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Devils’ Nico Hischier Featured in Documentary About Switzerland’s 2024 IIHF World Championship Run

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Daniel Amoia | Last updated Apr 7, 2025 2:58 PM ET

New Jersey Devils‘ captain Nico Hischier is one of the best players to ever come from Switzerland, having notched 419 career points already. But aside from his NHL impact, he’s made it very clear that one of his biggest career goals is to win a World Championship for his country and inspire a future generation of Swiss Ice Hockey players.

In 2024, Hischier and Team Switzerland came oh-so-close as they upset Canada in the semifinals and lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Czechia in the Gold Medal Game. Despite the tough result, it was still widely regarded as a success for the Swiss, whose silver medal matched the highest they’ve ever finished in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Rankings.

Just recently, Swiss Ice Hockey released a nearly two-hour long documentary which detailed the journey, beginning with the months of preparation and training leading up to the start of the tournament. Hischier, who had 11 points in 10 tournament games, was featured often as a talking head. Devils’ defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler was also part of the team, but did not speak in the film. Siegenthaler was a team-leading plus-8 and notched four assists in nine games.

You can watch the film here; it’s in German, but English subtitles are available. Here is the description from Swiss Ice Hockey: “Our exclusive documentary ‘Road to the Silver Medal 2024’ takes you with us and shows unprecedented insights behind the scenes of this unforgettable tournament. In 105 thrilling minutes, our Sports Director Lars Weibel, Head Coach Patrick Fischer, Captain Roman Josi, as well as Nico Hischier, Andres Ambühl, Leonardo Genoni and Romain Loeffel describe their personal impressions, biggest challenges and most exciting moments on the way to the Silver Medal in Prague and Ostrava.”

It’s important to note that since the World Championships are held in May, it’s a big commitment for an NHL player to head over after finishing a grueling season. Players pass up valuable family time to help their country strive for greatness. It’s extremely commendable.

Including this past tournament, Hischier has 37 points in 38 career games at Worlds. That’s the highest points-per-game mark of any Swiss player born after 1934.

Some Quotes from Hischier

“It makes us proud when we can put on the Swiss cross and represent the country. It’s always a lot of fun.”

“It’s clear to me that any time I’m healthy and got the chance, I would want to play for the Swiss National Team. We always have a cool group and it’s always fun.”

“I noticed something hit me in the head, on the cheek. I immediately noticed that I was bleeding. I went back to the bench. They said it was a cut. Then it was clear to me that I needed to stitch it. Every hockey player has had experience with this…it’s nothing new. As long as all I needed were just stitches, I was going to continue to play.”

“I don’t normally travel by train (in the NHL). That’s why it was really cool for me.” (Hischier is then shown playing cards with teammates on the three-hour train ride to Ostrava.)

“What was special about this team was that everyone was willing to block every shot for the team. The team spirit was there, with a pretty cool group. We never lost faith.”

Hischier in Documentary

While these are just a few quotes, the film shows some pretty cool behind the scenes and perfectly captures the emotions of what this tournament means to the country of Switzerland. Nearly every bit of the few weeks is captured, from exclusive locker room footage to team bonding, to true tests of adversity, to even sessions with a hypnotist. It’s clear that Hischier is a leader through it all and widely respected by his Swiss teammates, just as he is in New Jersey.