any goals might be the reason that we won the game, because another line goes out and scores. We just have to find that way of winning games and doing it day in, day out."

As Bratt emphasized, you have the power to put yourself in a position to compete, to be in every game mentally, emotionally, and physically. It's about showing up with the right attitude, staying focused, and refusing to let an off-night not be your night.

There's always a way. That's what this next step is all about.

"If you don't have your night, how can you make it your night?," he posed rhetorically. "How do you still make it that you bring out the best of (yourself) in other areas. How do you help shutting down a line? How do you help just playing simple, even if you're a guy that is one of the most skilled guys in the league, maybe some nights you can't skate around and stick handle through people.

"The other team might be on their A game defensively, and then you've got to do other things," he continued. "You find that B-game and you find it fast. We can't wait until the third period. Just realize that, okay, this is just how this game is going to be (...) you're going to be ready to play that kind of game."

That kind of consistency gives you the best possible chance to succeed. And it comes with the ability to be locked in, resilient, and ready for whatever a game will throw at you. It develops well before the start of the regular season, Bratt says. Whether it's the work you do in the summer, the attitude and work ethic you approach training camp with, it's an endless cycle. When the puck drops for the first game of the season on October 9 in Carolina, Bratt and his determined teammates will already be well and locked in, ready for the grind.

"I think that's something that you said from the beginning," he asserted. "Yeah, it already starts getting involved in training camp. And, I mean, identity is built every day, over the season and over years. So it's just not a training camp that sets the standard, or it's the previous seasons, new seasons, it's training camp. It's all the way into playoffs, like it's an everyday environment we build."

Nine years into his NHL career, Bratt’s drive to win has only grown stronger. Each season has been a lesson, shaping his understanding of what where both he and the team need to get better, what level of compete they need to reach to push toward a championship. As one of the most reflective athletes you'll meet, it's clear that both the successes he and the team have had, and the setbacks, have given him a clearer perspective on what it will take.

"You get through and go through so much," Bratt reflected. "You understand how hard it really is to win, it just makes it so much more, you just want it so much more. You see all these teams that you're fighting against, making up your own comparisons when we play them in the season, and how they won the Cup, and like all that stuff. You crave those kinds of thoughts that you have in your head of wanting to win just get bigger and bigger and bigger. So, yeah, it's exciting. Now it's training camp. We have a new opportunity."

It is evident that the longer he plays, the clearer it becomes that winning isn’t optional for Bratt: It’s the standard he and his teammates are chasing.