The New Jersey Devils have high expectations and standards coming into the season. Those standards and expectations are set by management and the coaching staff, but are put forth by the example set by New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier.
While Hischier, the first overall pick from the 2017 NHL Draft, is still a young captain in the NHL as he enters his ninth season in the league, he continues to lead by example with the work ethic he puts forth on and off the ice. There is a championship standard and mindset that General Manager Tom Fitzgerald and head coach Sheldon Keefe have set forth.
Devils Captain Nico Hischier Believes His Team Can Make a Deep Playoff Run
But it is the buy-in from the team that needs to happen on a nightly basis for the Devils to see success. It is easy to talk about the high standards and expectations within an organization that aspires to compete for a Stanley Cup, but it is another thing to execute them. New Jersey has seen what it takes to win. The Florida Panthers, who have won back-to-back Stanley Cups, have been the standard in the NHL for the last three years.
When the Devils are on, they can compete with any team in the league, but when they don’t execute, they barely look like a playoff team. And injuries can no longer be an excuse for why this team fails. Every team in the NHL deals with injuries to top players. But the Devils injuries seem to derail them. That proves the team isn’t deep enough. But again, that comes down to the standard that not only management holds themselves to, but the players as well.
As New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier told Dave Pagnotta and Dennis Bernstein of Sirius XM NHL Network Radio during the NHL European Media Tour. Hischier asked about the adjustment to Sheldon Keefe. In addition, Hischier spoke about the standards that have been introduced into the organization.
DevilsNation.com Transcriptions
The New Jersey Devils Still Have Room For Improvement But Playoffs Are a Must
Dave Pagnotta: “Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, how was the adjustment with Sheldon Keefe coming behind the bench? Was it a big adjustment last season, and whatever the adjustment was, do you feel it’s going to be a little bit easier of a transition going into camp this year, having had that full year under any coach?”
Nico Hischier: ” Yeah, no, I think obviously there were some changes, and always get us some fresh wind. And I feel he’s very, very detailed. His hockey knowledge is big, and it’s been, I think it’s been great year for us. Last year, even if you look at the whole picture, we were with injuries and everything, but it was still not a bad year. But obviously, we weren’t satisfied. So I think that’s a good foundation for us to come back this year and get right back to work. And I think it’s not new anymore. So we know from right get going, what he wants from us, what he wants from us, in practice, in games, and that the standard will be high and but I think that’s what great teams have, and think it’s good to bring that in.”
There are no nights off in the NHL. Yes, teams can have bad games and bad parts of games, but the Devils let them drag on for far too long. Good teams know how to put a bad game behind them and move on. As Hischier stated, championship teams come in ready to compete at the standard from the start of training camp. Those championship teams get better and better throughout the season and don’t peak too early.
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The New Jersey Devils need to continue to challenge themselves throughout the organization to reach their full potential and win the Stanley Cup once again. The standard is there to play at a high level; the team knows that. However, to execute it repeatedly is about growing through experience to sustain it consistently.
Everyone expects the New Jersey Devils to be a contender for the Stanley Cup once again, and it is now time for the organization as a whole to go out and prove it.
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