Canada's junior coach praises Nico Hischier prior to Top Prospects Game

Nico Hischier put the hockey world on notice at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

The Swiss center recorded four goals and seven points in five games at the international tournament, and, in so doing, caught the eye of scouts and casual observers alike.

He's also been good for 33 goals and 35 assists with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads in his first season of North American hockey, putting himself in the conversation for first overall pick at the 2017 NHL draft.

Ahead of Monday's Top Prospects Game in Quebec City, Canadian junior head coach Dominique Ducharme - who also coaches the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs - believes there's certainly an argument to be made.

"We saw him score big goals at big times at the world juniors," Ducharme said, according to Bill Beacon of the Canadian Press. "If you’re a scout, if you want to build a team, you want players who can rise up in those moments and make a difference and I think he is a difference maker."

For Hischier, the world junior experience was but a fragment of his draft year, with plenty of work left to put in before his name is called by an NHL general manager.

"It was such a great experience," Hischier said of the world juniors. "We had a good group of guys in the locker room so it was fun to play there, but there’s a lot of hockey to play until June so I have to keep it up and work hard."

Hischier will line up as the first-line center for Team Cherry at the Top Prospects Game, going head-to-head with Nolan Patrick, who's expected to be chosen first overall in June.