New Jersey Devils Best Forward (Right Now)

[ConnorMcMullet]

Who is the Devils' current top forward? Curious to see the consensus here.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Right now? Hischier. He is a two-way beast and he product very well too. Hughes next year, no doubt.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Nico is currently playing the best but I still think Jack is the best player.

 

[swissexpert]

Right now there is only one answer.
Nico's line is the best in the league despite getting the heavier matchups, more Dzone starts than the Hughes/Bratt line.

If we talk about offensive potential, it's a different story.

 

[biturbo19]

Right now, i'd say it's definitely Hischier. He's playing great 2-way hockey, highly productive, and he's doing it without the greatest linemates for the most part. Whereas Hughes-Bratt are kind of conflated. It feels like they both really share in driving that line.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Bratt is our best forward IMO, but Hischier has had the better season so far. Hughes will be our best forward going forward.

 

[goonybird]

I'd always take Hughes if I needed a goal but Hischier if I don't

 

[Classic Devil]

Hischier > Hughes > Bratt

 

[Mrb1p]

Hughes, stop this two way nonsense.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Hughes, stop this two way nonsense.

Two way play may feel like nonsense, but it's actually very important. You'd think a Habs fan would know that

 

[Hisch13r]

As of right now it's Nico, Bratt, Jack. It's all close

Hughes, stop this two way nonsense.

I mean Nico's outproducing Jack so far lol

 

[TBF1972]

i really would love to know, whom the 'other' voters thought about.

 

[Clam Jensen]

Nico is playing the best right now. He’s getting all the hard assignments and scoring at a 99 point pace. He is the definition of an “all around player”.

Jesper has played better than Jack so far, so I’d go him #2.

Jack has been heating up lately, is over a PPG, and IMO is the best out of the 3 long-term, but the other 2 have been better to-date.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Right now it’s Nico hands down

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Right now it’s Nico hands down

He's really been incredible, especially when you consider Bratt and Hughes spend a lot of time with each other at 5v5. Yet Hischier still leads the team in ES scoring with 17 ES points, while shutting down the opposition's best players.

That's not to take anything away from guys like Tatar and Zetterlund, but neither of those guys are Bratt or Hughes.

I fully expect Hughes to end up the team's leading scorer (and Bratt #2). But through 19 games Hischier has easily been our best forward. Marino is the only guy challenging him for best player.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Bratt and then Hischier for me.

 

[BavelPure]

All three can be the best player on any given night. Nico winning 58% of draws gives him the edge. Everything he does seems to have improved like 5% to make him elite. Skating, edges, FO, vision and especially shot are on a new level.

Bratt and Hughes together are one of the best duo's in the league. Two goals last night was them flying through the neutral zone, zipping the puck around and twisting the Edmonton D into knots. There's a highlight video somewhere on twitter with highlights of just them two and it's pretty incredible how they play together.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

i really would love to know, whom the 'other' voters thought about.

 

[imMagnum]

Hischier. He's been extremely dominant everywhere on the ice against the toughest matchups. He's been our best ES player while being fantastic on PK1 and PP1. Throw in his excellent faceoff and leadership abilities and Nico just does things that no other forward on this team can do.

I actually think he's the perfect complimentary piece for Hughes and Bratt. Hischier's elite 200ft play against the toughest matchups allows J+J to focus on their offense against favourable matchups.

As of now, Nico > Jack > Bratt. Jack slightly over Jesper because of Jack's excellent zone entries.

In the future... That's a real tough question. We know Jack has a high ceiling. Bratt exceeds expectations and gets better every year. Will they be better than Nico, who I don't even think has hit his ceiling yet? That's a big ask. I could see Jack develop an excellent defensive game and if that happens, holy hell what a player that would be. Future I'm going with Jack > Nico > Bratt.

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

To me, this season has been riding on Nico. Scoring at a career high rate, playing top line with tough match ups with Tatar and rookie zetterlund. Also on PP1 and PK1, taking a lot of the important draws and winning them at a rate that’s near the top of the league. His emergence has helped the entire team. Hughes and bratt can work their offensive magic on the second line, and don’t have to worry much about the defensive end of the rink.