BLOG: Craig Button: Don't ever underestimate Nico Hischier

Nico Hischier goes about his business with a very cool, calm, and collected attitude. He's quiet and not necessarily flashy. But for TSN's Director of Scouting, Craig Button it's Nico's no-quit attitude that makes him such a special player.

Coming up next week, the Devils Speak of the Devils Podcast will feature Button, as he joins Chris Wescott and Amanda Stein to talk about the upcoming 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but also take a deep dive into the Devils roster and the off-season changes around the franchise.

Button spoke glowingly about the 2017 first overall pick.

"The Devils' won the lottery, and then they were able to step up and draft Nico Hischier. And, I mean, Nico is such a good player. He reminds me a lot of Henrik Zetterberg, and Henrik Zetterberg is a terrific player," Button said. "When I think about Nico, I just think about a player, it doesn't matter what situation he's in, during the game or on the ice, he understands how to play it to the very best of his abilities. And that's at a high level. He plays with the puck, he plays without the puck, he can skate, he can play in tight-checking games.

Because of his style of play, Nico may not always receive the same fanfare as other first-overall picks. But when Nico steps out on to the ice each night, pretty quickly people around him have to and are forced to be aware.

"We live in a highlight video type society," he adds, "so you know the flashy, the dash, that's great and everything and I get it but, Nico has a real subtle quality to his game. And, you know, I always say we can measure physical effort, but how do you measure your mental effort? How does anybody measure mental effort like you got to the right places, but when you watch the game and you're watching Nico, you're always like, 'Oh, he's there again. Oh, there he is'. I could guarantee you this, coaches don't underrate him. It doesn't take very long for coaches to really value him as well. I think as time goes on Nico's notoriety as that complete two-way player is only going to rise."