It was Winnipeg Jets forward Nino Niederreiter who carried the flag for Switzerland at San Siro, leading his nation in the parade of athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Dressed in Switzerland's national colors of red and white, Niederreiter was followed by his fellow Olympians, which included three New Jersey Devils players.
Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Devils captain Nico Hischier caught a flight immediately after their hockey game in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday, in order to arrive for the Opening Ceremony. The trio followed Niederreiter’s steps as they soaked in the electric atmosphere around them in the stadium, making their Olympic debut.
“It is something you look forward to as an athlete,” Siegenthaler told The Hockey News. “I am 28, and it is my first Olympics, and it is for sure special.
“It doesn't matter where the Olympics are being held; it is special, but I think having it in Milan makes it even more special, because it is so close to Switzerland,” he continued. “I will have a lot of family and friends coming to the games. I am very excited to go there with Timo and Nico. It makes it even cooler. Overall, the excitement is big, and I think you can ask any athlete, they are all pumped.”
“Obviously, very special,” Meier added. “You know, looking at my career, this is the first time in my stretch of playing in the NHL that we can play in it. Growing up, watching sports, the Olympics were always something really special. Having the chance to go and represent my country, I think it is a great opportunity that I am going to really enjoy. It is even more special that it is close to home. I am going to have lots of friends and family there, which will make it even more special.”
Meier first became teammates with Siegenthaler when he was just a teenager. The two were on the 2012-13 Switzerland U18 team along with Rino and Katja Hischier’s oldest son.
© John Jones-Imagn ImagesThe history and friendship between Meier, Siegenthaler, and Hischier extend well beyond their shared time donning the Devils logo and have one shared thread that goes beyond their Swiss roots: Luca Hischier.
Meier chuckled as he recalled playing with Luca Hischier all those years ago.
“I knew Luca well before I knew Nico,” he said with a smile.
For Siegenthaler, the dynamic with Luca went beyond basic pleasantries, as the eldest Hischier brother kept an eye on the young defenseman as he came up through the ranks.
“I am two years younger than Luca and two years older than Nico,” Siegenthaler shared. “I played with both on the national team. Luca took me under his wing. He was already playing in the top league in Switzerland (at that time), and I got some good advice from him.”
Eventually, 16-year-old Siegenthaler turned 18, and that is when he met and became teammates with Luca’s younger brother, Nico.
“That was the first time I met him,” the Devils' captain said. “It was kind of funny. My brother would take care of (Siegenthaler) a bit when he was a younger guy, and Siegenthaler did the exact same thing for me when I was a young guy coming in at 15 or 16 years old.
“It is a give and a take always,” Hischier continued.
When Siegenthaler was traded to the Devils on April 11, 2021, Hischier was finally able to take the defenseman under his wing, inviting him to temporarily move into his apartment in New Jersey.
“I lived with him for the remainder of that season,” Siegenthaler said. “Nico showed me around Jersey City and Hoboken. We went for dinners, and when I had questions about New Jersey and the organization, He was the guy I asked. I think it helped me a lot.”
Siegenthaler and Hischier’s friendship away from the rink often shows on the ice, as the blueliner is normally the first player to come to the Devils' captain's defense. The perfect example is New Jersey’s Jan. 14, 2025, game against the Florida Panthers, when Matthew Tkachuk hit Hischier hard near the boards, and Siegenthaler jumped on Tkachuk just as Hischier was getting back to his skates.
Of course, Siegenthaler is not the only one who will come to the defense of the 2017 first overall pick. After New York Islanders’ captain, Anders Lee, hit Hischier in March 2024, Meier immediately went after Lee, dropping the gloves and taking an instigator and fighting penalty, while Lee was issued a game misconduct.
When Meier was acclimating himself to his new surroundings after being traded to New Jersey, Hischier and Siegenthaler were ever-present, taking him out to dinner, carpooling, and answering questions about the city he now calls home.
Hischier, who has a reputation for putting forth effort to get to know every player who enters New Jersey’s locker room, played a substantial role in Siegenthaler and Meier’s quick adjustment to life in the Garden State.
“I felt pretty comfortable right away,” Siegenthaler said. “I think Nico was part of that as well. He made it a lot easier for me, and I think the same goes with Timo. He came here, and me and Nico helped him out right away. He just felt at home.”
On most practice days, Hischier can be seen exiting the building flanked by one of Meier or Siegenthaler, and on game days, the trio is often photographed walking into Prudential Center together.
Now, over 4,000 miles from Newark, Hischier will continue to have Siegenthaler and Meier by his side within the streets of Milan, hours away from where they spent those early teenage years. Now, adults and, in Siegenthaler's case, a father, they will look to achieve a dream that may have seemed out of reach when they were young boys in Switzerland: winning an Olympic medal.
Regardless of where Team Switzerland finishes, the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be another thread tying Hischier, Meier, and Siegenthaler together. Another on-ice memory that will accompany vacations, elopements, the birth of a baby, and other life events that the three have shared as they continue another shared quest: to bring a Stanley Cup to New Jersey.
But before that can be achieved, Hischier, Meier, and Siegenthaler will join forces with Niederreiter, Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala as Team Switzerland looks to make their mark and win a medal at the Olympics for the first time since winning bronze at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics.
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