In 2018, Nico Hischier did an interview with his older brother Luca and I cut together some of the more interesting parts and subbed them since I thought there’s probably not that many people on hockeyblr who understand Swiss German but might still be interested in stories of little Nico following his brother around. Disclaimer: I think my translation is not bad but a) I am not a professional and b) these two are very much from Wallis and I am very much from Zürich and Wallis does have a bit of a reputation for having a weird dialect so there were one, two words I probably didn’t quite catch.
Link to part 1
Cultural note regarding the atmosphere at Swiss hockey games: In Swiss arenas, in addition to seats there’s also a standing area and that gets JAMPACKED. Concerning fan clubs, I am not a member of one but a friend of mine who is once showed me the google doc with the lyrics to all the fan chants that they sing. There’s one guy with a trumpet who’s a regular at EHC Kloten’s games. The crowd is def louder than at NHL games. You can see some of it in this video of when the Predators played against the HC Bern if ur interested
Also something that is mildly funny to me, Nico says NHL in German, like en-ha-el, which I have never heard anyone do irl lol. He is so so Swiss for real.
First overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (love you, NolPats).
"Mentored" by Taylor Hall--I'll let you decide the definition of mentored there, pals.
Current New Jersey Devils captain at 23, and THEY ALL LOVE HIM.
The future of Swiss men's hockey pretty much lays on his pretty shoulders, right along with New Jersey's cup dreams.
Nico's had a rough go with injuries. The day Jonas got traded to the Devs was his first game back after missing pretty much the entire year.
Yes, he really does go about his daily life looking like this.
Source: Nico's Insta
Jonas Siegenthaler
Drafted 57th overall in the famed 2015 NHL Draft by the Caps.
He played for the ZSC Lions in the Swiss league with Auston Matthews (can you believe AMatts was this blessed?).
Unfortunately, the Caps have a pretty deep D-core, so Jonas bounced around a bit between the AHL and the NHL.
The Swiss Embassy really loved him though, which like, FAIR.
Unlike most of the hockeys, Jonas is extremely competent in the kitchen! The Caps did a Caps Social Cookoff between him and Jakub Vrana and it's a must-watch.
The cooking thing is EXTREMELY important to the narrative, as you'll read later on.
Yes, he also goes about his life looking like this. Hot AND he won't make you eat Kraft Dinner on your date.
THEM 🥰
Their public history started when Jonas played with Nico's older brother, Luca, on the Swiss U18 team in 2012. Two years later, Nico and Jonas played together on the 2014 U18 team.
Jonas posted the CUTEST picture of them when they were babies playing on the same U20 team. Imagine crushing on your brother's older friend, and now you're his captain. ANYWAY.
In 2017, they went on a boys' trip together just shortly after Nico got drafted.
Source: Nico's Twitter
April 11, 2021, after being scratched for 15 games, the Caps traded Jonas to the Devs. Nico's team. Nico, of course, insisted Jonas stay at his place in New Jersey.
Please note the way Nico's face transforms when someone asks him about Jonas (starts at 2:10).
For even more pain, Amanda Stein, the Devs reporter, tweeted this about the video above:
When Mark Recchi also ships it, you know it's true love (starts at 5:45).
Tumblr user jakejuentzel (they're the best, for real) made the best gif set from the video above that includes this gem:
Jonas didn't a chance to play much after the trade because he got Covid, but he was able to play the last few games with the team. It was a rough season, but it's okay, because Nico helped him.
Jonas and Nico also spoke about each other in their exit interviews.
Jonas: "I was pretty excited to get here...I knew Nico already from the national team. We're not from the same hometown, but like we knew each other...we have the same interests and all that stuff, so it works out pretty good.
I've never played with another Swiss guy on a team here, but it's kind of special. There's not a lot of Swiss guys and if there's two Swiss guys in one team, it's even more special. He helped me a lot, which made it a lot easier. I'm really happy about it."
Nico: "It was great. I obviously knew Jonas before he got traded here, so when he got traded here, I was super excited. I was excited to...like, I knew him well, so I was super excited to have him come here and show him around and I knew what he could bring to the team. So I was both ways excited on and off the ice."
And then Nico just had to go in for the KO:
"He usually spends his summer in Zurich and I spend my summer in Bern. But we usually see each other a couple times during the summer but not for workouts."
Nico. Nico. Buddy. Pal. I just wanna talk. What do you even mean by "but not for workouts".
The most devastating part, though, is this bit at the end:
You must see the gif set by jakejuentzel, it's required reading.
Nico, smug as hell, because Jonas cooking for him and taking care of him next season is just a foregone conclusion.
Speaking of the next season, this season, the Devs are uh, doing their best. Nico and Siegs are still in love, and while it has not been confirmed, circumstantial evidence says they still live together.
