Prospect Info: #13 Nico Hischier: "I love to hockey" Part II

[Emperoreddy]

Can't believe he won that puck battle in his skates. It seemed like that play was in slow-mo, because it was in his skates for what seemed like forever. He even rotated around his axis to find the puck and still had somehow the ability to keep it in his posession.

Honestly the moment I saw him do that I was already typing up the compliments before I realized Hall was all alone.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Honestly the moment I saw him do that I was already typing up the compliments before I realized Hall was all alone.

Hah. Yes, on the other side of this, I was totally floored that Hall was even there. I thought at first Nico played the puck to no one because the way the camera panned so far out, and there was all this ice/space, it seemed incredible unlikely that anyone was there to receive it on a normal play usually 3v3 is totally man coverage.

Crazy that that no one was covering Hall (or if you look at it the other way, that Hall was so far away from the play and took that risk).

Either way it worked out greatly!!

 

[Its a Trap]

He's not EXACTLY a Game-breaker like Hall....but good lord, is he just about close to that level. wow.

Nico has outscored Hall in his rookie season. Can't say he won't be better.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Nico has outscored Hall in his rookie season. Can't say he won't be better.

Interesting thought.............................. He's definitely a gamer for sure. Guy doesn't quit on tough plays. That kind of quality is infectious, in a good way.

 

[glenwo2]

Nico has outscored Hall in his rookie season. Can't say he won't be better.

That's why I said he's not EXACTLY a Game-breaker which means(if you read between the lines) that he WILL BE.

 

[GameSeven]

Nico has some of the lowest key cellies I've ever seen in a young blue chip prospect. He definitely seems like a humble kid.

 

[Its a Trap]

That's why I said he's not EXACTLY a Game-breaker which means(if you read between the lines) that he WILL BE.

Look I may be f***ed up but I do believe not exactly is a form of not. I did learn somethings in English. I think.

 

[Cheddabombs]

I said it in the GDT

but while Hall may be the clear best player we've had in a while, Nico has pushed our rebuild so far it's ridiculous. He's our #1 center right now, he's our #1 center for a long time. It can't be understated a) how good Nico's been b) how important it is to have a center that's gifted as Nico is on both sides of the ice. His committment to defense translates to some of our best chances offensively, because he's so great at creating turnovers and denying opportunities from the opposition.

 

[glenwo2]

Look I may be ****ed up but I do believe not exactly is a form of not. I did learn somethings in English. I think.

okay let me put it a different way :

He's no Game Breaker NOW

But he will be a Game Breaker eventually....


Better?

(or are you deliberately busting my chops because....reasons?)

 

[OmNomNom]

if nico can have more shifts like this (i think he can with more experience and muscles):



THEN i think he'll be a game breaker for sure. good thing puberty isn't done yet

 

[EliasFTW]

Let's just say this. The last player anything i bought was Elias and Marty. I bought a Hall and Nico player shirt tonight. Love me some Hall (miss Larsson) and am gladly eating crow so far on the Nico, Nolan draft.

 

[haak84]

I can't believe the disrespect he gets on this board. People still claiming it was a weak draft and Nico is having an OK season. He's the 2nd MVP on this team. Imagine when he's playing 18-20 minutes a game and on the 1PP unit. Adds some muscle and then we'll be stronger than pretty much every player in the league. This kid is going to be a top 5 center in the league and that time is coming sooner than people think.

 

[DerekDevils30]

That OT play is as clutch as it gets. You've got Malkin and Kessel buzzing around you. You're a teen. You panic and turn it over and there's a decent chance it ends up in the back of your net. The amount of concentration and focus needed in that situation is incredible. His stamina has improved tenfold throughout the season which is amazing. This kid is dedicated to getting better and better. Hall knows he can't leave his side and will sign a fair 8 year deal when the time is right. I can feel it in my loins

 

[MartyOwns]

I can't believe the disrespect he gets on this board. People still claiming it was a weak draft and Nico is having an OK season. He's the 2nd MVP on this team. Imagine when he's playing 18-20 minutes a game and on the 1PP unit. Adds some muscle and then we'll be stronger than pretty much every player in the league. This kid is going to be a top 5 center in the league and that time is coming sooner than people think.

he basically accelerated our entire ‘re-build’ by like 3 years

 

[NJDevs26]

Yeah getting Nico as the engine of the rebuild was luckier than actually winning the lottery. For the complaining last year's lottery got we could easily have won the lottery in a total dud year and gotten stuck with a Yakupov or Daigle-type. He's been everything his backers here (and Guy Boucher) said he was.

