Jack Hughes on pace to have worst rookie season by a 1st overall forward since Patrik Stefan in 1999

[goonybird]

Christ dude, it’s obvious you watch a lot of junior hockey (a lot more than most people on here will probably admit) but get off your high horse once in a while. Maybe he wasn’t ready this year or maybe he should’ve been played at wing. Next year he could turn things around and then where are you gonna be? He still has some growing to do. You’re acting as if his career is already over.

APOLOGIZE NOW!

 

[Jerzey Devil]

APOLOGIZE NOW!

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Hischier had so much better rookie season than Hughes.

Yeah and most if not all people had Hughes pegged as a higher-end prospect than Hischier. Not that he won’t be , but there wasn’t and isn’t much hype around Hischier and he put up a very respectable 18 year old
season. Playing every game with Turbocharged Hall certainly helped the numbers but he never looked out of place . Development is weird.

 

[Fixxer]

He's having a bad rookie year like Joe Thornton had. That's a case for concern...

 

[Edmonton East]

He has been ridiculously unlucky both analytically and by the eye test. He's going to drop 65+ points next year and people will be shocked

These comments aren't based in reality.

He has looked out of place and down right bad most of the season. Sure, he makes a good play once every couple games. Unfortunately, he throws the pucks away 5+ times a game.

He'll probably be fine. Can't judge much off of this season. But these "he's just unlucky" takes are hysterically awful.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Christ dude, it’s obvious you watch a lot of junior hockey (a lot more than most people on here will probably admit) but get off your high horse once in a while. Maybe he wasn’t ready this year or maybe he should’ve been played at wing. Next year he could turn things around and then where are you gonna be? He still has some growing to do. You’re acting as if his career is already over.

That guy also had Turcotte at number one and the dude isn't even sniffing ppg in college. Who cares about his opinion?

 

[Absolut]

Saying all that, a lot of people bet big on this guy being the next star of American hockey. He was compared to Eichel and Matthews, which some of us said was laughable. Devils fans started attacking and requesting thread bans for fans with a lot more viewings at the junior level than them of Hughes game that suggested what the NA media was trying to bill Hughes as didn't align with the reality of how he plays. How about those of you who did this and berated others for months in these discussions admit you were wrong? Instead, I see a lot of excuses. No one wants to admit that what was portrayed by the NA media about Hughes was significantly wrong about his actual ability.

This is going to age as well as Devils picking Zacha 6 OA.

 

[MtoD]

These comments aren't based in reality.

He has looked out of place and down right bad most of the season. Sure, he makes a good play once every couple games. Unfortunately, he throws the pucks away 5+ times a game.

He'll probably be fine. Can't judge much off of this season. But these "he's just unlucky" takes are hysterically awful.

If you're going to start off a post blasting a poster for not being based in reality, you should probably be extra careful to stay in reality yourself.

You probably shouldn't, for instance, use quotation marks to quote the above poster but add in a word that significantly changes the meaning of the poster's comments.

Or the ridiculous claim that he throws the puck (plural? he gets to throw away multiple pucks at once?) 5+ times a game. He averages less than 1 giveaway a game, so unless you think that giveaways is such a poorly tracked stat that it's over 5 times inaccurate..

It's not that hard to figure out how to blast Hughes without resorting to hysterically awful takes, you have to be able to figure it out.

 

[nbwingsfan]

This is going to age as well as Devils picking Zacha 6 OA.

What does this mean? Zacha still doesn’t deserve being picked close to 6th overall?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This is going to age as well as Devils picking Zacha 6 OA.

What did I say that you disagree with?

 

[Fatass]

Devils are stupid, and should have sent Hughes to Europe for two years instead of coming to the NHL before he’s ready. He’s not even close to being physically and emotionally mature. Way too much and too soon for him. It’s too late now though.

 

[deeb]

Devils doing their best to employ the old Oilers model of forcing rookies into roles they aren't ready for in attempt to save the franchise. You think they would have learned how that failed for Edmonton and pushed the rebuild back at least half a decade.

The team is a mess and the season lost. Just send him down.

 

[BruinLVGA]

People need to watch Hughes to understand what his potential is. He is ridiculously talented. A lot more talented than Hischier, Kakko and a lot of other top draft picks. As a Rangers fan, it hurts me to say that. The Hughes boys have insane hockey IQs. Jack will get bigger and stronger. And he'll be a star in the NHL. Some people take a bit longer to physically develop, that's all.

|X| Doubt

 

[dahrougem2]

He's having a bad rookie year like Joe Thornton had. That's a case for concern...

