Prospect Info: Jack Hughes II

[NJDevs26]

My favorite was when Bonk & Tugnut were on the same team.

Nothing will ever beat this

 

[Cheddabombs]

Nothing will ever beat this

if only our teams weren't such tirefires while Jagr was here

 

[Better Call Sal]

I know this isn't exactly on topic for Hughes, but Jagr's constant ragging on Zubie (all in good fun of course) was one of my favorite running jokes of his tenure here.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I know this isn't exactly on topic for Hughes, but Jagr's constant ragging on Zubie (all in good fun of course) was one of my favorite running jokes of his tenure here.

We haven’t been on topic all week. It’s other random stuff or pining for Cole Caufield.

 

[NJDevs26]

We haven’t been on topic all week. It’s other random stuff or pining for Cole Caufield.

Well it's better than debating whether someone else should be the #1 pick when Shero and social media's already basically said it's Hughes.

Plus now that the actual tournament stuff's been offshooted to another thread there isn't much Hughes-specific to talk about outside of there till it's over.

 

[Colin226]

Maybe if he’s ever caught out there on a long shift, the crowd can chant:

“Jack Hughes off! Jack Hughes off!”

 

[Oneiro]

Somebody will print up “Hughes Your Daddy?” shirts.

 

[My3Sons]

How can NJ surround him with two capable bigger players that can skate well enough to keep up and have enough hockey sense to get in position to accept passes and shoot with some oomph? I feel like putting him between Hall and Palms night he the way to go. If Wood had the offensive sense to play with HUGHES he would have been a good choice but Wood’s game doesn’t seem like a good fit. PZ still has his own game to work out and I’m not sure he will be willing to go to the dirty areas to get the puck which a HUGHES wing probably will have to do at times. It will probably be tricky to find the right combination with Hughes.

 

[Oneiro]

The chemistry with Caufield seems like a good blueprint, which is why I think Palmieri should definitely be on his line.

Palms is terrible when he's the first man in the zone carrying the puck. I don't see Hall and Hughes working well together only because they both need the puck on their stick and are both zone entry machines (I'm assuming Jack will still be able to do this at a high level in the NHL). I think you'd want to spread that transition ability.

 

[Nubmer6]

How can NJ surround him with two capable bigger players that can skate well enough to keep up and have enough hockey sense to get in position to accept passes and shoot with some oomph? I feel like putting him between Hall and Palms night he the way to go. If Wood had the offensive sense to play with HUGHES he would have been a good choice but Wood’s game doesn’t seem like a good fit. PZ still has his own game to work out and I’m not sure he will be willing to go to the dirty areas to get the puck which a HUGHES wing probably will have to do at times. It will probably be tricky to find the right combination with Hughes.

Well, I happen to like Bastian as a net front presence with size... just probably not yet this year. I'd still love to try it in a preseason game though, just to see.

 

[Azathoth]

How can NJ surround him with two capable bigger players that can skate well enough to keep up and have enough hockey sense to get in position to accept passes and shoot with some oomph? I feel like putting him between Hall and Palms night he the way to go. If Wood had the offensive sense to play with HUGHES he would have been a good choice but Wood’s game doesn’t seem like a good fit. PZ still has his own game to work out and I’m not sure he will be willing to go to the dirty areas to get the puck which a HUGHES wing probably will have to do at times. It will probably be tricky to find the right combination with Hughes.

Without considering any FA acquisitions I wouldn't mind a 2nd line of Zacha-Hughes-Palms. Palms can be the shooter scorer. Zacha is one of the best defensive forwards on the team and I think playing Hughes would force him to bring it more consistently with all the golden chances Hughes would be feeding him.

 

[Devil X]

How can NJ surround him with two capable bigger players that can skate well enough to keep up and have enough hockey sense to get in position to accept passes and shoot with some oomph? I feel like putting him between Hall and Palms night he the way to go. If Wood had the offensive sense to play with HUGHES he would have been a good choice but Wood’s game doesn’t seem like a good fit. PZ still has his own game to work out and I’m not sure he will be willing to go to the dirty areas to get the puck which a HUGHES wing probably will have to do at times. It will probably be tricky to find the right combination with Hughes.

It not always about the size of the player is the game they play, Coleman isnt a big guy but plays a heavy game, Palmieri is the same on that front. Where Hughes is going to benefit, at least in the beginning is getting those lesser quality centers to play against. You arent going to key on Hughes in his rookie year and let Hall and Nico bet you. So that means that the checking lines will likely deal with Nico and Hall letting Hughes fest on other centers and lines with whoever they put him with.

Coleman might not be a bad option for Hughes on the LW. Hes a smart player with speed and plays heavy, plus you know he will get in someones face if they take any liberties with Hughes. Lets also not forget that Coleman scored 22 goals, with an elite level offensive center he could be closer to a 30 goal scorer from a guy i would have never expected that from.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Just imagine Zacha continuing to shoot the puck more as he was obviously told to the 2nd half of the season. That’s why I imagine Zacha being a good fit for Hughes LW with Zacha finding a soft spot on the left side of the ice and Hughes sending over perfectly placed one time passes. Zacha has a hell of a shot, he just needs to keep using it. If we get a future 1C in Hughes and a semi breakout season from Zacha in one season... that will be Huuuuuge.

I’d still like to sign a top 6 wing to give us depth to deal with injuries and allow guys like Bastian and Anderson be 1st or early call ups rather than having a spot from camp (they could still earn it either way, just make it harder on them).

