New Jersey Devils Must Market Nico Hischier
The New Jersey Devils need a homegrown star. The team needs to sell seats. Executives need to spend money to make money. Most importantly, they must start marketing Nico Hischier right now.
Almost immediately after the draft, Nico Hischier visited several events around New Jersey and New York. The Devils put him on WFAN. They made him take a photo at the NASDAQ. He went to a Red Bulls game, made an appearance at a Yankees game and had a sandwich named after him at Hobby’s Deli. He was then given some time off until he came back for rookie camp.
The Devils shouldn’t let up on putting him out there. They need to keep marketing him. Hardcore fans already know he’s a star, and it’s time to let casual fans know – and maybe even bring some old fans back.
Making Stars
This isn’t just good for the Devils, this is good for the league. Last year, Bill Daly said (at the Hall Of Fame ceremony of all places) that the NHL isn’t interested in marketing its individual stars. How did that work out for him? This year, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the league had almost no revenue growth. Pause and think about how humiliating that should be for the league, and yet they continue to make the same mistake year after year.
If the league isn’t willing to market individual players, each team should pick up the slack. The New Jersey Devils are in a great position to do so right now.
There’s Precedent
I’ve seen it work with my own eyes. I went to college in Maryland and attended several Washington Capitals games. One of the reasons games sell out is because fans want to see Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom play in person – and the team has spent more time hyping them (even Ovechkin) than the league. When the rest of the league decided Backstrom was underrated, the Washington faithful already knew.
Let’s take a trip over to baseball for a second and watch what the Yankees are doing with Aaron Judge. His talent brought him national attention, but the Yankees elevated him by investing in him. He has his own team-sanctioned cheering section and the Yankees Twitter account leaned into the #AllRise movement. The result of their efforts? By some accounts, Judge has the highest selling jersey in Major League Baseball. The Yankees were always going to make money – they’re the Yankees – but people are buying their merchandise and going to games to watch a hyped star player do what he does best.
There’s absolutely no reason the New Jersey Devils can’t do this as well. More importantly, there’s a million reasons they should get on this right now.
Beyond Hischier
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There’s a genuine danger in overhyping a player, even a first overall pick, and especially a first overall pick from a weak draft. That doesn’t mean it can’t be exciting. Right now, Nico is a shiny new toy – we don’t know if that toy will wear out or if it’ll be a favorite for years to come. But even if the toy doesn’t work out, there’s enough young talent on this team that someone is sure to pan out – and if hyping Nico got fans into the building to see that, so much the better.
Keep getting Nico out there. Make parents want to bring their kids to the Prudential Center to this flashy new Swiss kid.
Most importantly, get to him before the NHL’s culture of blandness swallows him whole.