As he did at 18 years old, Hischier, 22, still lets his play on the ice do most of the talking. For empirical evidence, look at this example late in the season.
On May 6, the Devils were clinging desperately to a 2-1 third-period lead against the Islanders. There were 28.4 seconds remaining in regulation when the puck found the stick of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock, the owner of one of the harder shots in the NHL.
The game, for all intents and purposes, had no demonstrable meaning. The Devils had been eliminated from playoff contention weeks prior. There would only be two games remaining in the regular season for New Jersey at that contest's conclusion. And Hischier had dealt with three separate health issues during the year due to a broken leg, COVID-19 infection and frontal sinus fracture.
And yet, as Pulock wound up for his shot it was Hischier, wearing a full cage to protect his face injury, that dropped to one knee in the shooting lane without hesitation. Upon Pulock's follow through, the puck struck Hischier's shin and deflected into the stands and out of danger.
The entire Devils bench stood up and shouted in approval. New Jersey would hold on for the 2-1 victory, the team's last of the season.
"That says everything about how Nico wants to represent our team and how he wants to play. Gutsy block," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff admired after the game. "I can see it at this time of year and a situation like that you may not want to go down. But I think he's sending a message to the whole team. 'I'm going to be a leader. I'm going to be a leader from Game 1 to the end of the year.' When he blocked that shot everybody was up on the bench."
But it wasn't just on the ice where Hischier displayed his stripes as a leader. He also did so inside the locker room.
After the Devils lost their eighth-straight game, 5-1 in Pittsburgh on April 22, Hischier gathered his leadership group consisting of himself and alternate captains Damon Severson and Miles Wood. The trio walked into the locker room and had a lengthy "players-only" discussion.
The Devils responded with a much-improved effort two days later. Though the Devils suffered a ninth consecutive setback, Hischier himself, nearly tied the game with less than four seconds remaining, but his shot went just wide of the net. The final score, 4-2, doesn't show how close the game really was or that a mere three inches kept it from going to overtime.
After that game the Devils would go on a 5-1-1 run. The message was delivered and received by the Devils leaders, headed by Hischier.
"I think that's important, too, if you feel like the team is not going in the right way," he said of the team meeting. "We discussed it with the leader group in this team. We felt it was the right time to do a little team meeting. I guess it worked. So it was the right call. I think everybody was on the same page after that."