For one, they BAKED BREAD TOGETHER at the start of the season, and the best Tumblr users presented a very credible investigative report about it.
They're also seen frequently walking in together to games. Obvious proof of cohabitation.
The King and His Lionheart
Nico has been the face of Swiss men's hockey and the New Jersey Devils for the last several years. It's a lot to carry on his shoulders, even if his teammates all love him. The Devs is a young team, and I imagine it's difficult for Nico to allow his teammates to see a glimpse of his struggles and what he's feeling.
When I think of Jonas, I immediately think of words reliable and steadfast. He's not the flashiest guy in the world, but he's someone who can be depended on, in any situation.
Out of everyone in the Devs, Jonas is the one who's known Nico the longest--and arguably, the one who also knows him the best. It's easy to see Nico leaning on Jonas in the privacy of their own home, because as Nico's said repeatedly before, Nico knows Jonas well, and the reverse is likely true.
Nico is willing to sacrifice everything for his team, including his own health and well-being sometimes if it means success for his friends and his teammates.
Jonas probably also cares about team success, but he's had a markedly different experience with teams than Nico. He's bounced around between the AHL and the NHL, and with the trade, I think even more so, his loyalty isn't to a team. I'm not saying his transformation from riding the bench to one of the best defensive defensemen in the league this season is entirely due to Nico, because he's skilled and he's good. But also, the Devs have been struggling all season long, and it's not unwarranted to think Jonas' play on the ice is one of the ways he can lift some of the burdens from Nico's shoulders.
Because remember when I said Nico is willing to sacrifice everything for his team? Nico puts the team above self, but Jonas? Jonas puts Nico above everything.
TLDR: In Conclusion
Thanks to my co-president, msmargaretmurry, for her help with this part.
So you have Nico, the boy king of Swiss men's hockey/New Jersey, who is universally adored but has struggled to lead his team to success, for a lot of reasons that aren't his fault, but also because of some really terrible luck with health and injuries.
And then you have Jonas, who is very big struggled for years to find his footing in the NHL, and now that he has, he gives a lot of credit to Nico, who once upon a time was Jonas's teammate's little brother, and then was Jonas's teammate and friend, and now is Jonas's captain. They've very loyal to each other, and carry a lot of feelings about their shared homeland together. Also, oh my god they were/are(??) roommates.
There’s just so much potential here. You’ve got friends-to-lovers. You’ve got childhood friends-to-lovers. You’ve got teenage-crush-on-my-big-brother’s-hot-friend-and-now-he’s- living-with-me-oh-god.
This is ripe territory for fwb-turned-feelings, or having a summer fling because you don’t think you’ll have to see each other much during the season and then whoops, you’re on the same team. You’ve got the most nauseatingly sweet domesticity you could ever ask for, AND you’ve got two guys both under very different types of massive pressure from the sport they love who find support in each other.
If nothing else, Nico is literally obsessed with Jonas' size and mentions how big he is in every interview where he's given the opportunity to talk about Siegs.
And they baked bread together. Come ON.
BUT WAIT
If you're STILL not convinced, here's what they had to say about each other earlier this year:
Nico on Jonas
I played with him growing up, also (in the) national team, so I knew exactly what he can bring to a team. And he's doing exactly that on this team.
He does a lot of dirty work that let's say maybe not on the score sheet, but it's really important for a team to have success.
I feel he's playing unbelievable for us.
Jonas on Nico
You know, that's probably why he's captain. Every night, he does those little details. Maybe people don't see very often but we on the bench see it. That's just what makes him so good.
That's a true leader for me. You just gotta watch him on the ice. He's such a hard worker, blocks shots.
For me, that's a true leader.
THEY'RE IN LOVE, YOUR HONOUR.
For more feels and visuals, please consult jakejuentzel's frünn tag. If for some reason, you want to watch me scream about them, my tag for them is otp: the king and his lionheart.
I love yelling about them, so please don't be afraid to send me an ask or message!
u know what would be so funny like if they put an nhl player on hot ones. imagine connor mcdavid eating ghost reaper hot sauce or whatever while answering deeply researched and increasingly invasive questions abt his personal life. like that’s high cinema right there
Tarik El-Bashir: You have to be thinking, like, “What the…?” Like, after Leason scored, like everyone else, and you guys were scoring. (laughs)
Connor McMichael: Yeah, I mean, um, the guys were kinda joking I was the last one there. But it’s just funny how that works, and I was just happy to score one tonight.
El-Bashir: What did Ovi say to you, I saw you walk over and kinda like bumped helmets with him. He said something?
McMichael: (laughs) He just said, “Good job, baby. Keep going.”
