The New Jersey Devils former number-one overall pick is everything they expected and more. People just don’t really appreciate him just yet.
The New Jersey Devils are going to be set at the center ice position for the long haul. They won the draft lottery twice in three years and selected players good enough to be top-line centers. Luckily for them, they are going to be afforded the opportunity to both have huge roles in a 1-2 punch. Jack Hughes is going to be the offensive-minded guy for the Devils long term, but the focus here is Nico Hischier.
Hischier is about to enter his third season in the NHL if you can believe it. He has been absolutely outstanding in his first two years. He has not put up numbers offensively quite like Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews did as number-one overall picks before him, but nobody said he had to be either of those guys.
Hischier has 99 points in 151 games, very respectable numbers for a 20-year-old kid. He can only get better from there and that doesn’t take his defensive game into consideration. Even at 20 years old, Hischier has the ability to play against other team’s top players and shut them down. He has shown the ability to take elite players off pucks and moves it in his direction, an absolute wizard for his wingers.
The offensive numbers have been good and there is a reason they can become great. His point per game average increased from year one to two, and year two was spent primarily without Taylor Hall on his line. He has the ceiling of a guy like Jonathan Toews offensively while being a Selke level defensive center. If Hughes can become a 90+ point producer like the scouts say he can, then Hischier being a 200-foot guy collecting anywhere from 65-80 points would be awesome.
Hischier has also shown off that he is capable of being a leader both on and off the ice. He was rewarded for those efforts when the coaching staff allowed him to wear an “A” on his sweater at points this season when some of the veterans were out of the lineup. He probably isn’t going to be the captain anytime soon but that role could very well be in his distant future. Right now it is all about growing his game even more and reaching his ceiling, which is pretty high.
Hischier doesn’t get that much attention in the national media yet, and that could be because he is currently the second-best player on the team behind Hall, but that could change as soon as this season. He could be poised for a true breakout season, and that would be great news for New Jersey Devils fans.