As Devils general manager Ray Shero prepares to make the franchise’s first No. 1 overall selection in the NHL draft on Friday night in Chicago, here is the question that sits before him: Nolan or Nico?
That would be Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, the undisputed top two prospects with slightly different games. Though neither is projected as a generational talent — a la Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid in the previous two years — both are considered to be terrific players who could help a NHL team immediately.
It seems unlikely Shero will trade down in a draft that is supposed to be deeper than it is top-heavy — but all of that could change if the right deal comes along. Shero has told reporters he is comfortable holding on to the pick and he has his mind made up on whom to take if he does. But it will be an interesting choice for a club that is desperate to restock its talent pool after five straight seasons out of the playoffs.
Patrick will turn 19 years old in September. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Winnipeg native put his No. 1 status in jeopardy with a recent sports-hernia surgery that prematurely ended his previous season with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. When he was younger, he suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss half a season.
Yet it seems he put to rest any fears he might be injury-prone with a solid showing at the scouting combine in Buffalo at the beginning of June.
In 2015-16, Patrick emerged as the top prospect in his draft class by putting up 41 goals and 61 assists in 72 games, and most scouts consider the two-way center the “most complete” player in the draft.
Hischier is an 18-year-old from Switzerland who grew up playing for the SC Bern, one of the top international teams. He played in Canada this past season, putting up 38 goals and 48 assists in 57 games for Halifax of the QMJHL en route to being named the league’s rookie of the year. His stock rose further when he scored four goals and added three assists in five games for Team Switzerland in the World Junior Championships.
Hischier is 6-foot-2 and 179 pounds, and as a left-handed shot, he might project more as a left wing than a center. But his upside is in his terrific skating ability and poise with the puck, a game predicated more on being a playmaker.
The Devils would seem to be getting a very good player either way. Now it’s up to Shero to decide.