Hischier: 'We Trust in Fitzy' | FEATURE

When Nico Hischier took a breath after Switzerland's end of the World Championship this May, he realized just how long a year on the ice it had been. That will happen after an 82-game schedule of highly competitive hockey and the rigors of two playoff series for the first time.

It was time for a little break for everyone.

"It was definitely a hard and long year," Hischier recalled, "I was quite happy at some point after World for me to put my year away a little bit and recharge my batteries. It was a tough year physically and mentally, but a really fun year. For me, it's always really nice to come home to Switzerland and see friends and family. Just recharge my batteries."

It's an important break for the players, who put their entire being into an NHL season. But although the players have retreated to their homelands (Hischier's is certainly enviable), the franchise wheels keep on turning. Hischier is happy to take the break, and just like the rest of us, he watches from the sidelines as General Manager Tom Fitzgerald and his management team tweak the roster ahead of another grueling 82-game regular season and beyond.

Hischier watched from his corner of the world as Fitzgerald did the heavy lifting during the off-season, never doubting that his team will be improved over each summer.

"I know what Fitzy brings," Hischier said over the phone from Switzerland this week, "we trust in Fitzy and what he tries to do, he brings in people that can help us."

The list was extensive this off-season for Fitzgerald, from the likes of Tyler Toffoli, Tomas Nosek, and re-signing Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier to long-term deals, Hischier kept a keen eye on the growth of the new roster he will be leading in a few weeks time. Catching up with Nico in Switzerland this past week, the Devils captain shared his thoughts on the team he will be leading come mid-September.

"You can see the team grow," Hischier said of the off-season changes, "management did a great job again with bringing guys into our team. I think on paper we (look) really (good), but at the end of the day, we've got to go out there and do it."

And that's the crux of it all, you can be something on paper, but you've got to do something with it and the off-season additions, Hischier believes, will help the group attain the next step, and it started with locking in Jesper Bratt long-term.

Before the news broke that Bratt had signed, Jesper made sure to give his captain the heads up, texting him a couple of hours prior to the announcement.

"He wanted me to know before it got out," Nico said. And with that, Hischier and Bratt became the longest-serving Devils on the current roster.

"It's definitely weird, for sure," Hischier, who entered the league in 2017, said. "It's definitely weird, me and Bratter we were saying that to each other as well together. It's kind of hard to believe."

The two are entering their seventh season in the NHL and have been by each other's sides throughout its entirety. So to have Bratt on board long-term feels particularly notable.

"We have this bond, coming into the league together and now he's going to be in New Jersey for a long time," he noted.

In 2017 Hischier and Bratt began the foundation of the franchise resurgence, two years later followed by the addition of Jack Hughes. There have been up and down years but this team feels as if it is on the precipice of something memorable. When you have a foundation like the one the Devils have built, the other pieces begin to fall in place.

Just like Timo Meier, having had just the slightest taste of the franchise and what it means to be a New Jersey Devil, that he elected to sign a long-term contract to continue this journey that started with the drafting of Hischier.

Listing off all the off-season changes from Erik Haula re-signing, the signing of Tomas Nosek and the trade for Tyler Toffoli, Hischier reiterated that summer months like the one his club has had, is all about watching what they've been building these last six years grow.

"We had a really good off-season," Hischier affirmed. "Fitzy added to our group and it's always our main goal from the free agent market or re-signing players, the team is growing."

Growth has been a keyword, dating back to the start of last season. In so many ways this group, led by Hischier, has grown, both as individuals and as a team. But when everyone arrives in New Jersey for the start of training camp gone are the 112 points, the 52 wins, and the two playoff rounds from last season. It's time to put that growth to the test and start over again. There will be no resting on their laurels.

"The season we had last year, doesn't change anything this year," Nico said, "It's a new season coming up. (We have to) look at the now and not what happened (...) It gives us confidence as a group, we took the steps we wanted to take. But we definitely understand that expectations are going to be higher. But that's what we want if we want to end up on the top."

When it comes to the upcoming season, Hischier says he's put that bitter taste of losing in the Second Round behind him.

"That taste, it ends and you want to start again, get to this point again and do better, take another step," he asserted, "For us, it's important we don't look too (far) ahead."

For the first time in his six years in the National Hockey League, Hischier will lead his team into battle at the start of a new season as the hunted and by every indication, the trust that Hischier has in Fitzgerald, is the same trust he has in his teammates. When the team reconvenes in New Jersey in mid-September, that trusted torch Fitzgerald holds is passed on to the players, it's now time for them to bring it all together.

"Teams are going to be ready for us," Hischier proclaimed, "it will be a challenge for sure, but a challenge we take with open arms."