Nico Hischier deserves more praise as he leads the league in goals

New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is the current leading scorer in the league with nine goals. He scored his most recent on Oct. 27 against the Anaheim Ducks in the Devils' 6-2 win. It was a proof point for how important Hischier is to the Devils' success.

Anaheim Ducks v New Jersey Devils
Anaheim Ducks v New Jersey Devils / Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

As it currently stands, New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is on pace to score over 60 goals by the end of the 2024-25 campaign. While this exact pace is not likely to hold up, he could and will likely definitely be a 40-goal scorer for the Devils. Thus, so far this season, the Swiss native has proven to be a leader both on and off the ice.

After potting 31 goals and 80 points in 81 games in the 2022-23 season en route to a Selke Trophy nomination, the Devils captain regressed a bit last season to 27 goals and 67 points in 71 games.

This is not the case this year. On Sunday, amid the Devils’ 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, Hischier scored his ninth goal of the season, which currently leads the NHL.

Apparently, one of the things that has impressed the New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe is that in addition to only holding his teammates accountable on the bench or in the locker room, he’s holding himself accountable as well.

“You love the fact that he’s scoring the way that he is and getting rewarded,” New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said postgame on Sunday. “Because for a guy like him that gives so much to the team — the hard matchups, the faceoffs, the penalty killing, the leadership responsibility, the burden that comes with being the captain and the leader. He takes on a lot. So you want to see a guy like him get rewarded. And yeah, he’s feeling it.”

In addition to scoring his ninth goal in 12 games, he extended his goal streak to three games dating back to Oct. 24 against the Detroit Red Wings. Hischier has seven points over his last five games.

He became the highest-drafted Swiss-born player in NHL history when the Devils selected him No. 1 in the 2017 NHL Draft. Hischier scored his first two NHL goals against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 19, 2017, and finished with 52 points — 20 goals, 32 assists in 82 games as a rookie in 2017-18.

Flashing back to the present, as previously mentioned Hischier was named the 12th captain in Devils history on Feb. 20, 2021. Since then, his playing career is clearly on the rise. This came just one year after he was named to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in 2020.

So far this year, he has played in all 12 games and has three assists in addition to his nine goals across 12 points. Now ahead of the Devils Western Canada road trip, look for the Devils captain to keep leading, both on the ice and on the scoreboard.

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