WINNIPEG -- Nico Hischier knew what was coming, so he did John Hynes' job for him.

During the Devils' Nov. 9 game against the Edmonton Oilers, Hischier took a hooking penalty 45 seconds into play, marking the second straight game he went to the penalty box in the opening minutes.

When Hischier skated back to the bench after serving his two minutes, he simply said the Hynes, "Just (bleeping) bench me."

Hischier sat until the 9:47 mark of the first period before eventually logging 21:18 of total ice time in the 3-2 overtime loss.

The Devils were going through a stretch where they were taking some costly penalties, and Hynes had shown his willingness to bench players, such as Miles Wood, Kyle Palmieri and Blake Coleman, for short stretches. He wasn't going to treat June's No. 1 overall pick any differently.

"He took a penalty the game before, we discussed it in between games, he took the first penalty of the next," Hynes said. "He came back down and I said, 'You're gonna have to sit for a bit.' He said, 'I should. My fault.'"

Hischier hasn't been to the penalty box since, and Hynes said the whole situation showed the part of Hischier the Devils valued so much throughout the Draft process.

"He's not one of these younger players that comes in and thinks, because of where he was drafted or what his status is that he's a good player, that he gets preferential treatment," Hynes said. "That's why he's such a special guy to have on our team and in our organization because he's an elite player that really understands what it means to be part of a team, and winning and the team come before him and his ego."

Entering Saturday's game against the Winnpeg Jets, Hischier had three goals and 11 assists over 18 games, with six penalty minutes. So far, Hynes has seen everything he could have hoped for from the No. 1 pick.

"Just the level of consistency he has as an 18-year-old kid and his personality," Hynes said. "That was one of the big things going through the Draft and deciding who we were going to pick. Just how he approaches the game, his personality, was really important to us and what we wanted as a group."

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.