
Jesper Fast
Birthday: 1991-12-02 | Position: RW |
Eligible for draft: 2009 | Shoots: Right |
Drafted: 2010 | Height: 5-11 |
Acquired: 6th round (157th overall), 2010 | Weight: 165 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- C
History
2008-09: Jesper Fast skated in 45 games (including playoffs) for HV71’s U-20 team as a 16-year-old. He scored 9 goals with 8 assists and 24 PMs.
2009-10: Fast appeared in two Elitserien games for HV71 and was tied for second in points for HV71’s U-20 squad with 49 points. Fasth did not crack the scoresheet in his two games with HV 71. He scored 23 goals with 26 assists and had 10 PMs for the U-20 squad. Fast skated in 10 international matches for Sweden at the U-18 and U-19 levels but did not participate in the World Junior Championship tournament. He was selected by the Rangers in the 6th round (157th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.
2010-11: Fast appeared in 36 Elitserien games with HV71 as an 18-year old and also played for Sweden at the 2011 World Junior U-20 Championship. Fasth scored 7 goals with 9 assists and was +6 with 6 PMs in a limited role for first-place HV71. Fast appeared in 3 of 4 playoff games and was scoreless and -3 as HV71 was upset in the first round. In six games for Sweden at the WJC tournament he scored 4 goals with 2 assists and was +4.
2011-12: Fast was off to an impressive start for HV71 in Sweden’s Elitserien before suffering a season-ending foot injury at the end of November. In 21 games for HV71 he scored 5 goals with 11 assists and was plus-nine with 4 penalty minutes. Fast represented Sweden in the Karjala Cup portion of the European Trophy tournament in October — appearing in three games and recording 2 assists. Fast signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Rangers in May, 2012.
2012-13: Fast played his first pro game in North America, skating in one game for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Connecticut following his third season with HV71. He scored 1 goal and was -1 with two penalty minutes in his only game with the Whale, which missed the AHL playoffs. Fast was the third-leading scorer for HV 71 behind former Islanders Jason Krog and Rhett Rakhshani. In 47 games he scored 18 goals with 17 assists and was +13 with 4 penalty minutes. HV71 was third in the SHL but lost to fifth-place Linkopings in a first-round playoff series. Fast scored 1 goal with 4 assists and was +4 in the five-game series.
Talent Analysis
A very good skater, who has excellent hockey sense, Fast has good offensive upside, while excelling on the forecheck.
Future
Fast has gotten an early look with the New York Rangers in 2013-14, but could still wind up with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.