Fischer Thrived as Power Forward in Rookie Season

GLENDALE --Forgive the double negative, but the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes have never not had a productive power forward in the lineup.
Keith Tkachuk, Shane Doan, Claude Lemieux, and current head coach Rick Tocchet are the marquee scoring grinders who filled that role for the team throughout the years and made meaningful impacts.

Christian Fischer, who just completed his first full NHL season, pledged that fraternity in 2017-18.

"The biggest thing for me now is just working on those strengths and perfecting them," said Fischer, who notched 15 goals in 79 games this season as the team's resident power forward. "I'm not Clayton Keller, with hands like that, so it's just knowing my game and how I play, and trying to perfect that."
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Fischer was one of the bulkier skaters on Arizona's roster this season trailing only defenseman Luke Schenn (6-2, 229). The 20-year-old forward used his size to his advantage in the offensive zone; 13 of his goals came from below the face-off dots and between the circles.

"I thought the first full year went really well," Fischer said. "As a young guy there are lots of highs and lows. There are lots to learn in this League, and I think that's the biggest thing … I earned a lot of opportunity here with the coaching staff and earned their trust, and I thought I had a pretty good year as a full-time guy."
As fate would have it, Fischer, who recently turned 21, has been mentored by Tkachuk (as a teenager), Doan (as an NHL rookie last season) and now Tocchet.
"I'm probably harder on Christian than most guys on our team because I was that player," Tocchet said during the season. "He's not pretty, but he works hard. He's starting to understand what I want from a per se power forward. He's grasping the importance of holding onto pucks, going to the net, being a net-front presence, being a better wall guy. There's not a lot of guys like that in the league that can also skate. If he can perfect those things, he can be a hell of hockey player in the NHL."
Fischer ranked tied for third on the Coyotes with 15 goals and seventh with 33 points. His 15 goals also ranked 14th among NHL rookies, and his 109 hits ranked 11th among freshmen.
"There are nights you aren't going to feel it and nights where you will, and that will be great," Fischer said. "The nights you aren't are the ones you need to find a way to be useful out there."

Fischer scored three game-winning goals for the Coyotes this season, including two overtime markers on home ice that he followed with a memorable "celly." He says the highlight of his season, however, came in Montreal on Nov. 15 when he scored the game-winner in the third period.
"We had a really big meeting before that game and kind of said 'enough is enough' and 'we are moving forward here or we're going to be in one for the year,'" Fischer said. "That game was really exciting, and everyone contributed in that game and that kind of jump-started the year for us."

Fischer is eager to see if the Coyotes can bank the momentum they built in the second half of the season and bring it with them into next season.
"Today is the day where it kind of starts as the next step here," Fischer said on "Exit Day" inside Gila River Arena. "… We're going to move forward here. Summer starts now and everything we do from here on out is a step in the right or wrong direction. I think everyone will be motivated going into summer and I expect everyone to have a good summer. It's exciting."
He added: "We're not a last-place team and we showed that the last 30 games. It's a matter of having a full 82-game season, and coming out having a good start. A good start is huge in this League."