With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the New Jersey Devils selected center Nico Hischier from the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. He was widely considered one of the top two players in the class with Nolan Patrick.
NHL draft 2017: New Jersey Devils select Nico Hischier with No. 1 overall pick
Hischier has flash and substance.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
The Devils leaped to the top of the NHL lottery to nab Hischier, who immediately gives the team a potential franchise cornerstone. He’s the first Swiss player to ever be drafted No. 1 overall in the NHL, and joins a team that already has Taylor Hall, Pavel Zacha, and other pieces to build toward a winner.
More flashy than Patrick but no less responsible or intelligent, Hischier is a smooth-skating playmaker at center. He racked up 86 points and 38 goals in the Quebec junior league, his first full year in North America.
Hischier is elusive with the puck on his stick and skates very well while evading defenders looking to complete plays. He needs work defensively, like most youngplayers. But he as high upside as a first-line center.
Due to complex rules, Hischier can jump straight to the AHL next season.
The Devils lacked a franchise player who they could confidently build around, and Hischier gives them precisely that. Combined with Hall, they could have a dominant scoring line in the near future to anchor the forward corps. The future looks brighter in New Jersey with Hischier in it.
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