Playing career Jesper Fast

1 playing career

1.1 junior hockey (2007–2010)
1.2 swedish hockey league (2010–2013)
1.3 new york rangers (2013–present)

1.3.1 2013–14 season
1.3.2 2014–15 season

playing career
junior hockey (2007–2010)

a native of nässjö, sweden, jesper fasth born on december 2, 1991. changed last name fast in 2012. fast began hockey career hv71 u18 team in sweden s j20 superelit junior hockey league. debuted in 2007–08 season, tallying 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 30 games. next season, 16-year-old, fast played in 37 regular season games , 7 playoff matches hv71 s u20 team. scored 17 points (nine goals, 8 assists) , had 24 penalty minutes, including 2 goals, 1 assist , 8 penalty minutes in postseason. in 2009–10, fast recorded 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists), highest had scored in 3 categories during superelit league career. led team in goals , placing second in points , third in assists. tied fifth in overall league regular season points, , had 2 assists in 3 playoff games.

fast made swedish hockey league debut in 2009–10, playing in 2 games hv71, although failed record point in either match. returned superelit league start of 2010–11 season, scoring 10 points (three goals, 7 assists) in 6 games hv71 u20 team, before permanently joining swedish hockey league.

swedish hockey league (2010–2013)

at age 18, playing in limited role hv71 during 2010–11 season, fast scored 16 points (seven goals, 9 assists) in 36 games, +6 plus-minus, 6 penalty minutes , 2 power play goals, exceeded observers expectations. fast credited playing alongside johan davidsson part of reason success , growth in confidence. held scoreless -3 plus-minute in 3 postseason games first-place hv71 swept first round of playoffs allmänna idrottsklubben (aik) in upset. in 2011–12 season, fast had 3 multi-point games, including career-high 4 assists , 5 points against aik on october 4. game started streak of 10 points (one goal, 9 assists) on 6 games, continued october 20 match against frölunda hc. however, fast s season cut short after suffered fractured ankle during november 29 game against brynäs if. missed 3 months result, nevertheless recorded 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 21 games season, matching swedish hockey league career high in points , establishing new career highs in assists , plus-minus (+9). scored 2 goals , 1 assist in 5 postseason games.

in december 2011, fast signed two-year contract extension hv71, included 900 percent raise 5 million krona annually. fast had strong start 2012–13 season, scoring 6 points (four goals, 2 assists) in first 10 games. finished regular season 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) in 47 games, exceeding 32 points (12 goals, 10 assists) had scored in 57 games during first 2 swedish hockey league seasons. fast tied hv71 lead in goals , ranked third on team in points, behind jason krog (43) , rhett rakhshani (39). fast had career-high +13 plus-minus. despite ranking third in league, hv71 eliminated playoffs in 5 games against linköpings hc, during fast recorded 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists), , +4 plus-minus. tied rakhshani second on team in postseason points , assists.

at conclusion of 2012–13 season, fast awarded rinkens riddare (knight of rink) award, bestowed swedish hockey journalists association each season sportsmanlike player. voted favorite hv71 player of year readers of swedish publication jnytt.

new york rangers (2013–present)

fast drafted new york rangers in sixth round (157th overall) of 2010 nhl entry draft, having obtained sixth round pick carolina hurricanes earlier in day in exchange defenseman bobby sanguinetti. fast fifth of 6 players rangers drafted in 2010, along dylan mcilrath, christian thomas, andrew yogan, jason wilson , randy mcnaught. on may 29, 2012, rangers announced fast had been signed two-way, three-year entry level contract, valued @ $2.145 million, $900,000 annual cap hit. since hv71 eliminated 2012–13 playoffs earlier expected, fast had opportunity go new york rangers organization sooner planned. swedish hockey league voiced objections, agreed loan him rangers.

fast practiced new york first time on april 2, 2013, although did not play team season. made north american professional debut on april 5, 2013, connecticut whale, rangers american hockey league minor league affiliate, during scored power play goal against springfield falcons goaltender curtis mcelhinney in whale s 4–3 victory, , third star of game. however, injured knee during match , did not play ahl game season.

