By Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The lobby of a Jersey City apartment building serves as a meeting place for Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha and Blake Coleman.

Well, sometimes it's also a place for three of the young Devils to wait on the fourth.

"Nico is notoriously five minutes late,” Coleman said.

Occasional tardiness aside, the four Devils regularly descend from their apartments, ready to trek to Newark in one car on a game or practice day.

The four young players all moved into the same building this season, and along with breaking into the NHL together, they formed an inevitable bond off the ice.

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Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

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Carpool out of necessity

Zacha, a second-year pro, plus rookies Hischier, Bratt and Coleman all share the same building in downtown Jersey City, making it an easy and natural carpool option to and from the Prudential Center in Newark for the four players.

Hischier and Bratt, both 19 years old and living in the United States for the first time, don’t have their New Jersey drivers licenses yet. So Zacha and Coleman split the driving duties on a daily basis.

The four pile into a Ford SUV — either Zacha’s or Coleman’s — and head to the rink. If Zacha or Coleman aren’t driving, they take shotgun. Bratt and Hischier are always in the backseat, which has it's own nickname.

"The couch. It’s a nice backseat there with a lot of space,” Bratt said. “So usually we usually call it the couch, since it’s nice.”

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Elsa | Getty Images

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Zacha is still 20 years old, just one year older than Bratt and Hischier, and Coleman is the oldest of the bunch at 26. But they're still technically responsible for corralling two teenagers on a daily basis.

"It’s like getting my parenting practice in,” Coleman said. "Me and Pav joke that we take our kids to work every day. It keeps the mood light after a game, to always have company to talk about it, hang out with. Off days you can go to the city, go do whatever around the area.”

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Driving in N.J.

Coleman grew up in Plano, Texas, and has plenty of experience driving in the United States. Prior to coming to New Jersey for the 2016-17 season, Zacha only drove in Canada while playing junior hockey for Sarnia, although he does have his license in the Czech Republic.

So moving to a busy metropolitan area with plenty cars and whacky drivers was certainly an adjustment.

“It was the biggest thing. Living around New York City with all the drivers and stuff, it’s really busy," Zacha said. "My parents when they came here and saw me drive, they didn’t know what was going on at all. It’s confusing, the roads here too. You just get used to it I guess. It’s a big difference.”

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Marc DesRosiers | USA TODAY Sports

Since Bratt and Hischier don’t do the driving, they’ve had enough time to evaluate Coleman’s and Zacha's skills behind the wheel. Both gave the edge to Zacha, mainly because he drives a little bit faster.

Bratt drove in his native Sweden, but he doesn’t have a car in New Jersey yet. Zacha and Coleman won’t give him a crack behind the wheel, either.

"It would be nice to get an opportunity to drive their trucks, show them my driving skills,” Bratt said. "But they don’t let me do that. I like cars a lot, and I miss my car back home. It would be nice to maybe get a car next year.”

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Who handles the music?

With Bratt and Hischier typically in the backseat, Zacha and Coleman usually let the driver handle the radio. Although Coleman said there is the occasional input from the couch.

"With requests from Nico from time to time. Usually declined,” Coleman said.

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Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

The tunes aren't usually a sticking point, though. On game days, the guys can easily agree on music to get the adrenaline flowing heading to the rink.

"I think sometimes we have some kind of music before games just to pump us up," Zacha said. "But usually it’s just whoever drives, plays."

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Nico's tardiness

Every friend group has that one person. The one that's always late. Coleman, Zacha and Bratt all pointed to Hischier as the fashionably late guy, and Hischier quickly agreed.

Now, it’s never that bad. It's usually just a few minutes. Hischier thinks they’re just ganging up on him for fun.

"I think they just chirp because I like to wake up late,” Hischier said. "I don’t need much time in the morning, so if I don’t hear my alarm, I’m late. Usually I’m really on point, but they just give me a hard time.”

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Eric Bolte | USA TODAY Sports

The 2017 No. 1 overall pick did admit there was one instance he was about 15 minutes late in the morning. He simply didn't hear his alarm, and the other three had to wake him up.

"We joke about getting Nico one of those alarm clocks that gets up and runs around the room,” Coleman said. "You’ve got to chase it to turn it off, just to make sure he gets out of bed.”

The group has also discussed fines for Hischier. Nothing too extensive, just something that would hold up in kangaroo court.

“When I’m late, I’ll give each of them five bucks," Hischier laughed.

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

Coleman and Zacha were quick to agree about Hischier being the last one down on a typical morning, but Zacha said the minor fines seem to be working. They're just another way the group has some light fun off the ice.

"Nico’s always the last one. He’s always late," Zacha said. "It’s a learning process I guess, but we made some bets already, so he’s not that late anymore. It’s just fun to drive to the rink every day with the same guys and talk."

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Bonding off ice

Aside from their daily rides to and from work, the four have become close friends off the ice. Whether it’s going out to dinner in Jersey City or New York, spending time with girlfriends when they are in town or simply lounging around one of their apartments, they always have something to do.

“It’s great. It was a good idea, especially as younger guys, that we can hang out and carpool together and stuff," Zacha said. "So we’re together all the time out of the rink too. Last year I was living in the same building as (Vernon) Fiddler when he was here, and that helped me a lot. So it was a good idea for us to do that again.”

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When the guys stay in, Bratt said they usually end up at his place, or occasionally Zacha’s. The four can unwind with a movie or play Call of Duty on Playstation 4.

Aside from that, living in a big city and busy metropolitan area is an adjustment for all four players. Having a few other guys in the same boat makes the transition that much easier.

"It’s different for sure. You’ve got to adjust to a couple things, but I really like both,” Hischier said. "Home is always going to be home, but you can always can make a second home. It’s just a matter of time and a process you get used to. That’s what I’m doing right now, and I really enjoy it so far.”

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Julio Cortez

Coleman said spending time together away from the rink carries over into their play, whether it’s from chemistry during games or simply arriving for a game or practice in a good mood.

Aside from the friendships forming, Bratt did put a positive spin on not having his own car just yet.

"It’s been nice to have all these guys in the same building,” Bratt said. "Me and Nico don’t have a car, so to be able to get a private driver to practice is nice.”

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Unlikely Devils?

One year ago, it would have been very difficult to predict these four Devils would have ended up sharing a building. Hischier was still playing junior hockey, heading toward a high pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Bratt was playing in Sweden after being taken in the sixth round of the 2016 Draft.

Zacha was in the middle of his rookie season with the Devils, and Coleman played a handful of the 23 NHL games he appeared in during the 2016-17 season.

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Eric Bolte | USA TODAY Sports

Now, along with sharing a car to work every day, all four have become big reasons for the Devils' turnaround.

Hischier, the No. 1 pick in 2017, has played big minutes on the top line with Bratt on his right, while Zacha has moved up to centering the second line. Coleman carved out his role as a penalty killer and third or fourth-line player.

The Devils have tried to build a brotherhood in their locker room between all 23 players. Zacha, Coleman, Bratt and Hischier have extended that even more outside of the rink.

"It’s been fun. I hang out with these guys," Hischier said. "There’s always something going on, and it’s fun times."

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