#86 on Jack seems off.
"No. 6 is the family number. Everyone has worn it: uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers," Hughes said on the Devils All-Access podcast.
He also wore No. 43. It was a number his older brother, Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, wore during his USA Hockey development program days and passed on to Jack, who said he had passed it on to younger brother Luke Hughes. In fact, Jack said he saw a No. 43 Devils jersey with his name on it at their draft party the night he was selected.
Instead, he chose to wear No. 86 in the NHL. Hughes said he previously wore the number in "minor-midget" hockey for two years and decided to bring it back for his pro career -- mostly because he knew his preferred No. 6 was already on the back of 36-year-old Devils captain Andy Greene.
"Well, Greener is No. 6, obviously. Probably not the best start if I ask the captain to change his number," Hughes said.
We'll see if he changes his mind in a few years. Ie, Jack Eichel switched from #15 to his preferred #9 after Evander Kane was moved. Joe Thornton started off with #6 before switching to his familiar #19. Vinny Lecavalier started with #8, Patrick Marleau started with #14, and I'm sure there's plenty of others.