 

[Devil X]

Just imagine Zacha continuing to shoot the puck more as he was obviously told to the 2nd half of the season. That’s why I imagine Zacha being a good fit for Hughes LW with Zacha finding a soft spot on the left side of the ice and Hughes sending over perfectly placed one time passes. Zacha has a hell of a shot, he just needs to keep using it. If we get a future 1C in Hughes and a semi breakout season from Zacha in one season... that will be Huuuuuge.

I’d still like to sign a top 6 wing to give us depth to deal with injuries and allow guys like Bastian and Anderson be 1st or early call ups rather than having a spot from camp (they could still earn it either way, just make it harder on them).

I think Zacha is a very good option as well. I agree with people on the Hughes Palmieri grouping i think those 2 compliment each other almost perfectly. That also means that unless they bring in a wing it would likely out Hall Nico Bratt back together. Hughes and Bratt might be able to put on a passing clinc if they were on a line together.

 

[Ech0]

Maybe it is a sign.

Jacques led us to the Stanley Cup!
Jackues led us to the Stanley Cup!
JackHues led us to the Stanley Cup!
Jack Hughes will lead us to the Stanley Cup!

 

[Ripshot 43]

Maybe it is a sign.

Jacques led us to the Stanley Cup!
Jackues led us to the Stanley Cup!
JackHues led us to the Stanley Cup!
Jack Hughes will lead us to the Stanley Cup!

 

[Ripshot 43]

I think Zacha is a very good option as well. I agree with people on the Hughes Palmieri grouping i think those 2 compliment each other almost perfectly. That also means that unless they bring in a wing it would likely out Hall Nico Bratt back together. Hughes and Bratt might be able to put on a passing clinc if they were on a line together.

I’m pretty confident we will see pairs of

Hall - Hischier
Hughes - Palms
Zajac - Coleman

It’s just a matter of who the other wings are now.

 

[devilsblood]

I'd like to see Zacha Hughes Bratt myself.

The logic for putting Hughes with Palms is obvious, but I like the puck movement aspect of Bratt a little better. And Bratt has shown that he can be a good finisher.

I'm sure we will see Hughes with Bratt and Palms at various points.

 

[JimEIV]

if only our teams weren't such tirefires while Jagr was here

Our team was a tirefire BECAUSE he was here.

 

[Nubmer6]

Just imagine Zacha continuing to shoot the puck more as he was obviously told to the 2nd half of the season.

Except he DIDN'T shoot more in the 2nd half. Everyone here THINKS he did because he scored more, when actually he just happened to score more because his shooting % doubled. In a previous post a few weeks ago I broke down his 61 games into three 20 game chunks, and he had about as many SOG in the 1st third as the last third (he definitely had fewer SOG in the middle third though). Interestingly, he had a much higher Corsi For (shot attempts) in the first third.

I DO think he got himself into better shooting positions at the end though, which would account at least partially for his higher shooting %.

 

[JimEIV]

How can NJ surround him with two capable bigger players that can skate well enough to keep up and have enough hockey sense to get in position to accept passes and shoot with some oomph? I feel like putting him between Hall and Palms night he the way to go. If Wood had the offensive sense to play with HUGHES he would have been a good choice but Wood’s game doesn’t seem like a good fit. PZ still has his own game to work out and I’m not sure he will be willing to go to the dirty areas to get the puck which a HUGHES wing probably will have to do at times. It will probably be tricky to find the right combination with Hughes.

I like the Wood idea...The speed of those two combined and the Hughes play making ability, I think just might create some synergy. Plus I do like the idea of some muscle with Hughes to begin his career. No question Wood isn't much of a dynamic player...But he wouldn't have to be with an ace play maker...It would be a speed line that I think teams would have difficulty containing.

 

[Nubmer6]

I like the Wood idea...The speed of those two combined and the Hughes play making ability, I think just might create some synergy. Plus I do like the idea of some muscle with Hughes to begin his career. No question Wood isn't much of a dynamic player...But he wouldn't have to be with an ace play maker...It would be a speed line that I think teams would have difficulty containing.

I can see that as a defensive nightmare though.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Except he DIDN'T shoot more in the 2nd half. Everyone here THINKS he did because he scored more, when actually he just happened to score more because his shooting % doubled. In a previous post a few weeks ago I broke down his 61 games into three 20 game chunks, and he had about as many SOG in the 1st third as the last third (he definitely had fewer SOG in the middle third though). Interestingly, he had a much higher Corsi For (shot attempts) in the first third.

I DO think he got himself into better shooting positions at the end though, which would account at least partially for his higher shooting %.

Interesting, I must’ve missed/forgotten about your post.

 

[Nubmer6]

Interesting, I must’ve missed/forgotten about your post.

There's no doubt he played better. He got into dirtier areas. He got into better shooting position. He used his body more. I just don't think he played that much better to fully explain the production increase we saw.

If nothing else, I hope it boosts his confidence and motivates him to play more like we saw. If we're lucky, it may have shown him the path to success.

 

[My3Sons]

I like the Wood idea...The speed of those two combined and the Hughes play making ability, I think just might create some synergy. Plus I do like the idea of some muscle with Hughes to begin his career. No question Wood isn't much of a dynamic player...But he wouldn't have to be with an ace play maker...It would be a speed line that I think teams would have difficulty containing.

That was my thinking also. I am not sure if the IQ is there but Wood can at least keep up and maybe go get the puck in the corner and hopefully be able to shoot a bit off good feeds.