And from afar, he’s watched as his ‘newborn’ teammates have grown up. Now, as Noesen prepares for his second go-around with the Devils, only three players remain from his first stint. They are Hischier, Bratt and very briefly Nathan Bastian who played 7 games in Noesen's last year in Jersey.
Hischier is now the captain, he's hit the 30 goal mark, he has an 80-point season under his belt, he grown as one of the top two-way players in the league. Bratt has two 70-plus and one 80-plus point season since then and together they've become part of the foundational core of the franchise.
Noesen shared there's little surprise they've developed as they have. You could see it from the start.
"Well, I know back then Jesper was such a dynamic skater and so good. And he impressed so many people that first year that they were like, Who is this guy? He kind of came out of nowhere. And it was amazing to see his development from then until now.
"And we always knew Nico was going to be a great player, him being the first overall pick, to take in such a big role early on, you know, how he had (Taylor) Hall guiding him," he continued, "And he takes on this whole new leadership role, you know, he's not the most vocal guy in the world, but he's very passionate and cares so much. He's an amazing human being, even when we play against each other, there's so much respect there."
In their own way, they've all come full circle since their early days playing together at Prudential Center. Now, they'll come together, older, wiser and perhaps more prepared.
"Seeing them come into who they are, and their form is a fantastic thing. So the respect factor is there."
The goal has never changed since those days in 2019 when they were all first teammates. They want to win and they want to win in Jersey. And Noesen is re-joining at just the right time.
"I'm excited," he said of his return. "And it's an exciting time to be a Devils fan."
