Jets top prospect Viggo Björck is in Sweden training with his former club, Djurgården, before heading to Winnipeg to compete for a spot with the NHL club for the 2026-27 season after signing his entry-level deal last month.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
The SHL club’s social media team caught up with Björck at practice to discuss his decision to leave Sweden and pursue his NHL dream in North America.
Note: Björck’s interview with Djurgården’s media team was conducted in Swedish. The following Q&A has been translated using a translation program and lightly edited for clarity.
VB: Yes, but it’s good that we keep going during the summer, of course, and now the season starts soon, so it’s really nice of Djurgården to let us train.
First and foremost, I’m extremely grateful for the season that was, and for the season before that too in the juniors. It’s been really fun years, so it’s been a really fun time here.
Then I think, or well, it sounds like I have a good chance to break in. I also feel that it is something, I mean, it is something you have dreamed about since you started playing, to get to play over there in the NHL, so you still want to try to take the chance.
I have talked with all the parties, Winnipeg, my agent, my family, and Djurgården too, but ultimately it will still be my decision. I think I’ve had good talks with Winnipeg over there, but yes, it still feels like something I want to do and give a chance.
Q: And you yourself don’t feel that it could be a year too early? Many may have expected that, yes, but he’ll probably stay one more season, then go over.
VB: Yes, I mean, that’s something you never know. After the season, maybe you say, damn, he should have stayed a year, or if you had stayed here, maybe you should have gone. You never know what happens in the future, but yes, you just have to make a decision and hope that you make the right one.
Q: And you haven’t been given any guarantees that it will be NHL playing now, or how much and so on?
VB: No, I mean, it’s hard to hand out guarantees like that. It’s the same as here in Djurgården: you have to earn your ice time, and these are teams that want to win, so you can’t promise a player that you’ll play this much ice time. You have to play well and perform.
Q: And thinking about school, one year left in high school too, right? What will happen with that? Will that have to wait now, or?
VB: No, I talked to my academic advisor and I really hope that they solve it. So I’m thinking I’ll go the whole of August now, and then take the laptop over and try to do the work remotely, if they allow it. So I really hope that I’ll get that.
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