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

[bleedgreen]

Hot takes on 18 year old rookies is a great way to set yourself up to look like an idiot in five years.

Hughes and Kakko are kids. Not every year has generational talent from the first day. I highly doubt either will bust. They’re both very talented with their heads on straight. I didn’t think from watching Hughes last year that he was going to light it up immediately. He’s a light kid and he has to learn which of his moves will translate while learning to let go of the rest. Not easy when you’ve been as dominant as he is.

Svech looked like he was going to take years the first half of last season, and he’s built like a tank.

 

[bleedgreen]

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.

How many first overall picks haven’t played in the NHL right away in the last 20 years? I don’t think a single team would’ve farmed him out.

 

[Retire91]

I remember when people wrote off Jonathan Huberdeau too. Not a first overall pick but high expectations. The talent is there just give it time.

 

[EdJovanovski]

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.

Just because Kakko is taller than Jack doesn’t mean that he was further ahead in his physical development, it’s a stupid idea to assume any player who’s short or small just hasn’t hit a growth spurt yet and that any player who’s big is fully developed. Most people you knew who were short at 18 are still short and most who were tall at 18 are still tall, there is zero correlation to being short meaning he’s just less physically mature.

We can also clearly see by his older brother that he’s not likely to hit some growth spurt. Kakko’s dad is huge and looks like a tank, Kakko himself is very slender and I’m not sure that he’s even more muscular than Jack. Bigger players also typically actually take longer to develop into their frame, look at most power forwards development. I think people mistook Kakko’s very good hands and puck control for some sort of superhuman strength. He has a big frame but he’s still a kid, he’s not going to be overpowering NHL players. He’s also played an absurd number of games (most of which professionally) in the past couple years as a 17-18 year old which is no easy task. He’s just exhausted and lacking confidence IMO, looks way better after the all star break too which bodes well for the argument that he’s just overexerted himself. I think after his first full offseason with NHL training we’ll see a significant improvement.

Edit: he’s also adjusting to the smaller ice surface where it’s quite difficult to just skate around holding the puck doing it all by yourself like he did in Liiga & international play because there’s way less space and players are clogging everything up

 

[Emperoreddy]

How many first overall picks haven’t played in the NHL right away in the last 20 years? I don’t think a single team would’ve farmed him out.

Would he even be eligible to play on a CHL team?

 

[Fatass]

How many first overall picks haven’t played in the NHL right away in the last 20 years? I don’t think a single team would’ve farmed him out.

Top teams don’t get the first overall picks.

 

[Fatass]

Would he even be eligible to play on a CHL team?

Why not? No now of course, but why not before the season started? It would have been Europe I would have picked fir him though. Larger ice, less physical play. He could have dominated over there, while growing too.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

This shows what you are all about on this website and why you are here. You have no objectivity and accountability. You are here to muck it up. Instead of owning up to what you’ve said, you make excuses and are concerned with internet credibility.

You should also know this reflects poorly on your fan base around this website. The reputation is starting to be established due to people like you. It gives the rational ones a bad name.

You talking about reputation is hilarious. You're a board wide joke, your own team's forum can't stand you.

 

[Pitaya]

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.

Name the last 1st overall who didnt play right away

Theres a reason its been over (or almost?) a decade

 

[VanJack]

Jack Hughes should have gone to college for year or stayed with the USNTDP, like his brother Quinn. I get the fact that from a marketing standpoint, lottery teams are under tremendous pressure to promote the first overall pick. But not every 18-year old is physically or mentally ready for the NHL grind.

And it doesn't help that NJ has been awful for most of the year. But Hughes will be fine. Too much talent and hockey sense to struggle for very long. But because he plays center, might take him awhile to grasp the defensive side of the game.

 

[tfriede2]

How many first overall picks haven’t played in the NHL right away in the last 20 years? I don’t think a single team would’ve farmed him out.

I think Erik Johnson is the only one - h played a season in college first.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

You talking about reputation is hilarious. You're a board wide joke, your own team's forum can't stand you.

You care about reputation on this website, I don't. You are here to muck it up, and cheerlead. You are here to shape the perception of your team. I am here to discuss hockey in an objective manner.

