Report: Top prospect compared to Wings LEGENDS by his head coach

Since the calendar rolled over to 2017 one of the hottest debates in hockey has been “Nolan or Nico?” As in, with the first overall selection will the team in question select Brandon Wheat Kings centerman Nolan Patrick or Halifax Mooseheads centerman Nico Hischier? As we near closer to the draft, the picture isn’t any clearer but the sentiments of Hischier’s head coach in Halifax are leading some scouts and analysts to put Hischier ahead on their draft lists.

When asked to describe Hischier’s play and compare him to current or former NHLers, Mooseheads head coach Andre Tourigny described him as a cross between Detroit Red Wings superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Yes. You read that correctly: Nico Hirschier is the perfect hockey player. 

Specifically Tourigny compared Hirschier’s defensive game to Datsyuk and his offensive game to Zetterberg, which sounds pretty good to us. Unfortunately for the Wings they won’t select until pick number nine at this year’s draft and likely won’t get a shot at the young Swiss phenom. But, hey, you never know, the prospect of landing the next Datsyuk/Zetterberg in Detroit may be too enticing for general manger Ken Holland to pass up, forcing him to trade up in the draft to land the coveted forward.