LD Quinton Hughes - U of Michigan, Big Ten (2018, 7th, VAN)
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JoemAvs
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- Jul 2, 2011
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Have only read a few articles about him and he seems like one hell of a prospect but the one thing I would be very concerned is his size.
5 ft 9 is simply not tall enough IMO...
Especially with how height is usually overexaggerated in those listings
Does he look like 5 ft 9 ?
If he has grown recently and can get closer to 6ft, I easily could see top10 pick.
Zaddy
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- Feb 8, 2013
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He's listed at just slightly above 5'9 and I think he is every bit of that height, if not taller. Don't think size is going to be much of an issue with him. Even if he ends up at just 5'10 it looks like he'll be good enough to be an impact defenseman in the NHL. Very impressed by his performance in todays game.
JoemAvs
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I agree in general.
Especially with forwards it does not really matter that much unless you are talking shutdown Centers basically.
But defenseman need a certain built to being able to excel on both sides of the ice.
There are not many guys in the league below 6 ft that can play a shutdown D game. Height and Frame usually correlate a bit. A guy below 6 ft will always have a harder time battling in front of the net than the 6 ft 4 monster...
I mean the 2018 draft looks very strong right now.
Size will absolutely limit Hughes draft stock because otherwise I agree that from what I know of him, he would absolutely be in the running for the top10...
@Zaddy Zads:
Thanks for the headsup.
Really hope he can grow an inch or two till the draft. The more exciting potential #1 D prospects available in the first round in 2018, the better for teams like my Avs
.I was there watching today, this kid had an incredible game, i was very impressed. Silky smooth skater with some ridiculous offensive skills.
Worth noting is that this is a very weak Finnish team though, will be interesting to see him against Sweden on Sunday.
Worth noting is that this is a very weak Finnish team though, will be interesting to see him against Sweden on Sunday.
Wow... where to start here?
I don't think anyone in this thread questioned this guy's skill. I don't think anyone in this thread (or anyone else) said that smallness = you're unskilled. In fact, I think most people make the opposite assumption. Skill has nothing to do with it. It's endurance, strength (you can pack a whole lot more muscle on a 6'2" frame than a 5'9" frame), resiliency, ability to win board battles, willingness to engage in board battles, ability to knock people off of pucks, ability to not get bowled over by rushing forwards, ability to clear a crease... all of those things will make it hard for a shorter guy to succeed in the pro game, no matter how "skilled" he is offensively.
But then you're equating the issues with big size (e.g. Virtanen) with small size (e.g. this kid). The problems with each are completely different, and saying that questioning this guy's ability to succeed in the NHL is somehow the same as what has happened with Virtanen makes no sense. Big guys are given more credit than they're due sometimes, sure. Little guys are dismissed more often than they should be, sure. But seriously, besides Spurgeon, how many sub-5'10" defensemen are successful in the NHL today? That isn't an accident.
And if you're arguing in favor of this kid because of his "skill," then you're completely ignoring the skillset that Virtanen had when he was 17 and attributing his draft number entirely to the fact that he's 6'1", which is exactly the kind of bias that you're complaining about.
Your post just makes no sense
Constable
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- Mar 17, 2014
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my post makes a lot of sense; actually. had virtanen played the same style of game and was a mere 5'11; with his production he would have likely went 2nd-3rd round seeing as attaining ppg in the whl is a feat that only 60-70 skaters a year can attest to.
the idea with the virtanen point was that the canucks drafted jake virtanen over nylander and ehlers where the only visible thing that he had over both of them was his size; and now look at them- virtanen is dwelling in the minors while ehlers and nylander are both core pieces of their team. very simply, teams are still stuck in the early mindset with the notion that you can still bully a team to submission and then let the skill take over which simply doesn't work today and drafting behind that idea won't produce as many good players.
finally, the reason there is such a size gap in today's nhl is once again some teams having the mindset of size=everything. sure, if 2 players are equal in everything draft size, but when size is the only thing keeping a player afloat it's not a good gamble.
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LordNeverLose
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It definitely matters for defensemen. If it didn't Thomas Hickey would be a top pair guy. And he even tries to play physical, he just isn't big enough.
What about players like Enstrom, Vatanen, and Timonen in the past? I doubt many are projecting Hughes to be top pairing anyways.
Constable
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Zaddy
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I'd be curious to hear thoughts on Hughes from people who have seen more of him. The game against Finland was my first viewing of him and was super impressed, so would like to know how he has looked the rest of the year. Seems like there should be more talk on a guy who is 1 point away from leading the USNTDP U18 team in points - as a defenseman.
Had another very good game today, he's oh so very talented, wonder where he would go if he was to be drafted this June, my guess is top 10.
Yet again he was awarded with motm by the jury, also won D-man of the tournament (and imo easily was the player of the tournament).
Sorry if it's been mentioned but where is he playing next year? Seems he's committed to Michigan for the 2018-2019 season.
LordNeverLose
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Hmm ya, he may have his rights traded to where his brother gets taken in the OHL draft.
LordNeverLose
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FireBird71
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I guess since the Pastujov's both suck you're looking for a good set of brothers to play on the team.
VictorLustig
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jnk96
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He might've shown the best performance of any player in the tournament tonight in the semifinal.
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