New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier has been one of the best two-way forwards of the past five years. Despite playing on some unsuccessful Devils teams, Hischier comes into each game with a penchant for turning defense into offense. He puts similar effort on both sides of the ice, and it gives him an opportunity to showcase himself differently than his teammate Jack Hughes.
This season, many thought Hischier would be in the Selke Trophy race, the trophy given to the best defensive forward in the league. The trophy claims to not involved offense into consideration, but it often does. Hischier had 35 goals and 69 points, so on paper he did plenty to get the assured impact to be in the Selke conversation.
Unfortunately for Hischier, the Devils weren't good enough to get him named as a top candidate. While that isn't technically supposed to be part of the voting process, it has an impact to voter perception. Hischier was not on one of the best teams in the league, so he missed out on being one of the top-three for the Selke.
Hischier did not make the top three, which made Devils fans think he was way lower in the voting. The Devils going into the playoffs as huge underdogs and the top three being on two of the best teams in the league was telling. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, and Anthony Cirelli were all deserving candidates.
When voting finally came out, Devils fans were pleasantly surprised with the results. Hischier finished fourth in voting, gaining 11 first-place votes and receiving 102 votes overall for 477 points. He was solidly in fourth place, falling more than 300 points behind Cirelli, who finished in third, and more than 200 points ahead of Golden Knights' star Jack Eichel.
Barkov might be in the way of Hischier and all the other Selke candidates for a long time, just like Patrice Bergeron owned the award for a decade before his retirement. Hischier will continue to get votes every year, and we do expect him to win one eventually, but Barkov's dominance will make it an uphill battle.
We are surprised Jack Hughes didn't get any votes for the Selke. He was famously playing well defensively prior to his season-ending shoulder injury, and he was even one of the best players in the league on the penalty kill based on results. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe trusted his two young star centers in all situations, and it led to success for most of the season.
Hischier is one of the great centers in the league, and the surprising Selke results show the league still holds him in high regard.