New Jersey Devils: Only Cale Makar Is Better Than Nico Hischier In His Draft Class

There have been some growing pains for Nico Hischier since the New Jersey Devils made him the first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He has a long way to go but he has become a really good NHL player that is also capable of being a captain.

It is fair and honest to admit that Nico Hischier wasn’t the best player from his draft class. That distinction has to go to Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche who went fourth overall. Everyone knew Makar would be good but nobody saw the next Bobby Orr at the time.

Since being drafted, he won the Hobey Baker (college hockey’s best player), the Calder Trophy, the Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, and the Stanley Cup. He is legit one of the five best players in the National Hockey League right now.

Hischier isn’t as impactful as Makar. However, the NHL put out a list of a 2017 re-draft where Makar went first to New Jersey and Hischier went 9th to the Detroit Red Wings. That is the worst list of all time.

The New Jersey Devils drafted a very good player when they took Nico Hischier.

You can make a sound argument for Miro Heiskanen or Elias Petterson along with Hischier as the second-best player from the draft but those are the clear top four. Saying that guys like Nick Suzuki, Robert Thomas, Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson, and Jeremy Swayman are better is bad.

Hischier should be considered the second-best player as of right now as his offensive game continues to grow while being a very good 200-foot player. As mentioned before, he is also already the captain which speaks volumes about him as a person and player.

So far in his career, he has been an All-Star which is a nice accomplishment but there is much more to come after that. He has 300 games played on the dot and has 78 goals and 128 assists for 206 points in those games.

He took a big leap forward in 2021-22 with 21 goals and 39 assists for 60 points in 70 games. A lot of that came in the second half after the team was all done with COVID-19 pauses. The sky is the limit for him in 2022-23. People who watch him often can see how impactful he has become.

Hischier’s underlying numbers are always solid as well which tells you that he is a complete player when the pucks are going in the net for him. If he can continue his offensive pace from the second half of last season going forward, people will put more respect on his name.