James Nichols
One of the narratives surrounding the New Jersey Devils and their ability to succeed is their lack of size. Whether you agree with it or not isn’t the focus here. It’s that the Devils are often painted as a small team that lacks muscle. However, a recent interview reveals that the Devils captain is combating that narrative.
READ MORE: The Latest in the Devils, Luke Hughes Contract Deadlock
Did he get in the gym this summer because he heard all the chatter? No, of course not. The Devils captain is always looking for ways to improve his game to make the team more successful.
For years, Nico Hischier’s profile has read the same since he was drafted first overall in 2017 by New Jersey. The Swiss forward has been labeled 175 lbs.
However, Hischier’s teammate, Jack Hughes, is here to tell you that can’t be accurate.
After he was prompted by Elliotte Friedman via the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, explaining Hischier looks “massive,” the Devils franchise forward explained previous reports were perhaps inaccurate.
“I haven’t seen him yet, but I know like if you looked him up last year on the NHL app, it had him at like 175 lbs. But Nico’s like a big… He’s like close to 200 lbs,” Hughes explained.
If you check the Devils roster via NHL.com, it does say Hischier stands at 6-foot-1, 200 lbs. However, ESPN will tell you he is still 175 lbs, and other outlets have varying weights registered.
Here’s the interesting part, however.
The Devils veterans have yet to report to training camp. That’s next, on Wednesday, September 17th. Which means he has yet to register his actual weight when the players go through their initial medical process at the start of training camp.
Perhaps, he’s even bigger than what Jack Hughes believes.
Hischier reached a career-high 35 goals last season, tallying 69 points in the process. The two-way center-man is regularly in the Selke Trophy conversation, and could perhaps dethrone Aleksander Barkov—who has won it in back-to-back years over the last two seasons—in 2025-26.
Regardless, it’s good news for the Devils. Hischier was a tough matchup to play against before. He should be even tougher in all three zones with added muscle in 2025-26.
For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.
Follow us on :
@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL
And on Threads:
