Jack Hughes Has Disappointed New Jersey Devils Fans- But Can He Right The Ship?
Before this NHL season, it was a popular prediction that the name Hughes would, at season’s end, be engraved on the Calder Trophy, the league’s equivalent of the Rookie of the Year award. However, most would have predicted that the first name going on the trophy would be Jack. That would be Jack Hughes, picked first overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Instead, it has been Jack’s older brother Quinn, a defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks and himself a rookie, who is a top contender for the Calder, while Jack’s rookie season has been universally considered a disappointment.
Jack Hughes had tremendous expectations placed on him going into this season. The last two Americans drafted first overall had set a high bar, with Toronto’s Auston Matthews (drafted in 2016) scoring four goals in his NHL debut game and forty in his entire rookie season, while Chicago’s Patrick Kane (drafted in 2007) won a Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP and has helped lead the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles.
At the time, it was expected that Hughes could be of that caliber, with the media hyping him up as a “generational talent.” And while comparisons to Connor McDavid were obviously hyperbolic even at the time, it was general consensus among hockey observers that he would be a high impact player for New Jersey. What has actually happened can only be considered a disappointment for Devils fans and hockey fans in general looking for their next superstar.
So far in Hughes’ rookie season, he has produced only seven goals and fourteen assists for a total of twenty-one points. That is the worst point total produced by a number one overall draft pick in their first NHL season since Nail Yakupov, taken first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2012 and who went on to become considered one of the greatest busts in recent NHL history, lasting only a few underwhelming years in the league before going back to his native Russia. Jack’s brother Quinn has 52 points even as a defenseman (Jack is a center), while being a plus contributor on the defensive side of the puck as well.
Now, does this mean that Jack Hughes is doomed to be the next Nail Yakupov, a disastrous draft bust and cautionary tale? Not necessarily. Yakupov was considered a promising physical specimen with the raw talent to be a polished goal scorer, but he was undone by his poor “hockey IQ”, that is, sense of awareness for what is going on on the ice and what the right plays to make in various situations are. This was a potential red flag with his development going back even when to he was a prospect- it was hoped that proper development and coaching could mold his raw potential, but the tumultous regime in Edmonton at the time failed to do so.
Hughes’ profile as a prospect was much different. Top hockey prospect analyst Corey Pronman specifically cited his skating ability and hockey sense with strengths, which was not the case with Yakupov. And although Pronman was optimistic about what Hughes would accomplish in his rookie year, he did note a red flag about him that his been the principal issue that has vexed him this season.
Writing about Hughes, Pronman noted his lack of size as a factor that could hold him back in the NHL. This has become even more of an issue than even he could have anticipated. At 18, Hughes is the youngest player in the entire NHL, and also is the first player ever to go from the U.S. National Development junior team into the NHL. To contrast, Auston Matthews, who had also played for the U.S. Development team as a junior, had a year of experience playing in the NHL against fully developed adults in Switzerland before being drafted.
In retrospect, the right move with Hughes might have been to give him more seasoning as opposed to sending him right into the top league. A big part of brother Quinn’s success seems to be that he had a year of seasoning at the University of Michigan between his draft year of 2018 and his NHL debut. And while it is rare that a first overall pick not go straight into the NHL, Pronman was correct to point out that “[Jack Hughes] is not Patrick Kane.” He was a different profile than Auston Matthews, let alone Connor McDavid.
It would have been an unpopular decision to start Hughes off in the Devils’ minor league affiliate before sending him up, but in hindsight that might have been better for his development. Playing into the Devils’ decision may have been the fact that, despite missing the playoffs in 2018–19, they fully expected to return to the postseason, which they had the year prior.
They made a series of win-now moves, such as trading for star defenseman P.K. Subban and winger Nikita Gusev, with an eye on making the playoffs. In such a context, the team likely felt it had no choice but to bring Hughes up to the NHL and then hope for the best. This approach has been disastrous for the team as a whole, and they are one of the worst teams in the NHL. Head coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero have both been fired, and the team is set to enter another period of rebuilding.
Jack Hughes could yet have a fantastic NHL career. He has had moments of this season where he has shown the potential that led the Devils to take him at first overall. In recent interviews, he has indicated an awareness of his shortcomings and an eagerness to work hard to overcome them. But even if he does go on to professional success, his rookie season should be a lesson in being discerning about media hype. The massive expectations created around Hughes in the media led to his development being mishandled, and in the end it was the general manager that drafted him and the coach who started him that paid the price.
