New Jersey Devils: Where Does History Suggest Nico Hischier’s Career Is Headed?
The Similar Performers
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Rick Nash
‘Nasher’ kicked off his rock-solid career with 17 goals and 22 assists in 74 games (as a reminder, Hischier posted 20 goals and 32 assists in 82 games) and averaged 13:57 TOI (Hischier averaged 16:19). Nash proceeded to hammer home 38 goals and 31 assists every 82 games over the next 11 years but played only 788 of a possible 902 contests. However, Nash’s output would tail off as he hit his 30s, and he is now pondering retirement.
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Patrick Kane
Patrick Kane totaled 21 goals and 51 assists as a newcomer while playing 18:22 a night. Kane has been a superstar ever since, averaging 31 goals and 49 assists per 82 contests, including a 2015-2016 season in which he netted 46 goals and 60 assists en route to a Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. Bake in Kane’s three Stanley Cups and 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy, not to mention Kane’s Cup-winning goal in 2010, and Kane has enjoyed quite the glamorous career.
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Steven Stamkos
Stamkos’ inaugural season was relatively quiet as he put home just 23 goals and 23 assists and averaged 14:56 TOI in 79 games. He then blew the lid off with four explosive seasons, producing a blistering 52 goals and 43 helpers per 82 matches. Stamkos played every game in those four go-rounds and seemed on track to become one of the greatest players of all-time, but the injury bug bit hard. He has since played only 291 of a possible 410 contests, though he continues to post elite production… when healthy.
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John Tavares
Tavares’ freshman campaign included 24 goals and 30 assists in 18:00 TOI, which by Tavares’ hefty standards, was quite modest indeed. Tavares has since recorded 35 goals and 45 assists every 82 games. Additionally, Tavares has been a consistent nightly presence, missing only 35 games in his entire career.
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Taylor Hall
Nico Hischier’s linemate jumped into the NHL with 22 goals and 20 assists in 65 matches for an 82-game pace of 28 goals and 25 assists. Though hampered by poor linemates and franchise decisions in Edmonton, Taylor Hall averages 30 goals and 44 assists every 82 games, including a stunning, Hart Trophy-winning 2017-2018 performance.
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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Nugent-Hopkins has certainly flashed the skills which made him the No. 1 overall pick, but thus far, he has underwhelmed when he has managed to make it onto the ice. Nugent-Hopkins kick-started his career with 18 goals and 34 assists in 64 matches, but unfortunately, his missed time would foreshadow a running theme for Nugent-Hopkins. Nugent-Hopkins, who just completed his 7th circuit, has already missed what equates to a full season due to injury. When healthy, Nugent-Hopkins has summed an uninspiring 21 goals and 34 assists every 82 games. Solid production for a regular NHLer, but obviously much more is expected of a top-overall pick.
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Nail Yakupov
Widely considered one of the biggest busts in NHL history, Yakupov excited as a rookie. In the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season, Yakupov played each contest and scored 17 goals with 14 assists in 14:34 of ice time per game. Extrapolated over 82 games, this amounts to 29 goals and 24 helpers. However, there were clear signs of a shaky foundation, chief among them an unsustainable 21% shot percentage and a horrid 42.9% Corsi. Indeed, Yakupov’s career spiraled, as he scored just 45 goals over the next five seasons and eventually left the NHL for the KHL. Hischier, on the other hand, possessed an extremely sustainable 11.1% shot percentage this past season.
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Nathan MacKinnon
The Hart Trophy runner-up to Taylor Hall, Nathan MacKinnon tallied 24 goals and 39 assists in his first season. MacKinnon’s production tanked for the next few campaigns collecting just 19 goals and 35 assists per 82 games. MacKinnon flipped the script in 2017-2018, though, with a 39 goal, 58 assist explosion (and all that in just 74 matches).