Devils' top-pick Nico Hischier represents new breed of NHL prospects

Allain Roy, an agent since 2001 and, before that, a goalie drafted by the original Winnipeg Jets who won an NCAA title at Harvard and a silver medal for Team Canada in the 1994 Winter Olympics, has had a close-up view of the evolution of NHL prospects.

The young players, such as client Nico Hischier, selected first overall by the Devils in this year’s NHL Draft, have become intensely knowledgeable about aspects beyond just on-ice training. Video, mental and nutritional coaching are all part of the elite teen-agers’ regimens now.

Hischier, prepping for his first professional training camp in less than a month, has flourished so far.

Others have not.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Roy, CEO of the St. Louis-based Roy Sports Group. “There’s a lot of over-training. A lot of kids burn out early. If you have to force kids to go to practice, something’s wrong. They should want to go to practice. There’s also a fear of missing out that players have: ‘If I’m not on the ice, someone else is on.’”

Roy said, at times, he does need to speak to prospects’ parents about the need for their child to dial back the training.

As an agent, Roy said the key to attracting clients such as Hischier “is development,” such as the camp his agency runs each summer in Montreal for top prospects with a staff that includes a nutritionist and a mental coach.

“Every year, we’re adding new staff to the menu because you have to,” Roy said. “Our jobs as agents has changed over the last eight years. In the past, it was get as much money as possible when you signed. Now, it’s developing players to have as long a career as possible. The turnover is so much quicker. Thirty-two is the new 37.”

Hischier, 18, a Swiss-born center who had 38 goals and 48 assists in 57 games for Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2016-17, his only season of Canadian junior hockey, is currently training in his home country and Roy said he will return to the U.S. on Aug. 28 to attend a rookie orientation program.

“Nico has a brother [Luca] who plays for Bern in the Swiss league and they also own Nico’s rights,” Roy said. “European teams work out together all summer, off the ice and on the ice. When he gets here, he should be in top shape.

“We have him working with a nutritionist who works with the agency,” Roy added. “Our goal is a pound of muscle per week for the summer. So far, I think it’s heading in that direction. He’s getting bigger and stronger, which he needed to do.”

The Devils list Hischier as 6-foot-1, 176 pounds. Luca Hischier is listed at 6-2 and 191 pounds.

But perhaps the most important aspect for Hischier is how he and the Devils manage the expectations after he was selected first overall. The last two No. 1s, the Oilers’ Connor McDavid – the Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s MVP at age 20 – and the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews – the Calder Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie after scoring 40 goals – are considered generational talents.

“It’s a tough question,” Roy said when asked about managing the expectations. “Throughout the history of the NHL, some first overall picks have lived up to the billing and some have not. The best way to do it is to tell Nico to be Nico. Comparisons to McDavid or Matthews or any other No. 1 is not fair. They’re different people.”

In addition to Hischier, Roy also represents Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid and forward John Quenneville.

Kinkaid, 28, agreed to a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Devils less than 48 hours before he would have become an unrestricted free agent for the first time.

“There were teams interested,” Roy said. “Basically, we looked out there and there were a lot of the same situations and he was already comfortable in New Jersey and the coaches seem to be getting more and more comfortable with him.”

Roy confirmed he did have preliminary talks with the Rangers about Kinkaid but they “dragged on.”

Quenneville, 21, the 30th overall pick in the 2014 draft, made his NHL debut last season with a goal and three assists in 12 games and heads to training camp looking to secure a roster spot.

“John has had a big summer,” Roy said of the 6-1, 205-pound Quenneville. “He’s put on some muscle. He can bring some heaviness to the team. For John, if he keeps it simple and in a straight line, with no turnovers, then he’s right there. He should be an NHL player but he’s still got to prove it.”

The 2017-18 NHL schedule does not include a break for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. It would mark the first time NHL players do not participate since 1994.

“I have mixed emotions,” Roy said. “I got to play in the last Olympics with amateurs. As an agent, I see a missed opportunity to grow the game. South Korea is a good first step to introduce it to Asia, then push through to China [the 2022 Winter Olympics will be in Beijing]. It’s a missed opportunity and my feeling is it’s too far along to make it work. If you were talking a month ago or before, maybe.”

E-mail: grossa@northjersey.com