What level of defenseman is Quinn Hughes currently?

[Guttersniped]

I really don't get how this board as a consensus can lay into a player like Barrie but then turn around and call Hughes a top pairing or even a #1 guy?

I don't know if its a bias towards overrating younger players or what it could possibly be, but as of now Barrie is better both offensively and defensively and I don't think anyone, even his own mother, considers him a #1dman.

The truth of both Hughes and Barrie lies somewhere in the middle. Offensively they are #1 guys (top 30 in the league quite easily). Defensively both are bottom pairing level at best, probably even worse for Hughes who got his head caved in this year due to Tanev's departure.

So if you average #1 offense with #6 defense you get a 1-dimensional #3 guy. Luckily for Hughes he has time to improve due to his age, but anyone calling him a top pairing guy after this past season has disgustingly low standards.

Quinn Hughes turns 22 in October, has only played 129 regular season NHL games and played 56 of those in a brutal condensed schedule that barely allowed for any full practice days.

Barrie turned 30 in July and has played 610 regular season over 10 seasons.

The some of the people who are voting 1D seem to be basing that on “on Vancouver he is”. (Which I guess brings up the debate of what a 1D is.) You can debate that but I don’t know what Barrie has to with the upside of a much younger player.

And I don’t see him doing worse without Tanev reflecting poorly on Quinn. That’s on Benning.

The idea that Quinn, after only 73 regular season games, could be paired up with some randos (a cooked Hamonic, Jordie Benn with Quinn playing on his off-side), with no pre-season games and few functional practices, and then he would excel with top pair minutes in that brutal meat grinder season was, I would argue, a dumb idea.

He’s not Hedman-esque or finished product so he shouldn’t have been expected to do the heavy lifting on a defensive pair and his needing a helpful pairing like Tanev isn’t a sin.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Quinn Hughes turns 22 in October, has only played 129 regular season NHL games and played 56 of those in a brutal condensed schedule that barely allowed for any full practice days.

Barrie turned 30 in July and has played 610 regular season over 10 seasons.

The some of the people who are voting 1D seem to be basing that on “on Vancouver he is”. (Which I guess brings up the debate of what a 1D is.) You can debate that but I don’t know what Barrie has to with the upside of a much younger player.

And I don’t see him doing worse without Tanev reflecting poorly on Quinn. That’s on Benning.

The idea that Quinn, after only 73 regular season games, could be paired up with some randos (a cooked Hamonic, Jordie Benn with Quinn playing on his off-side), with no pre-season games and few functional practices, and then he would excel with top pair minutes in that brutal meat grinder season was, I would argue, a dumb idea.

He’s not Hedman-esque or finished product so he shouldn’t have been expected to do the heavy lifting on a defensive pair and his needing a helpful pairing like Tanev isn’t a sin.

The question is literally "what level of defenseman is Quinn Hughes CURRENTLY"
His age and potential don't matter in that. Neither does his role among Vancouver's dcore- there are a lot of teams without a #1dman.

So currently, Barrie > Hughes. Obviously that will change 1 day soon, but thats not the prompt of the question.
Looking at his past season, there is no way he is a top pairing player. I don't see how Benning is responsible for Hughes' lack of defensive strength/IQ. That is Hughes' responsibility to improve, not be provided a partner who can shoulder the entire workload

 

[Isaac Nootin]

Offensively an elite #1

Defensively, AHL quality

Voted #3

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I would say between a 2/3. I see him as another Tyson Barrie, very good offensive weapon but can struggle immensely in the wrong situations.

This for me as well. He's in that weird position where his offensive game is definitely that of a #1D, but until he can show he's more reliable in other areas of the ice, his overall game isn't that of a 1D.

Elite offensively, but at this moment the kind of defensive game you kind of have to shelter on the third pairing (or play with an absolute rock as his partner to cover for him) in defensive situations.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

No, Pettersson is.

Voted #2 D as of now.

Petey playoffs > Hughes rookie > Petey rookie > Petey sophomore > Hughes sophomore > Petey 3rd season

Petey needs to step it up this year to take the best player on the team label.

 

[North Cole]

This for me as well. He's in that weird position where his offensive game is definitely that of a #1D, but until he can show he's more reliable in other areas of the ice, his overall game isn't that of a 1D.

Elite offensively, but at this moment the kind of defensive game you kind of have to shelter on the third pairing (or play with an absolute rock as his partner to cover for him) in defensive situations.

Agreed 100% and I don't mean to sound harsh on the player, I have time for what he does. I think the modern NHL systems need a offensive super weapon on the back end. One area where I think Seattle gets their D overrated, sure they are good defensively but who back there is going to truly drive the play?

I just think you need a coach that can maximize his strengths and minimize his faults. problem with Vancouver is im not sure they have the necessary insulation for him, which is why he got kind of blown up last year. Not sure Green is that coach either.

In our case Barrie was a disaster in the post season, but we are able to kind of stick him with Nurse and run him out with McDavid to really use him fully. I'm not sure who Van can really put Hughes with where he doesn't need to be great at both ends.

Just my estimation, I like Hughes.

 

[kerrabria]

I don't understand how a defenseman who

• had 30% defensive zone starts
• was dead last among Vancouver's D in PDO
• was dead last among Vancouver's D is shots thru %
• was fifth among Vancouver's D in Goals For/60 mins on even strength
• was dead last in team +/-
• blocks fewer than one shot per game
• barely throws any hits
• does not play on the penalty kill

is a top pairing d-man. He's got a nice relative corsi and gets a lot of takeaways, but the guy has no defensive responsibilities and isn't even that efficient on offense.

 

[Ghetty Green]

He’s about a 4. He’ll give up the offense he creates with how bad he defends. The offense and defense right about evens itself out for a league average defenseman. I also think we can’t say these are all general defensive concerns. I think he has below average hockey sense. Some of the plays he tries to make with the puck are shocking. This has been a problem for years. I haven’t seen it improve.

He should eventually get better in most areas as he gets closer to his prime, so he’ll probably become a 3 or possibly a 2.

Nailed it, word for word