The Winnipeg Jets just added a big dose of offensive skill to their lineup.
Viggo Björck may be considered undersized by NHL standards, but he plays a big game. The forward met many challenges in 2025-26 — jumping up to Sweden’s top pro league, then onto the international stage at both the world junior and senior level — and he thrived every time.
The Jets clearly liked what they saw from the centre, selecting him eighth overall on Friday night.
Here’s what you need to know about Björck.
Eighth Overall: Viggo Björck
2025-26 Team: Djurgårdens IF, SHL
Stat Line: 6G-9A-15PTS in 42 games
Bjorck, like [Ivar] Stenberg, finished his year with a strong showing at the Men’s World Championship representing Sweden. He was deployed in a variety of roles and finished the tournament with 1G-5A. Bjorck, despite his stature, displays a willingness to engage physically along the boards and out front of the net. He plays with pace and determination. Before the world championship Bjorck competed within his peer group at the J20 level in Sweden and led Djurgardens to a championship while contributing 8G-12A in nine playoff games.
What you need to know about Björck:
Compared to some of his top-10 peers, Björck’s offensive numbers may not jump off the page — but context is important here. Björck played the majority of the 2025-26 season in Sweden’s top professional league — a league known for being tough on goal-scorers. As a teen suiting up against seasoned veterans (some twice his age), Björck showed off his creativity and command. A season’s worth of development paid off in the playoffs, where he tallied three points in three post-season games.
Björck’s draft stock really took a leap during his international stints, both on the world junior and world championship stage. He helped propel a star-studded Team Sweden to gold at the 2026 world juniors with nine points in seven games. He was also a standout on the senior national squad during the world championship this past spring, where he was the youngest Swede to ever dress at the tournament. There, he collected six points in eight games to lead all under-18 players. He showed he could stand out among NHLers in that tournament, and the Jets clearly noticed.
If you want to talk about fashion style, Björck may not be the expert — he was asked about that on the draft-day red carpet, and had a pretty humble response. But playing style? He has that in spades. Words like “wizard” and “fearless” follow him around, thanks to his playmaking and ability to get into the dirty areas and emerge with the puck on his stick.