Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Johnathan Kovacevic
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Johnathan Kovacevic (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован или Јовица Ковачевић, romanized: Jovan Kovačević (born July 12, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the third round, 74th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2017 NHL entry draft. Kovacevic has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
Remove ads
Playing career
Summarize
Perspective
Collegiate
Kovacevic joined the Merrimack College Warriors beginning in the 2016–17 season. He would appear in 36 games during his freshman year, tallying 19 points. Thereafter, he was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team as well as earn his school's rookie of the year honor.
In his sophomore year, Kovacevic played in 34 games and recorded 17 points over that span. He would once again be named to the Hockey East All-Academic team following the season.
Prior to his final campaign with Merrimack, Kovacevic would be named an alternate captain. Contributing four goals in 31 appearances, he was also recognized as team MVP.
Collectively, Kovacevic finished his collegiate career with nine goals and 45 assists in 101 games for the Warriors.[1]
Professional
Winnipeg Jets
Kovacevic was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the third round, 74th overall, of the 2017 NHL entry draft.[2]
After leaving Merrimack, Kovacevic signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Jets on March 17, 2019.[3] He made his professional debut with the Jets' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on April 14, 2019, scoring one goal and registering an assist against the Chicago Wolves.[4]
On August 13, 2021, Kovacevic was re-signed by the Jets to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level.[5] In the following 2021–22 season, Kovacevic was recalled from the Moose and played in his first NHL game with the Jets on January 28, 2022 against the Vancouver Canucks, finishing the game with one shot on goal in 10:21 of ice time.[6]
As a restricted free agent, Kovacevic was re-signed to a three-year contract extension with the Jets on July 22, 2022.[7]
Montreal Canadiens
After attending the Jets' 2022 training camp in preparation for the 2022–23 season, Kovacevic was placed on waivers during the pre-season. He was claimed the following day by the Montreal Canadiens on October 8, 2022.[8] Acquired by the Canadiens to help with weakness on the right side of the defence corps, Kovacevic made his debut in the season opener versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 12 and immediately became a regular part of the lineup. He surpassed his prior NHL appearance total within eight days of his first game.[9][10] Kovacevic was regularly paired with rookie defenceman Jordan Harris, and drew praise from the coaching staff. On November 14, Canadiens executive Jeff Gorton advised Kovacevic to find regular accommodations in Montreal, indicating that he had found a permanent roster berth for the foreseeable future. He remarked on the occasion that "it gives me a little bit of an idea that they like what they see from me, they want me for a bit of a longer haul. Because when you’re picked up on waivers, you never really know."[11]
On December 6, 2022, Kovacevic scored his first career NHL goal in a 4–2 road victory against the Seattle Kraken.[12]
New Jersey Devils
Prior to the beginning of the NHL free agency period, Kovacevic was traded to the New Jersey Devils on June 30, 2024 in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL entry draft.[13] On March 7, 2025, Kovacevic agreed to a five-year, $20 million contract extension with the Devils.[14]
Remove ads
Personal life
Kovacevic's parents are immigrants from the former SFR Yugoslavia. His father, Novica, is from Nikšić, Montenegro, and his mother, Angie, is from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[15]
Kovacevic holds a civil engineering degree from Merrimack College.[1]
Career statistics
Awards and honours
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads