Nico Hischier felt that in order to take his game to another level, and pursue his dream of playing in the NHL, a move to North America was necessary. After spending part of last season playing pro with Bern in the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system, Hischier joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads for the 2016-17 season.

“The Swiss league is a very good league: a lot of speed and a lot of skill. At the end, I just thought, ‘Where can I become a better hockey player?’ - I really thought it was a better way when I moved to North America,” said Hischier. “At the end, I always wanted to come over to see what it felt like to play a lot of games and with the travelling and all that stuff. I don’t regret it at all and I’m happy (with my decision).”

The six-foot-one, 178-pound centre scored 38 goals and 86 points in 57 games during his rookie season in the QMJHL. Hischier added three goals and four assists in six playoff games. He was awarded the RDS Cup as the QMJHL rookie of the year and was also named the CHL rookie of the year.

One of his biggest performances of the season came at the 2017 IIHF Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championship where he nearly beat the Americans single-handedly, scoring twice as Switzerland fell 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

“He was the best player we’ve seen in this tournament,” U.S. coach Bob Motzko said following the game. “We tried all four lines against him and I thought he was playing every shift because every time he got out there, the ice was tilted. It was the first thing we said when we got into the locker room: ‘That’s the best player we’ve seen in the tournament.’”

Hischier’s World Junior performance helped him vault up the rankings for this month’s NHL draft at Chicago’s United Center.  In its October rankings, ISS Hockey had Hischier at No. 26 for this year’s draft; however, once the season was done, Hischier was ranked as the second-best prospect available in the ISS Hockey draft guide.

Expected to be picked with one of the Top-2 selections in Friday night's NHL Draft, Hischier would become the highest ever Swiss-born player selected surpassing Nino Niederreiter, who was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders in 2010.

“Game breaking ability, if there was one world junior player that took his game to another level its Hischier,” said ISS Hockey Director of Scouting, Dennis MacInnis. “Was a one man wrecking crew against Team USA. He's fast, smart and skilled.”

The 18-year-old is a competitive two-way player who is dynamic with the puck on his stick and an offensive threat whenever he’s on the ice. His hockey sense, puck skills, skating and a competitive nature with regards to both a playmaking and goal-scoring abilities is what sets him apart from his peers.

Hischier shows maturity and consistency at both ends of the ice, and can make difference on every shift. He is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, but he has an excellent release on his shot when given an opportunity.

On the ice Hischier had to deal with the smaller ice and adjust to a faster pace. There were also adjustments for Hischier off the ice as he was living without family for the first time.

“It was something new,” Hischier said of living with a billet family. “I moved to Bern when I was 15 and I moved away from my family, but it was just an hour away and I could live with my aunt so I was really comfortable as well. I had great billets in Halifax, it was awesome. I’ll probably have contact with them my whole life - they helped me a lot and I’m really happy I had such good billets.

“The biggest (off ice) adjustment was when you don’t have a car in Canada it’s hard to travel. In Switzerland it’s fairly easy to go by bus or train and stuff so that was probably the biggest adjustment.”

The native of Naters, Switzerland only played 15 games with Bern last season registering an assist and two penalty minutes, but it was enough to learn about the pro game. He also had the benefit of practicing with current Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher, who spent part of last season coaching in Switzerland.

“I think I learned a lot,” Hischier said of Boucher. “He brought Canadian hockey to Switzerland I think. His practices were hard and I could really learn from him.

“It was good. For me, I could learn a lot there and they helped me get to where I am now.”

Though his time with Bern was brief, he left an impression on the several former NHLers in the lineup, including Cory Conacher.

“He was only 16 when I played with him so he was a little guy, and then I saw a couple photos throughout (last) summer, I saw how much bigger and stronger he was getting,” said Conacher who split this season between the Syracuse Crunch and Tampa Bay Lightning. “You could tell he was going to be a good player. He sees the ice so well, he’s got a good shot, he can make plays too.

“You could just tell he was one of those guys that was going to be special down the road. To see him make plays even at that stage… same as Auston Matthews, young guy like him, playing so well against us was awesome to see.”

Hischier credits part of his success in hockey to playing multiple sports while growing up.  His father Rino played professional soccer so Hischier was an avid soccer player as a child. He also joined his sister Nina for gymnastics classes and was both a skier and a snowboarder.

“I just had way more fun to step on the ice than to go on the soccer field. It was an easy decision for me,” Hischier said of giving up soccer at the age of 12. “I did a lot of sports, I used to ski a lot, I played tennis, I went with my sister a bit to gymnastics - that helps you a lot. You need different muscles. Different things you do helps.”

When it comes to modeling his game, Hischier doesn’t hesitate naming former Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk as the player he watches closely.

“I take pride in my defensive game,” he said. “I really want to (focus) on my defensive game first. In North America or Europe, it doesn’t matter, it’s always defence first. If you have good defence, you have a good chance to win a game.

“(Datsyuk is) my big idol and I really want to play like him. I really like the way he plays.”

On thing Hischier could do without as he looks to take the next step in his career and make the leap to the NHL is the nickname ‘Swiss McDavid’, which some hockey analysts have given him.

“I think it’s too much. I think you can’t compare (me) to Connor McDavid. He’s on another level,” said Hischier. “It’s really high expectation. I don’t like when they call me that.”

DHIREN MAHIBAN