 

[goonybird]

This shows what you are all about on this website and why you are here. You have no objectivity and accountability. You are here to muck it up. Instead of owning up to what you’ve said, you make excuses and are concerned with internet credibility.

You should also know this reflects poorly on your fan base around this website. The reputation is starting to be established due to people like you. It gives the rational ones a bad name.

I'm sorry

that you feel that way.

 

[Icebreakers]

I remember when people wrote off Jonathan Huberdeau too. Not a first overall pick but high expectations. The talent is there just give it time.

Huberdeau won the Calder lol.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

a

Huberdeau won the Calder lol.

after playing 2 years in junior...
he also had like a 31 pts in 48 games as a rookie.

 

[Icebreakers]

a

after playing 2 years in junior...
he also had like a 31 pts in 48 games as a rookie.

He dominated junior though. And his rookie pace was a 52 point pace which is pretty good for a rookie. Not sure how people were down on Huberdeau he only really has had one off year. He's been productive pretty much every year in his NHL career.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

He dominated junior though. And his rookie pace was a 52 point pace which is pretty good for a rookie. Not sure how people were down on Huberdeau he only really has had one off year. He's been productive pretty much every year in his NHL career.

Producing in the chl isnt the same as producing in the NHL. And a 50 pt pace in his third year after his draft? What's hughes on pace for like 30? As an 18 year old. Yah nothing here tells me that hughes cant be a huberdeau type.

 

[Pay Carl]

You care about reputation on this website, I don't. You are here to muck it up, and cheerlead. You are here to shape the perception of your team. I am here to discuss hockey in an objective manner.

didn’t you vote for the goalie from your team with 7 NHL starts as the second best goalie in the NHL?

 

[Tage2Tuch]

He shouldn't be in the NHL yet. Especially in a team like that.

But no one thought the devils were going to suck this bad, that’s the thing.

Plus Matthews, Marner, Crosby, Eichel and probably mores all joined teams in their rookie season who finished dead last the year before (marner is only one of those not in draft year) Ovechkins team was almost dead last too and he would of come in his first year as well but the lockout.

This reminds me of a Nolan Patrick situation.


There’s hope for jack Hughes though, Stamkos and Thornton didn’t light it up right away, Barkov either. Mackinnon, Matthews, Patterson, eichel, all these guys didn’t put up amazing totals in their first year. (Above 80 id consider amazing but none of those even hit 70 in rookie season)


I remember a devils fan got on me because I predicted him to have 55 points this year. He bashed me for about a day.

 

[TrufleShufle]

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”

Most experts said he would struggle his rookie season and eventually be an elite player. Seems pretty on course so far. Nobody is "coming to grips" with anything.

 

[Samus44]

Hughes will be fine, his skating is exceptional. I said it early to the boys on my team he's got to figure out that skating circles everywhere won't work at this level but once he does that points will come. Just has to work harder at getting to the tough areas, he's a young guy it's normal.

 

[Synergy27]

I’m a Ranger fan. Any Devil or Ranger fan that tells you they’re not worried about Hughes and Kakko are kidding themselves. That doesn’t mean I don’t think both are still going to be very good players, but everyone was expecting more from these highly touted rookies and they both have a long path ahead of them.

 

[Gurilla]

Honestly forgot about him

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

I’m a Ranger fan. Any Devil or Ranger fan that tells you they’re not worried about Hughes and Kakko are kidding themselves. That doesn’t mean I don’t think both are still going to be very good players, but everyone was expecting more from these highly touted rookies and they both have a long path ahead of them.

As I said, I'll be more worried if Kakko is like this in like his 3rd/4th season.

 

[Forge]

I’m a Ranger fan. Any Devil or Ranger fan that tells you they’re not worried about Hughes and Kakko are kidding themselves. That doesn’t mean I don’t think both are still going to be very good players, but everyone was expecting more from these highly touted rookies and they both have a long path ahead of them.

I think that's fair. As a devils fan, I'm not concerned moving forward yet, but yeah, I'm disappointed with how this season played out with Hughes for sure.