Prospect Info: Luke Hughes - part IV (final)

[Jason MacIsaac]

Again, it's your own speculation with no basis in fact. They score one PP goal (against a PK that dominated us all year) and maybe lose 6-2 instead of 6-1? And mental gymnastics for someone else to suggest not putting Luke in the first two games cost us a Cup in a series we lost 4-1 and were outscored 24-13, with eight of the goals coming in one home game. And lost two of the three games Luke did play.

Once again, you are assuming the result is the same if NJ goes up 1 - 0 or 2 - 0. I know Luke would have been a difference and a massive upgrade over Bahl or Smith.

 

[NJDevils17]

I thought he was excellent last night and in the first game he played too.

I theorized before he came up that his defensive issues were more related to hero ball and playing without structure. I think you still see some of that with him (PP turnover) but his skating is legit so good it minimizes his mistakes. It also helps he’s going to be a puck possession force.

He’s as good as advertised and better defensively than I think most people thought he’d be.

 

[TF1970]

I thought he was excellent last night and in the first game he played too.

I theorized before he came up that his defensive issues were more related to hero ball and playing without structure. I think you still see some of that with him (PP turnover) but his skating is legit so good it minimizes his mistakes. It also helps he’s going to be a puck possession force.

He’s as good as advertised and better defensively than I think most people thought he’d be.

Certainly very encouraging the fact he more than kept his head above water last night getting a huge bump up to play alongside Marino.

 

[FooteBahl]

Certainly very encouraging the fact he more than kept his head above water last night getting a huge bump up to play alongside Marino.

Seeing a 19 year old defensemen playing late minutes and OT in an elimination makes my pants tingle in a special way. 86 and 43 will be hanging in the rafters in the Rock or new stadium in 20 years next to a few “other” new banners.

 

[tailfins]

Luke looked fantastic last night. Graves was fighting it - likely has some injury. Great job by Luke to step up.

Super excited to see how he develops. I agree with the general consensus: Luke's performance puts to bed any notion of retaining Graves.

Left side next year is

Siegenthaler
L Hughes
Bahl
Smith

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Luke looked fantastic last night. Graves was fighting it - likely has some injury. Great job by Luke to step up.

Super excited to see how he develops. I agree with the general consensus: Luke's performance puts to bed any notion of retaining Graves.

Left side next year is

Siegenthaler
L Hughes
Bahl
Smith

Graves was fighting it all playoffs.

Right side is

Hamilton
Marino
UFA or Nemec

 

[Devs3cups]

Realy liked Luke and Marino together last night.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Realy liked Luke and Marino together last night.

Yeah that’s a pairing. Only downside is putting two great skaters on one pairing which concentrates that skill a little, but if you’re comfortable using that as the matchup pairing eating big minutes it takes some pressure off dougie and siegs to be the beat up on worse guys pairing.

 

[Clam Jensen]

I am so hyped for a full season of Luke, my goodness.

 

[apperos76]

I think Graves was fighting it because he is not particularly adept at handling/relieving pressure in his own end. This is incredibly important in an NHL where forecheckers can come flying into the zone without being obstructed and are on you seconds after you touch the puck. Siegenthaler struggled with it. Bahl struggled with it. Dougie even struggled with it. Have to be able to escape pressure with your skating and/or make a great first pass. This is what I am most excited about with Luke and Nemec and honestly why I would love to keep Severson if we could despite some bonehead plays.

We lost this series because we couldn't handle the forecheck. It led to long stretches in our own zone and stifled the rush attack (our strength) since we were caught defending all the time.

It is going to be fun watching Luke dance on the blueline, but I think his ability to exit the zone is the most important part of his skill set.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Anyone who thought this guy was gonna be perfect from minute one just because Makar did it and because of his first three no pressure games was clearly kidding themselves

Was Makar perfect though? I seriously doubt it.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

This isn't saying that Luke is our fifth best player, merely that over the games he played, he was our fifth best player. Nonetheless, I do not think this cost them a Cup, or even a win in the series. If this were a close series, you'd have a point, but the Devils lost 3 games by 4 goals.

I don't think just not having Luke in alone is what cost them the series. It's more that Ruff is an absolute idiot for not playing him so long, which goes into other things about how he just isn't a good coach period (also going back to vanacek for game 4, just dumb move ugh). That, is what cost us imo. But even then, not 100%, the team is veryyyyyyyyyyy young.

Yeah that’s a pairing. Only downside is putting two great skaters on one pairing which concentrates that skill a little, but if you’re comfortable using that as the matchup pairing eating big minutes it takes some pressure off dougie and siegs to be the beat up on worse guys pairing.

What's wrong with putting 2 great skaters on 1 pairing?

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Was Makar perfect though? I seriously doubt it.

He really wasn't. Luke is further ahead at the same age. Every year this has been the case.

 

[HoliksGhost]

Luke, another reason among many to look forward to the start of the regular season.

