During a routine conversation during training camp in September, a Devils equipment manager asked 18-year-old Nico Hischier about his living arrangements.
"Do you have a place yet?" he asked.
Hischier, the No. 1 pick of the NHL Draft in June of 2017, was preparing for his first NHL season and his first year in New Jersey.
But in typical Hischier fashion, he refused to get ahead of himself. He didn't have a permanent place to live.
"Well, I haven't made the team yet," Hischier replied.
Hischier, of course, made the Devils' opening night roster, and he was the only Devils player to appear in all 82 games as the team made its surprising charge into the postseason for the first time in six seasons.