As a top two-way center, the job at times is a thankless one because with that added responsibility as a 200-foot player comes fewer offensive chances. But the 26-year-old has always possessed a team-first mentality.
“There’s a focus for me in games because usually there’s always a good line to face in the League,” Hischier said. “I’m always trying to be patient against these guys, and while I’ll always try and create and do something offensively, I have the defense mindset first. I take pride in that but it’s also my job.”
Meier averages 18:56 in ice time and ranks first on the team in goals (11), and third in points (23) and hits (61) in 30 games. Siegenthaler leads the Devils in blocked shots (61) and averages 19:34 in ice time.
“Going to the Olympics with two of my teammates, good friends, is going to be something special,” Siegenthaler said. “It’s been a while since NHL players were going to Olympics, so it’s going to be a cool experience. It’s very close to my hometown (Zurich, Switzerland) so I’ll have a lot of friends and family there as well.”
Siegenthaler has played with Hischier at the IIHF World Junior Championship and World Championship and knows the fire that burns within in each game.
“He’s invested in every zone,” Siegenthaler said. “He’s blocking shots, going to the dirty areas and he scores goals as well. He kind of does everything very good and I think that makes him so complete. When we see that on the ice, it kind of gives you a spark and you want to hop on the boat as well. He leads by example for sure and I think, off the ice, everybody loves him and he’s fun to be around.”
Hischier’s job became more difficult when Hughes sustained a non-hockey related injury to his finger in mid-November and has missed the past 16 games.
The Devils (18-14-1), who are 6-10-0 without Jack Hughes, just want to play with some measure of consistency while missing key players.
The Devils averaged 3.35 goals per game with Hughes in the lineup and are averaging 2.38 without him.
“Jack can see plays and make plays from nothing and obviously it’s tough to lose that,” Hischier said. “But at the end of the day, we got to be solution-orientated and more focused on the process to give ourselves more chances to score goals. We still have good skill in here; somebody can always make an individual effort and score. But we got to understand that in order to win games, we got to focus on the process. We just can’t be results-focused.”
For a club expected to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, Hischier knows the opposition isn’t feeling sorry for them, either.
He takes that personally.
“I think the challenge (as captain) is to still lift the team up, hold the fort for guys that are out, and we obviously all know Jack is an important piece for us,” Hischier said. “But we got to battle through it because it doesn’t change a thing (in the standings).
“That’s where we’re at right now and we just have to find a solution. It is challenging, more on the emotional side. You still have the confidence, even if you’re not a full squad, to go out there and really feel like you’re going to dominate this team.”
