Hughes has the benefit of playing year-round on a powerhouse squad in a hot-house environment where he gets world-class training and the best coaching Murica can offer. Put a talent like Lafreniere in that environment, and he'd shine even more.
Don't be surprised if Lafreniere ends up a better NHLer. Hughes is American, and that's a big part of why he's getting the hype. He's a terrific young player but, if you listened to Button, Hughes is the next great rival to McDavid, and Wahlstrom is the next Bossy (but better, of course, because he's a USNTDP boy). You'd swear some of these dullards get their talking points from Ann Arbor.