As most things tend to do, this makes a whole lot of sense in retrospect. The agonizing grimaces and post-shift slumping that were a staple of his on-screen presence seemingly every time he came back to the bench. The hesitancy to shoot that, while becoming less and less of an issue throughout an otherwise unbelievable year, was definitely one of the few noticeable flaws in his game. The lack of power on a snap shot that somehow had the accuracy to get him to 20 goals in his first NHL season despite not being intimidating enough scare a fly off the crossbar. Now, I'm sure a lot of those observations can also be attributed to the nerves that might be felt by a post-pubescent boy playing in a grown man's league while having to work harder to limit the inherent disadvantage that is being built like a middle school distance runner. Still, dealing with a chronic injury to the wrist of a shooting arm that would have needed a whole lot more than a high-protein, spinach-heavy diet to rival Popeye's regardless certainly couldn't have helped. All jokes aside, the fact that throughout his first full season - of which he was the only Devil to play in every single game - not once did anyone consider that Nico Hischier was banged up is a testament to him having a hockey IQ that's wise beyond its years, a skill set that impacts the game in a variety of ways, and a tenacity that never had him shying away from the tough areas of the ice. As if I needed any other reason to be optimistic about the bright future of a kid that swimmingly assumed the role of number one center for an eventual playoff team, the mere thought that we have yet to see at him at full strength when that's sure to be added to over the summer has me ready to put myself to sleep until October. Nico Hischier easily surpassed expectations and he did so while likely having to use his off-hand to masturbate. I don't know that that last part is relevant but it's definitely not a claim that can be made by members of a fanbase that largely found themselves aroused for the first time in years because of the first part.
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