I like this kid. He's the total offensive package.
Has some defensive deficiencies, which are broo bale, but I wonder if that will get better when he learns to play at his size better
I've seen Hughes play a ton this year. Mostly live. No, I'm not an expert of his nor am I a professional hockey scout but I am a huge hockey fan who is happy to give what I hope is unbiased input:
IMO, Hughes' best and most underrated aspect of his game - the thing that makes him worthy of his draft ranking - is that he
does know how to play at his size. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen a potential or current NHLer who is more aware of the impact his size has on his game. He has clearly learned to analyze the play to a degree that he can anticipate the play and get out ahead of the physicality. As a Wings fan, Hughes is reminiscent of Datsyuk - a guy who was lauded for being flashy and sexy but also condemned for being soft and weak defensively in his first couple NHL seasons. If you casually watch Hughes, he can appear to be disengaged, but if you
really watch Hughes, you can almost see the wheels turning. He is very much a student of the game.
The other under-appreciated part of Hughes game at his size is that he doesn't have that small man chip on his shoulder. He is not the kind of guy who will feel the need to make a hit or engage physically to prove that his size doesn't matter. Hughes
knows that his size matters. In fact, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Hughes said himself that he has always been the smallest or one of the smaller guys on the ice. He isn't some post-pubescent boy who was always an average-sized bloke but didn't get the god-given growth spurt he thought he deserved. He's
always been the little guy and he's seemingly made peace with that.
As far as his defensive deficiencies go, he has a hard time in front of the net and I think he always will. That's just the nature of a smaller guy with a shorter stick. But the kid who had trouble with the transition on the backcheck in tonights blizzard of a game against Canada is not the guy I've seen the past several months. He's usually two steps ahead of that play and if not, he can make up the ground handily.
With respect to his work along the boards, he is surprisingly adequate. He's not some defensive stud there (or anywhere, unless we're talking about possession, takeaways, and anticipation) but he is much better than someone of his stature should be.
His biggest pitfall defensively to me will be his stick. He is not great with his stick in a defensive posture. Thats not surprising given his size but its something that really needs to be improved and could be, if only modestly.