 

[My3Sons]

Luke’s poise and skating are great. His fresh legs made a big difference against the Canes who just couldn’t slow him. I would have been curious how Luke would have handled getting blown up once or twice though which would have happened had he played enough games. At some point next season that will happen and he will have to respond to that to take the next step as a pro. So far he’s been nothing short of fantastic for NJ and finished on a very high note.

 

[MasterofGrond]

I don't think just not having Luke in alone is what cost them the series. It's more that Ruff is an absolute idiot for not playing him so long, which goes into other things about how he just isn't a good coach period (also going back to vanacek for game 4, just dumb move ugh). That, is what cost us imo. But even then, not 100%, the team is veryyyyyyyyyyy young.



What's wrong with putting 2 great skaters on 1 pairing?

just means our great skaters aren't on our other pairings.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

He really wasn't. Luke is further ahead at the same age. Every year this has been the case.

Clearly we weren't watching the same game.

Pretty much every shift with Hughes on the ice was a disaster waiting to happen.

Was cringe worthy seeing him on the ice in overtime.

Can't help thinking it is like having two Dougie Hamiltons- with no Slavin or Pesce to make up for their deficiencies.

The fact that the Devils were forced to use John Marino playing with a broken nose to try and kill a penalty because Siegenthaler was in the box and neither Bahl nor Smith were dressed speaks volumes.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

>19 year old Luke Hughes wasn't used on the PK in his 5th career game
>"SEE, IT TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!!!!"

literally what.......?

 

[Bcap88]

This place can get upset about a lot of weird things but being upset with Luke’s play in an elimination game is just weird. He was clearly one of the best dmen on the ice that night and clearly a WHOLE ass nhl coaching staff thought so as well

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Luke should be able to jump in and probably be a 40 point player next season if he is playing about 20 minutes a night. He will replace Seversons production. The kid will have his moments good and bad but his good moments and ability to drive offense will be what makes him valuable. Also his skating ability on the backend will be much needed in all 3 zones. He was already walking the blueline well in the playoffs. If you aren't excited for this kid to be on the team than you have no pulse.

 

[Guttersniped]

Luke should be able to jump in and probably be a 40 point player next season if he is playing about 20 minutes a night. He will replace Seversons production. The kid will have his moments good and bad but his good moments and ability to drive offense will be what makes him valuable. Also his skating ability on the backend will be much needed in all 3 zones. He was already walking the blueline well in the playoffs. If you aren't excited for this kid to be on the team then you have no pulse.

His skating is unreal. People need to see it live, it’s just bonkers.

When people talk about being fast they often are discussing how fast guys like Wood skate at top speed but acceleration is what separates the high performance sports car from the jalopies.

Luke’s acceleration is just bonkers, it’s supernatural. He can make up for a lot of mistakes with it. His backwards skating is ridiculous too. He’s a better skater than Jack.

He’s going to need to learn a lot, he’s 19, but I don’t know how you can be anything but wildly excited to see him play next year. He should be a blast, just incredibly entertaining.

We fans don’t personally get beaten with sticks when players on the ice make mistakes, lighten up Francis.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Jack jumped in at 18 and Luke got a taste of the NHL at 19. Will be interesting to see how much of a learning curve he will have playing as a defensman. He did get to play 2 seasons of NCAA hockey to help him prep for his NHL career but he will have to adjust to playing alot more games with less practice time. Hopefully he doest hit too much of wall as the season progresses. I have a feeling he will be fine.

 

[JimEIV]

Jack jumped in at 18 and Luke got a taste of the NHL at 19. Will be interesting to see how much of a learning curve he will have playing as a defensman. He did get to play 2 seasons of NCAA hockey to help him prep for his NHL career but he will have to adjust to playing alot more games with less practice time. Hopefully he doest hit too much of wall as the season progresses. I have a feeling he will be fine.

I thought about him hitting a wall considering that he's never really more than 40-ish games in a season...but typically guys that can skate like him don't have trouble... there's always mental fatigue, but physically I don't think he'll have a problem at all.

 

[DVision44]

His skating is unreal. People need to see it live, it’s just bonkers.

When people talk about being fast they often are discussing how fast guys like Wood skate at top speed but acceleration is what separates the high performance sports car from the jalopies.

Luke’s acceleration is just bonkers, it’s supernatural. He can make up for a lot of mistakes with it. His backwards skating is ridiculous too. He’s a better skater than Jack.

He’s going to need to learn a lot, he’s 19, but I don’t know how you can be anything but wildly excited to see him play next year. He should be a blast, just incredibly entertaining.

We fans don’t personally get beaten with sticks when players on the ice make mistakes, lighten up Francis.

Funny.. reading the Mother's Day article on Ellan Hughes.. she mentions how Luke would tag along with his brothers and wind up chasing the puck all day.. kinda explains why he skates so well... imagine spending all your time just trying to catch Jack and Quinn...

 

[Bcap88]

Funny.. reading the Mother's Day article on Ellan Hughes.. she mentions how Luke would tag along with his brothers and wind up chasing the puck all day.. kinda explains why he skates so well... imagine spending all your time just trying to catch Jack and Quinn...

Lol it’s probably why he’s a defensemen too

Jack and Quinn probably bullied him into defending them