While the NHL has had many brothers play in its league, it is not very often that you will find two of them dominating games every night they play.
Well, do not look now, but that is exactly what Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Luke Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks are currently doing. In fact, as of this writing (Wednesday night, November 1st), Jack is first in the league in scoring, while Quinn is tied for 14th.
Not only are they both playing well, but their respective teams are also playing great hockey. The Devils are currently (Wednesday night, November 1st) third in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 5-2-0-1 while the Canucks are second in the Pacific Division with a record of 6-2-0-1.
Let us take a closer look at just how much Jack and Quinn are helping their teams and showing the league why they are two of the best players in the game today.
Jack Hughes
After getting off to a slow start in his career due to COVID-shortened seasons and injuries, Jack Hughes, 22, has shown why the Devils took him with the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Hughes really came onto the NHL scene last year in helping lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hughes finished the season with 99 points on 43 goals and 56 assists in 78 games.
He also showed a flair for the dramatics last season in a big way. Hughes had six game-winning goals as he proved to both his team and the league that when a big moment arises, he will step up to the occasion.
Jack carried his strong play from last season into this year. He currently leads the league with 18 points on five goals and 13 assists, including one game-winning goal.
He is doing it all for his hockey club this season. He is putting pucks on the net (31 shots), getting lots of ice time 21:48 minutes of ice time per game), being a key contributor on the power play (10 points with the man advantage), and playing well on both sides of the puck (+/- 0).
The Devils are very lucky to have Jack as they know that with him on their team as well as other solid offensive contributors, goals will not be hard to come by for years to come.
Quinn Hughes
There are a lot of great defensemen in the game today.
Guys like Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Adam Fox (New York Rangers), Roman Josi (Nashville Predators), Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars), and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) have consistently gotten all the attention over the last several seasons. When a few of those guys have won Norris Trophies, and others have won Cups, it is easy to see why.
One defenseman that deserves more attention is the seventh overall pick of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Quinn Hughes. Now playing in his fifth full season, Quinn, 24, has been a terrific player for the Canucks.
Like his brother Jack, Quinn had a career year last season. He had 76 points on seven goals and 69 assists in 78 games.
He was an absolute horse last season. Quinn played in all situations, logged a ton of ice time (25:39 minutes of ice time per game), was a big-time contributor to the team’s power play (34 points while on the power play), was a +/- +15 despite playing on a team that gave up a lot of goals, and was the team’s most consistent player.
Now the team’s captain, Quinn is currently tied for first in the league with Fox for most points by a defenseman with 11 on three goals and eight assists. He is also firing a lot of pucks on the net (32 shots), is already a /- + 11, and has one game-winning goal.
With Hughes anchoring the Canucks defense and a solid core up front, the Canucks are in a good position to have success, maybe not only this season but in the future as well.
Another Hughes Playing Well, You Say?
What is scary is that Jack and Quinn have another brother who is also in the NHL. That would be Luke Hughes, the fourth overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, who plays with Jack on the Devils.
Not surprisingly, Luke, 20, is also having a solid season. As of this writing, he has six points on one goal and five assists and, like his brothers, is getting a lot of ice time (19:39 minutes of ice time per game).
It is a Hughes World, And We Are All Just Living In It
Simply put, the NHL has three terrific young players – Jack, Quinn, and Luke Hughes. Right now, Jack and Quinn are dominating the league, and Luke is just getting started.
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