2013–14 season

fast participated in rangers training camp preceded 2013–14 season, during impressed new york s head coach alain vigneault, , head european scout anders hedberg. although first north american professional training camp, fast made rangers roster, partially because team needed right-handed shot replace injured captain ryan callahan. fast made nhl debut on october 3 against phoenix coyotes, taking 1 shot on goal in 10:13 of ice time. fast played in 8 of rangers first 10 games of season, playing on fourth line , recording no points , -5 plus-minus, before returning ahl make room carl hagelin s return shoulder injury. observers said fast needed adjust smaller north american ice surface, , did not sufficient minutes enough remain in nhl.

fast recorded 2 assists during october 30 debut rangers ahl team, called hartford wolf pack. however, suffered high ankle sprain after going boards during november 2 game @ springfield. missed next 14 games result, not returning until december 20, given enough minutes upon return able shape. fast scored first goal of season on december 26, notching game winner on power play against bridgeport sound tigers goalie anders nilsson. game part of four-game point streak (two goals, 2 assists) stretched december 21 december 29. fast set team record on january 24 fastest goal start period, scoring in first 7 seconds of game against springfield, beating hartford s previous record 2 seconds.

fast had season-high five-game point streak january 24 january 31, recording 6 goals , 2 assists. included first north american professional multi-goal game on january 25, in scored 2 goals against falcons. fast followed next day second straight two-goal game, time against adirondack phantoms. fast had two-goal game, both on power play, against phantoms on march 22, marked start of run of 7 points (four goals, 3 assists) in 7 games april 6. fast marked north american single-game career high 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in hartford s 3–2 win on norfolk admirals on april 6, earning him first star of game. fast recorded total of 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) in 48 games 2013–14 hartford season, along 30 penalty minutes , +14 plus-minus. despite missing time injury, fast ranked seventh on team in assists, fourth in goals, , second in plus-minus +14. 8 power play goals led team , tied eighth place in league among ahl rookies, , 6 game-winning goals tied first in hartford , fourth in overall league. fast staple on wolf pack s penalty kill unit, , played of season on line j. t. miller , ryan bourque.

fast called rangers in april 2014 replace chris kreider, suffered left hand injury. playing on line hagelin , brad richards, fast played in new york s last 3 regular season games, 3 post-season matches. recorded first career nhl playoff point assist in game 1 of metropolitan division semifinal against philadelphia flyers on april 17. @ conclusion of season, rangers coaching staff told fast add strength, worked on upper body , leg strength during off-season, adding 10 15 pounds of muscle, bringing him 20 pounds heavier when drafted in 2010.

2014–15 season

fast scored 3 goals during rangers 2014 preseason, including game-tying goal in september 22 loss new jersey devils, , 2 goals in 6–3 victory on philadelphia on september 28. second consecutive year, made rangers roster out of training camp, vigneault calling him 1 of consistent players throughout camp. again struggled once regular season began, , on october 17 sent hartford wolf pack, along j. t. miller. fast had 9 points (one goal, 8 assists) on next 11 matches hartford, including 2 2-assist games on october 24, , november 8, notching sole goal in 4–3 win on worcester sharks on november 2. recalled rangers on november 10.

fast scored first nhl regular season career point on november 23 assist on dominic moore s goal against montreal canadiens. scored first nhl goal on november 29, 3 days before 23rd birthday, against ray emery of philadelphia flyers. miller, long-time ahl teammate, assisted on goal, , fast assisted on miller goal same game. fast recorded second goal in many games on december 1, scoring against ben bishop of tampa bay lightning. fast has played of season on fourth line, moore , tanner glass, or hagelin , kevin hayes, , has been occasional healthy scratch. has 7 points (three goals, 4 assists) on season far.