6'4, 220 Jack Hughes is not

 

[Pitaya]

Saw him early in the season. Obvious that he shouldn't have been in the NHL. Dumb management in Jersey.

Not one team would have sent Jack anywhere besides the NHL

 

[Pitaya]

Jack Hughes isn’t 160 he’s 170. That’s super close to what those other guys were entering the league.

Pat Kane was 162 pounds at his draft. He didn’t need that excuse so I don’t see why Jack Hughes needs it either.

Kane played (not always literally) with names like Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Keith, etc...

Jack played over 60% of his season with WAYNE SIMMONDS. We are 4th last in the league, Kanes’s rookie year his team almost made the playoffs...

 

[aufheben]

These comments aren't based in reality.

He has looked out of place and down right bad most of the season. Sure, he makes a good play once every couple games. Unfortunately, he throws the pucks away 5+ times a game.

He'll probably be fine. Can't judge much off of this season. But these "he's just unlucky" takes are hysterically awful.

He has the 2nd worst oiSH% on the team. Not to mention his team has been a disaster. I wouldn’t say he’s been all that fortunate.

 

[Offtheboard412]

There's something about his game that just seems off to me that I can't put a finger on. He's clearly a skilled player but I'm not sure if it's his vision or just his decision making in general but something doesn't seem right about his game to me. I've felt this way even before he was drafted. It's probably just in my head though. He deserves more time to develop before anybody makes any conclusions about him.

 

[Rangers79]

Just like Kakko, in a year or two he'll be fine.

 

[Jack Flask]

There's something about his game that just seems off to me that I can't put a finger on. He's clearly a skilled player but I'm not sure if it's his vision or just his decision making in general but something doesn't seem right about his game to me. I've felt this way even before he was drafted. It's probably just in my head though. He deserves more time to develop before anybody makes any conclusions about him.

Hes going to be a good player. As others have said, its obvious he’s not ready yet.
Physically out of place and clearly not a franchise player/rookie.
I feel bad for the kid , its going to be rough for a few years, until he develops.

 

[Absolut]

What does this mean? Zacha still doesn’t deserve being picked close to 6th overall?

It means that in 3-4 years, Hughes will be killing it. And all the criticism of him will look as legit as selecting Pavel Zacha high in the 2015 draft. As a Rangers fan, I can't praise Hughes without at least pouring some salt on Devils wounds. I am only human.

 

[Fatass]

Not one team would have sent Jack anywhere besides the NHL

Not true. Top teams, who bring their young guys along properly, would have sent Jack to Europe or even the Canadian Hockey League for at least one season. Clearly the NHL was (is) no place for Jack right now. Look at him; he’s still a boy.
Great young talent, but he needs to mature still.

 

[Fatass]

Just like Kakko, in a year or two he'll be fine.

Likely true, but both guys will be onto their next contracts and deserving huge cap dollars. Neither team gets the benefit of having the two players actually contributing to their teams’ winning while on their ELCs.

 

[biturbo19]

Just like Kakko, in a year or two he'll be fine.

I'd actually say Kakko being pretty mediocre is the significantly bigger surprise. Coming off what he did at the worlds, and against men in Europe, combined with an obvious size and physical maturity advantage.

With Jack Hughes, it was always going to be a question of whether his speed would let him survive in the NHL as a really small, physically immature kid. I think we've got some clarity on that, as he's struggled. Really just a matter of how long it'll take for him to get to where he needs to be physically...and it's still up in the air if he'll ever get to a place where he can thrive as a fixture at Center rather than as a Winger long-term. As well as how long it'll take for his game to mature and round itself out.

With Kakko...i think he will be just fine in the end, and i guess at times we start to establish too high a standard for kids coming straight out of the draft into the best league on the planet in an 82 game grind. It's still kinda surprising that he hasn't been more prolific though. There's nothing obviously deficient holding him back like there is with Hughes size/strength/maturity.

 

[Dominance]

ITT: we’re now coming to grips with the fact that Hughes has had a terrible rookie year, but it actually means his ceiling is increased, because Joe Thornton once had a bad rookie year!

Direct excerpts from the last five pages of this thread:

“PPG floor”

“Guaranteed elite player”