New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier’s Breakout Year

The New Jersey Devils know what they have with the 2017 number one overall pick, but the rest of the world is going to learn in 2019-20.

The New Jersey Devils know they have something special with Nico Hischeir. The 2017 number-one overall pick doesn’t score at the clip of a Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, and he is probably not gonna produce as much offense long term as his new teammate Jack Hughes. What he is going to do, is be exactly the type of center you need to be a championship contender.

Hischier is no slouch offensively either. His next point will be his 100th career point and he has only played in 151 games played. He has the abilities needed to score points in the NHL and he is still just scratching the surface. His offensive game took a step forward in his second year and it was without the help of former league MVP Taylor Hall. Nico proved that he was capable of running a line all on his own, so imagine what he will do in 2019-20 if Hall is healthy.

Nico dominated the World Championships this past spring for the Swiss. All of the hype in the tournament was surrounded by Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko but Nico quietly was one of the best players in the entire tournament. He showed the ability to make plays and dominate at times. He can also score goals which makes him the complete package when you also evaluate his defensive-minded game. The Swiss and the Devils are both major beneficiaries of having Nico in the fold.

This makes him one of the number one candidates to have a breakout year this season. Devils fans know what Hischier is and will be, but more points would put him on the map on a more national scale. He is proving to be developing into an elite two-way center and just needs a little bit more offense to be recognized as such. He had 20 goals in his rookie year, and then 17 last year in 69 games. If he was healthy for all 82 games, he would have passed 20 goals again which are really impressive numbers for a guy who played two NHL seasons in his teens.

Now he might really be able to go off in year three. The Devils are going to have lots of extra help from an offensive standpoint this year and that could help Nico elevate his game as well. The combination of him and Jack Hughes could go on to be one of the best center duos in the entire league. Expect Nico to take the next step this year and help be one of the true leaders on this Devils team both on and off the ice.