Hischier's Role as Leader Continues to Evolve | FEATURE

TAKEAWAYS

• Nico Hischier is continually evolving as New Jersey's captain
• Hischier shares his thoughts on the role individual communication plays in his captaincy
• He shares what his goals and ambitions are for this upcoming season

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Every year, when the NHL opens a new season, everyone starts with a blank slate. The wins and losses are all rebalanced to zero. The grind begins again. The thread is officially cut from one season to the next except for one fundamental thing that does thread from one season to the next.

What did you learn, and how will you use that going forward?

In a recent interview in his home canton of Valais, Devils captain Nico Hischier spoke with Hugo Da Custodia of Rhône FM radio where he explored some of those ideas.

At its very core, that is who Hischier is: grateful to be in his position and to have learned to grow as a human being from all he’s experienced.

“There are so many people who would want to be in my place,” he told Da Custodia, “I wake up every morning very aware of how privileged a position I am in. I’ll always do my best to help my team win games.”

He credits arriving in New Jersey at a young age, just 18, on a very different-looking team from the one he’s on today as an important part of his evolution as the team's current leader and captain.

“When I first arrived, my teammates were more or less close to their 30’s,” he shared, “Everything was also new for me. But it was good, I was able to learn an enormous amount being around those veteran players.”

When Hischier was named captain in December 2021, he pointed specifically to the man in whose footsteps he followed.

“Andy Greene, I remember watching him and learning so much,” he said. “We’ve had so many great leaders on this team since I’ve been here. It’s a long list.”

The now 25-year-old believes he still has much to learn about his role as a captain, now entering its fourth season. But it is something that has always inherently been inside him.

“On the ice, I always wanted to do the right thing,” he said, “I always wanted to win. A true leader has to have that mentality of putting your ego aside for the good of the team. Off the ice, I’m not the loudest, but I also appreciate the moments of camaraderie and jokes (…) I’m always learning (how to be a better leader).”

In the Devils locker room, no player has ever been shy of singing Hischier’s praises as their leader, the person everyone follows in the locker room and on the ice. Veteran forward Curtis Lazar has called him the 'heartbeat' of the team. But Hischier will be the first to acknowledge he’s more of a quiet leader and that he values the ability to properly communicate and convey messages to all different types of people in his locker room.

“It’s very important,” he went on to tell Rhône FM, “You never know how different people react to different things and what they need. You have to be able to find a good balance between what you give, what you ask for, and what you receive. To be a leader, you need empathy and understanding but also need to be firm in what you’re asking of them. Some aspects were more complicated for me, but I try to find the right balance.”

Soon, Hischier will return to New Jersey, fresh off an off-season home in Switzerland, where he says he best puts the previous season behind him.

"I love Switzerland. I love being here with my family and friends. It’s very important, even more so during the summer, to be with the people who matter, to recharge my batteries."

With those batteries nearly fully recharged, that flight from Switzerland to New Jersey is nearing. He'll enter Prudential Center with another year of experience and reflection and a desire to show that the 2023-24 season is firmly in the rear-view mirror.

When Da Custodia asked him what ambitions he has for himself this coming season and for the team, there was simply one answer.

“I want to make the playoffs. That’s the most important thing to me."

Note: Nico Hischier quotes have been translated from French to English from this interview