New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier’s Trip To All-Star Game
The New Jersey Devils had Nico Hischier at the All-Star Game in St. Louis and he had a weekend to remember for his first time.
When the New Jersey Devils selected Nico Hischier with the first-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, they envisioned him being a multiple-time All-Star over his career. He took step one this year as he is in the mid-season event for the first time in his career. He sort of got off to a rough start offensively, but really started to pick up the points over the last few weeks. This is a great player for the Devils and he is finally being shown amongst the best.
It started with the Skills Competition on Friday night. Nico participated in the Accuracy Shooting Competition. He got off to a slow start but then quickly hit them all at the end. It took him 19 seconds to hit the five targets. There was an issue with the shooting machine the whole time which was kind of annoying but he got it done anyway. It was one of those things where once he found his rhythm, he finished strong.
Hischier had a little more luck during the NHL All-Star game. He had two goals and one assist in the Metropolitan Division’s loss to the Atlantic Division. Nico was on his way to potentially being the MVP of the tournament, but it eventually went to Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak. The Atlantic went on to lose to the Pacific Divison in the final round.
Hischier showed that he can go out there and fit in with the best players in the world. He was the Metropolitan’s most impressive forward. There are a lot of people who are skeptical about Hischier as a number one overall pick because he isn’t Connor McDavid as far as a point scorer. Well, the points are coming and he is going to get even better. He will never be McDavid, but he can be that Selke Trophy type guy.
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It was awesome to see our guy shine in the game. It was a big moment in his career. Now, he has to come back to the Devils and lead them. He is one of the two prominent players in the franchise that needs to be one of the go-to guys. Nico and the Devils come back from their break Monday night north of the border when they visit the Ottawa Senators. They are not going to a playoff team or even come close but they have a chance to improve down the stretch headed into next year.