New Jersey Devils: Can Jack Hughes And Nico Hischier Dominate Together?
The New Jersey Devils now have what appears to be an elite 1-2 punch down the middle, but can they dominate in year one together?
The New Jersey Devils have been very lucky. Every other GM in the National Hockey League wishes they had the recent fortunes of the Devils as they have won the Draft Lottery twice in the last three years. They got two completely different players with the number one overall pick each time and now they are set up large for many years.
In the 2017 NHL Draft, they selected Nico Hischier with the top pick and in 2019, they selected Jack Hughes. Hischier is developing into one of the premier two-way centers in this league that can play a strong game in all three zones. Hughes is an offensive-minded centerman that can pass, shoot, and skate with the best of them.
As good as both of these players are, they are so different from each other. They are going to complement each other in what they bring to the table. They are the type of 1-2 punch down the middle of the ice that you need to build a championship squad around. If they both end up as elite players in their prime, they will both be used in different situations and can even work together in some aspects.
Hischier is less gifted offensively than Hughes, but Jack might be able to help Nico’s offensive production on the power play. They are sure to get some time together with the man advantage and that could be the difference between Hischier being a 60-point player and an 80 point player. Hughes is far inferior to Hischier in the defensive parts of hockey. Nico’s rookie year defensively will more than likely be better than Hughes’ in his prime. This is a good thing though because they are both on the same team and will give their talents to the New Jersey Devils.
The question isn’t whether or not this duo will be an elite 1-2 punch someday because they will be. The question is whether or not they will be in year one? Hischier is headed into his 20-year-old season while Hughes is going to be an 18 year old in the NHL. It is a young duo, but many believe that Hischier is going to have his first monster season after being very good in his first two years. It is basically up to Hughes to have a Calder-Trophy level season for this 1-2 punch to be a dominant duo.
It is likely that Hughes will have some struggles at some point this season but he is walking into a situation where there will be so many great players around him to help him. Hischier is one of those players so it is realistic to be optimistic that this duo will be great. If they are, the Devils might be making their second trip to the postseason in the last three years.
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It is so important to be great down the middle if you want to compete for the Stanley Cup. If you look at some recent Stanley Cup Champions in the Washington Capitals (Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom), the Los Angeles Kings (Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter), or the Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin) you will take note of how important that position is. The Devils are going to need some others to step up as well but with Hischier and Hughes to build around, they are in good shape.