 

[NJDevs26]

 

[Emperoreddy]

Yeah getting Nico as the engine of the rebuild was luckier than actually winning the lottery. For the complaining last year's lottery got we could easily have won the lottery in a total dud year and gotten stuck with a Yakupov or Daigle-type. He's been everything his backers here (and Guy Boucher) said he was.

And more. I never expected him to be this good out the gate.

 

[VoidCreature]

Ties Gomez for second most even strength points by a rookie in team history.

 

[Blender]

The only D+1 rookies since 00-01 to score 43 or more even strength points are Patrick Kane (44), Jeff Skinner (45), Nathan MacKinnon (46), Auston Matthews (48), Patrik Laine (50), and Sidney Crosby (53). Only 21 rookies have hit that number at all in that time span. It's very possible Hischier ends up with around 47 or 48 even strength points this season.

Hischier has by far the fewest power play points of any of those guys right now. If he even produced on the power play at the same rate MacKinnon did, who is 2nd worst, he'd have around 15 power play points and 58 total points right now in 75 games.

His lack of power play production is the only thing pushing the mainboard narrative of him being a weak first overall pick. All the underlying numbers say he's having an incredible season.

 

[My3Sons]

The only D+1 rookies since 00-01 to score 43 or more even strength points are Patrick Kane (44), Jeff Skinner (45), Nathan MacKinnon (46), Auston Matthews (48), Patrik Laine (50), and Sidney Crosby (53). Only 21 rookies have hit that number at all in that time span. It's very possible Hischier ends up with around 47 or 48 even strength points this season.

Hischier has by far the fewest power play points of any of those guys right now. If he even produced on the power play at the same rate MacKinnon did, who is 2nd worst, he'd have around 15 power play points and 58 total points right now in 75 games.

His lack of power play production is the only thing pushing the mainboard narrative of him being a weak first overall pick. All the underlying numbers say he's having an incredible season.

That and the in inexorable iron clad fact that his success is only happening in the NHL rather than an overseas men’s league.

 

[Blender]

That and the in inexorable iron clad fact that his success is only happening in the NHL rather than an overseas men’s league.

Part of it is a complete lack of understanding of NHLe as well. I have seen repeatedly on the mainboard people post Pettersson's NHLe (it's around 82 points or something) and thinking that the stat means he would have been expected to score that many points this season if he played in the NHL. That's plain wrong, NHLe is supposed to predict points for them playing next season in the NHL as it comes from a comparison of players who played in a league one season and the NHL the next. So you have people who look at this, see Pettersson's NHLe is 82, and that Hischier has 49 points this season, and they immediately assume Pettersson is a much better player.

 

[My3Sons]

No one but Devils fans watch Devils games. Other fans just look at a stat line and draw tons of conclusions. It’s also easy to poop on other teams’ picks and prospects if you are insecure. My favorites are the ones who claim Hischier isn’t a good skater or that he isn’t good defensively. Of course I’m pretty convinced the average main boards poster is a 20 year old college dropout hipster neck beard living in mom’s basement and hasn’t gone on a date since that sad girl reluctantly agreed to go with him to the prom where she threw up on his shoes and then left.

 

[Devils731]

The only D+1 rookies since 00-01 to score 43 or more even strength points are Patrick Kane (44), Jeff Skinner (45), Nathan MacKinnon (46), Auston Matthews (48), Patrik Laine (50), and Sidney Crosby (53). Only 21 rookies have hit that number at all in that time span. It's very possible Hischier ends up with around 47 or 48 even strength points this season.

Hischier has by far the fewest power play points of any of those guys right now. If he even produced on the power play at the same rate MacKinnon did, who is 2nd worst, he'd have around 15 power play points and 58 total points right now in 75 games.

His lack of power play production is the only thing pushing the mainboard narrative of him being a weak first overall pick. All the underlying numbers say he's having an incredible season.

And the PP production will come in his career. He has good puck skills, vision, and a good enough shot. So we don’t have to worry about his current lack of PP production in the long run.

 

[BahlDeep]

What's very interesting is that smaller players usually take a little more time than bigger players because they get manhandled when they get in the league.

Can you imagine Hischier with the frame of let's say Matthews?

 

[Blender]

And the PP production will come in his career. He has good puck skills, vision, and a good enough shot. So we don’t have to worry about his current lack of PP production in the long run.

Definitely. He only has 6 power play points, it's not like he has 15 and we're talking about him not having enough. There is no reason he couldn't even go on a streak this season where he puts up 4 or 5 power play points if Hynes used him there.