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

[Cup or Bust]

He is a small player that needs more strength. He also plays for a terrible team. I wouldn't give up on him though. Very talented and a good skater. Just needs to get stronger and I think he has very good potential.

 

[crazyforhockey]

He will be fine
Maybe next year, still young

 

[Boxscore]

Hughes will be fine. The Devils are a mess and he'll mature into a great player IMO--the skill is undeniable.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Hughes will be fine. The Devils are a mess and he'll mature into a great player IMO--the skill is undeniable.

The team has galvanized a bit even though this season is a write off. I watched Hughes very closely in yesterday’s game and good and bad it’s a microcosm of his season:

* very loose with the puck (tries to do too much a lot of the time)
* gets muscled off the puck a lot
* makes several high skill plays he or his teammates can’t finish
* hit a couple of posts

You can see the potential but it’s going to take time.

 

[Wierzbowski426]

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.

Not going to offer an opinion on Kakko because I havent watched him play enough and trying to counter other people's opinion's who have watched him enough is foolish. Ive watched Hughes in every game, so I feel fine saying im not worried about him.

Please dont speak for me.

 

[njdevil26]

I think the biggest culprit is the new norm of top 1-3 picks having to play and succeed in the NHL right away ala Matthews/McDavid. The Devils marketed this kid like he was going to have 100 points this year. The Rangers did much less marketing with Kakko but the expectations on him were huge.

Neither of them were ready play this year.

That being said, they will both be elite players in this league very soon. Maybe as soon as next season.

 

[Sonofamitch]

Everyone needs to stop with the excuses for both him and kakko. They’re having terrible years just come to grips with the fact that they’re not adjusting well to NHL.

 

[Pi]

Everyone needs to stop with the excuses for both him and kakko. They’re having terrible years just come to grips with the fact that they’re not adjusting well to NHL.

People were seriously comparing Hughes to Eichel and Matthews. Even Kakko to Laine was a biiiiiiiig stretch. They're having terrible seasons but I don't doubt their talent, I am sure they will be good players in a few years, but they weren't as good as they were billed to be.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

They both have obvious high end skill but they each have holes in their respective games that prevent them from being impact players right now. They are both also being brought along slowly by their coaches and playing limited minutes with 3rd line players , contrast with Hischier who from day one played 1st like minutes with Hart level Hall. Kakko played like one game with Panarin and had 8 SOG so sure if he played every game with him he’d have better stats, not sure if it would be best for developing his game though

 

[HyPnOtiK]

Not one team would have sent Jack anywhere besides the NHL

I think the Flyers amongst others, especially under Hextall would have kept him off the roster.

 

[HyPnOtiK]

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...

Wayne Simmonds has been a 30 goal scorer pretty much every season before going to Jersey and was a top 6 winger

 

[Better Call Sal]

Wayne Simmonds has been a 30 goal scorer pretty much every season before going to Jersey and was a top 6 winger

Key words, has been.

Simmonds is on the back 9 of his career, and I'm a fan of his. He isn't the finisher he once was.

 

[MrThomas]

Hughes should play in AHL not NHL

 

[Pitaya]

Wayne Simmonds has been a 30 goal scorer pretty much every season before going to Jersey and was a top 6 winger

Thats not true lol

Simmonds hasnt surpassed 30 goals or even 40 points since 2016-17

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Thats not true lol

Simmonds hasnt surpassed 30 goals or even 40 points since 2016-17

Hence, the pretty much part...

 

[NYSPORTS]

Worst rookie season*

I have to admit I was shocked to find out he’s doing so poorly, he’s only on pace for 35 points even though he seems to be getting offensive zone starts, PP time, and top 6 line mates and lots of ice time. Did the Devils rush him? Is his development stunted? Will he be regarded as one of the worst 1st overall picks in the current era? The worst?

I get that he’s not a big kid but if you go down the list there were lots of guys who went 1st overall and weren’t big kids either yet still did a lot better than Jack is doing right now. Should he be sent down to the AHL?

kakko’s numbers aren’t too great either. Although he is using his body better

 

[Pitaya]

Hence, the pretty much part...

Except thats not how that works

That poster was trying to discredit Jack stating Simmonds is a 30+goal scorer ‘pretty much’ all the time

Except he hasnt been for an entire three+ seasons now

So ‘pretty much’ Wayne Simmonds sucks eggs

 

[NYSPORTS]

Brahhh, Maybe it was Caufield that carried that line and NJ took the wrong pick. Sucks on NJ :p

yeah lol, I don’t think that shooting kid/snob does much more than shoot nonstop. An occasional pass is as rare as playing defense.

 

[vanarchy]

Stop guaranteeing roster spots for top picks just because they're top picks. It's pretty simple, really.

 

[NYSPORTS]

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.

Hughes concerned me b/c he said he had to work on his shot. Gretzky, Crosby and no many never had too. As far as skating, Hughes is amazing and his COD is off the charts. Weak shit, yeah that concerned my before the draft

Kakko - I expected a freight train and a Jagr type. I see a strong kid with good vision yet he doesn’t have the blast shot either. Granted, his wrist shot is strong but so far he’s been kinda ordinary

it’s early but next year is big.

 

[7even]

He is a small player that needs more strength. He also plays for a terrible team. I wouldn't give up on him though. Very talented and a good skater. Just needs to get stronger and I think he has very good potential.

Most 1st overalls end up playing on terrible teams their first year.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Most 1st overalls end up playing on terrible teams their first year.

That is combined with being small and lacking the strength to be an effective NHL player at this point. Most 1st overall players are more physically NHL ready then he is. Anyone that watched him in preseason could see that. There is no doubt about his skill and skating though. I look forward to seeing his development.

 

[Pitaya]

That is combined with being small and lacking the strength to be an effective NHL player at this point. Most 1st overall players are more physically NHL ready then he is. Anyone that watched him in preseason could see that. There is no doubt about his skill and skating though. I look forward to seeing his development.

Next year will be great for him

Devils just traded Coleman and so that means Travis Zajac wont be stapled to 2nd line center anymore. Starting next year itll likely be Nico-Jack as the 1-2C, and that means he will get far more opportunity then he has had this year.

Miles Wood and Wayne Simmonds arent fit for Jack. Next year I expect a combination of Gusev/Bratt/Zacha and possibly a FA.

 

[87turbobuick]

Every small American gets compared to Pat Kane, 3 time champ and a HOF player. We have one in Keller who scored 65 points on a very bad team his first year, looks like it could be his career high as his play has fallen off the cliff the last 2 years. Hughes may be a ok player but stardom is a dream.

 

[ruaware41]

It's literally and figuratively impossible to make Yak look like The Great One.

People really sell short how good players that even get a sniff of the NHL are. Compare an average OHL player (which is a league that also requires an incredible amount of skill to make to Yakupov and you'd make him look like Gretzky. The difference among NHL players is far less than the difference between NHL players and non professional players. It's easy to forget that amidst the labels of 4th line trash, goon, and bust that are used to vent