Former Capitals defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler has had an excellent season with the red-hot New Jersey Devils, earning the attention of both hockey fans and his home country of Switzerland. On Tuesday, Siegenthaler was awarded the Swiss Impact Award from the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, given for “exceptional Swiss accomplishments in the United States.”

Siegenthaler earned the award alongside fellow Swiss Devils Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Akira Schmid.

Ambassador Niculin Jäger presented Siegenthaler, Hischier, and Meier with the award, although Schmid is currently with the AHL’s Utica Comets and was unable to attend. The Devils became the first NHL team to play four Swiss players in a game earlier this month, reaching the milestone when the quartet faced Washington on March 9th.

Siegenthaler has played a pivotal role in the Devils’ season, often serving on the team’s top defense pairing. In his second full season with the Devils, he has recorded a career-high 19 points (3G 16A.) He averages over 20 minutes a night in TOI and regularly plays minutes on the first penalty kill unit.

Besides being one of relatively few Swiss players in the game, Siegenthaler is half-Thai. He was the first ever player of Thai descent to crack the NHL, serving as a role model for the larger Thai hockey community.

Siegenthaler, a second-round pick of the Capitals in 2015, spent nearly three seasons in Washington before requesting a trade due to low usage. The Caps subsequently dealt him to New Jersey at the 2021 deadline in exchange for a third-round pick.

The Devils have developed something of an emerging Swiss core. Hischier, the first Swiss player to go first overall in 2017, serves as captain, and the team landed Timo Meier at the deadline. Even Schmid has put up an impressive .918 save percentage as the team’s third-string goaltender.

The skill of that core, along with the rest of the Devils roster, has paid off. The Devils currently sit third in the league with a record of 46-20-8 and posted a franchise-record 13-game win streak this fall. Siegenthaler and his teammates clinched a playoff spot with a win on Saturday, marking the first time since 2018 that the team will make the postseason.

Hey @NJDevils fans, postseason play is coming back to “The Rock.”

New Jersey is the third team to clinch a spot in the 2023 #StanleyCup Playoffs, marking their first appearance since 2018.
#NHLStats: https://t.co/pTMSeWHuow pic.twitter.com/cPUoHAtqSX

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 25, 2023

S/T to @molfully/Twitter for alerting us to the story!

Headline screenshot: @swisscgny/IG