Perhaps I just can't relate to an 18 year old having 25 points while helping to lead a potential playoff team not even halfway through his first year in the NHL since I had only eclipsed that total in pounds of cheap booze and finger foods halfway through my first year in college at that age. Maybe I'm just not used to seeing a young phenom in a Devils' jersey since Lou Lamoriello spent the later years of his tenure in New Jersey drafting players who played like they were born in the 80's and signing free agents who were successful for the franchise in the 90's. Whatever the case may be, in doing nothing more than pulling within 24 full months of being able to drink legally, Nico Hischier has me struggling to wrap my head around how hockey-wise he is beyond his years. It's not that I had forgot how young he was, but something about how appropriate he looks with a soccer-themed cake in his hands really drives home the idea that the Devils lucked into finding Taylor Hall a complimentary center in the form of someone that wouldn't look too out of place in a ball pit. In fact, if i weren't a Devils' fan I would actually find it scary to think about how much growing he still has to do into a body that's fit for a middle school distance runner. The way he sees and plays every aspect of the sport at a professional level while being better built to do so on an XBox is nothing short of astoundingly perplexing, and - for that reason - his maturation process looks to have a direct correlation with the trajectory of the New Jersey Devils future. His game already has less holes than the 3-ring binder you'd expect him to be carrying, so - other than a couple pounds of muscle and a bushel of pubic hair - I can't even really think of what else he'd want for his birthday. He's still at the age for presents, but what do you get someone who already has all the gifts?!?
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