So what kind of player has Hughes developed into in his second year of professional hockey, how have his underlying results changed, and what are the changes in his game that are driving them? To break it down, I’ll use game tape from InStat and stats from Corey Sznajder’s All Three Zones project, TopDownHockey, EvolvingHockey, and NaturalStatTrick. In the eyes of anybody who watches him play, Jack Hughes has arrived, even if the point totals aren’t there yet. His time on ice per game leapt to 19 minutes per game, establishing him as the New Jersey Devils’ top centre, and he has responded to the unwavering trust of head coach Lindy Ruff by making huge strides at both ends of the ice. Sure enough, Hughes entered his sophomore season stronger, more confident, and ready for a much larger role. Hughes was selected as the top prospect in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, making him the first Jewish player to be selected first overall. Hughes wont be playing at the upcoming IIHF World Championship, which. The stuff that can’t be taught is the stuff Hughes can already do. Jack Hughes is a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League who currently plays for the New Jersey Devils (NHL). Jack Hughes (knee) has not resumed skating yet, but his recovery has been going well. Represent your favorite player with authentic NHL Jack Hughes photos. Secondly, the skills he needs to develop are some of the easiest things for a player to work on - he needs to be stronger, his shot needs to be a lot better, and he has to get used to playing against NHL defenders. Jack Hughes NHL memorabilia and collectibles are available at Fanatics Authentic. First of all, his counting stats were almost certainly extremely deflated by plain old bad puck luck, and even if he somehow didn’t improve his actual game at all next season he would almost certainly score more points. Overall, I concluded that…ĭevils fans should not be overly concerned about Hughes’ rookie season for two reasons. The player that I saw, in the data and on the ice, was certainly flawed and lagged behind his peers in many important categories however, there were important elements of his game that were not only strong but top-level. Whether it was his seven goals, 21 points, minus-25 rating, or even just how much like a kid he looked on the ice, there was no shortage of ammunition for detractors trigger-happy with the “bust” label.īack in December, I interrogated those claims using stats and game tape, doing my best to sort out what went wrong for Hughes and whether there was cause for legitimate concern. Vesey then took the brunt of an awkward hit he made on Schneider against the boards and needed assistance off the ice in the middle frame.After 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes’ disappointing rookie season, there was no shortage of ruthless fans ready to anoint him as the heir to Patrik Stefan's throne. Sharangovich was injured after taking a beating from Rangers rookie defenseman Braden Schneider, whom the Devils winger jumped in retaliation for a clean hit from Schneider on Jesper Boqvist. the Islanders, didn’t play against the Rangers and is out for the rest of the season.
Jack Hughes, who suffered a low-grade MCL sprain of his left knee during a loss vs. In addition to Hughes, the Devils were also without Nathan Bastian. New Jersey was forced to play with 10 forwards for a majority of the matchup with the Rangers after losing Yegor Sharangovich and one-time Blueshirt Jimmy Vesey to separate incidents with Schneider. The Devils, who are in last place in the Metropolitan Division standings, have just 12 games left in their season. In 49 games in his third NHL season, Hughes finished with career highs in goals (26) and assists (30) for 56 points. “If you asked him, he’d say he’d be ready to play in a week,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said after the 3-1 loss to the Rangers at Prudential Center. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft after he led the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 112 points (34 goals, 78. The decision was made after Hughes underwent further imaging and evaluation by the Devils medical staff and chief medical official on Tuesday. Jack Hughes Bio The Devils selected Hughes with the No. Hughes suffered a low-grade MCL sprain of his left knee after absorbing a hit from the Islanders’ Oliver Wahlstrom in the Devils’ loss Sunday, the team announced Tuesday, prematurely ending the 20-year-old’s breakout season. The Devils will be without young star Jack Hughes for the remainder of the season. One small leap for this youngster could make for a tasty longshot NHL MVP betĭevils avoid arbitration again, sign another forwardĭevils sign emerging forward to one-year deal Pair of All-Star defensemen announce NHL retirements on same day