In the match against Carolina, Nikita Kucherov, with a little help from Antti Raanta, climbed several steps on the scoring ladder: six points allowed the Russian “lightning” to take first place in the race for Art Ross. Who did Nikita send to second place? It’s a rare case, but this is a defender, and not even Cale Makar, who breaks Bobby Orr’s records. Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes has been brilliant to start the season and has been one of the Canucks’ top players so far, playing incredibly.
This is how Kucherov acted as a hero:
Russian car! Kucherov scored 6 (!) points in an NHL game that has already become legendary
Orr is the only defender in history to become the season’s top scorer, and twice. Hughes, who received the title of captain before the start of the season, aspires to this achievement: it is clear that short-term extrapolation gives inflated results, but so far Quinn is on schedule with 123 points for the season, which Historically speaking, the prospect could be the fifth-highest score in history for defensive players.
Jim Hughes is not only the man who coached Dynamo Minsk in the team’s first game in the KHL, but also the father of three sons, each of whom has already become a star in the league. Hughes Sr. was Toronto’s director of player development and guided his children to follow in the same footsteps. However, it did not immediately unfold like a Hollywood movie. “At 10 years old, he was a good player and played on the best team in the city, but he wasn’t even close to being one of the best hockey players in Toronto,” Hughes said.
Furthermore, the defender recently told reporters that he began his career as a forward, not as a creative playmaker, but as a kind of youth crocodile. “I wanted to become a hockey player who plowed every corner of the rink, I worked on it, but at 10 years old there was no need to do it. In children’s hockey, a 2-on-1 start replaces another 2-on-1 start. I remember the coach asking us which player we would like to compare ourselves to; Everyone said Crosby or other superstars, and I chose Zach Parise. Not only did he score about 30 goals each season, but Zach was a hard worker and I wanted to be like him,” Hughes said.
Quinn Hughes at the 2018 World Cup
Photo: Martin Rose/Getty Images
Hughes’ childhood coach, Rich McLeod, later said: “He liked to defend more than score, and he returned to defense faster than any other forward because of his incredible skating. I wanted to try him as a defender.” Hughes Sr. agreed with this decision of the children’s coach, so at the age of 12 Quinn changed his position and never returned to his old place. As the hockey player admits, it was very difficult For him because of his size, his adolescence came later than most other players, but at 14 years old everyone was surprised at how much the defender had grown.
It’s entirely possible that Hughes would have ended up in Detroit. After playing for the NTDP, Quinn attended the University of Michigan, one of the top college teams in the United States, where he broke the scoring record for a rookie defenseman. After that, Hughes went to the World Championship, where he played under the direction of Jeff Blashill, who worked for the Red Wings, and roomed with Dylan Larkin. A stellar World Cup performance boosted the big man’s stock, and ahead of Detroit’s draft selection, NBC aired a clip of Hughes. However, Ken Holland and his scout preferred Filip Zadina and Hughes left for Vancouver.
We remind you of the history of the hockey family:
Junior will be cooler than Kane and Matthews. The story of the Hughes brothers
Hughes decided to stay in college hockey after being drafted after Michigan lost in the NCAA championship semifinals. In the second year, Hughes’ team played even worse, but thanks to this he managed to reach the top of the NHL regular season and enter the next year together with Cale Makar, with whom the American spent an epic rookie career.
From his first games in the NHL, Hughes showed that he cannot be considered a “midfielder” who does not think about defense. The only problem was the size (to repeat the old saying: you can’t teach size). For the rest, Hughes got his way thanks to his excellent skating, excellent reading of the game and excellent aerial game: already in the first World Cup, Quinn entered the top 3 most accurate dispatchers of the tournament. The stick also helps Quinn in his own zone: if he fails to push his opponent back with “meat”, he often manages to play smarter.
quinn hughes
Photo: Jeff Mcintosh/ZUMA/TASS
To better adapt to the NHL, Hughes was paired with Chris Tanev, a man who has always been included in lists of the best stay-at-home defensemen. Tanev also managed to make friends with a young partner, whom he usually assured. “Right now, Quinn is probably the best player in the league. When I left Vancouver, I said he would be the number one defenseman in the league and he’s playing at that level. He always controls the puck, controls the progress of the game. There are guys who say they read the game one step ahead; Quinn can be two steps ahead of you. ” After these words of the Calgary defender, journalists realized that Hughes was not against the return of his former teammate to the team.
However, Hughes reached a whole new level playing alongside Philip Gronek. This couple should not have been born at all, in training camp the Canucks captain played quite a bit with Ian Cole. However, several injuries forced the coaches to reunite two defenders, who were used to playing in pairs. Their incredible early-season stats have dipped a bit, but the duo’s 21 Vancouver goals are still the best in the NHL. Hughes still leads the NHL in time per game with the puck.
Most of Vancouver also shines: at the start of the season, the Canucks take 30% of their opponents’ penalties, and Hughes gets almost all the time on special teams, spending an average of 4:21 each game 5 against 4. . Rick Tocquette decided in the summer to change the power play scheme: now Vancouver abandoned the clear 1-3-1 scheme, which has become dominant in the major leagues. The Canucks’ special teams squad relies on frequent position changes, aided by the incredible hockey IQ of Elias Pettersson and the mobility and speed of Hughes, who feeds his teammates with passes.
Right now there is no aspect of the game that the eldest of the trio of brothers has not improved. Even his shooting, which was far from Quinn’s main weapon, has improved significantly: eight goals in a quarter of a season is already a repeat of the best season of his career. Curiously, the defenseman rarely uses snaps; almost all goals are scored with wrist shots; However, snaps are already out of fashion in the modern NHL.
quinn hughes
Photo: DARRYL DYCK/AP Photo/TASS
True, Vancouver fans may be very worried that there is no depth left behind the first pair after a couple of injuries: therefore, the opponents increased the pressure on the Hughes-Gronek combination, which in recent games came in in a statistical negative. Perhaps the coaches will fulfill their captain’s wish, trading Tanev for the team or acquiring Nikita Zadorov himself, who is already being courted for Vancouver.
Hughes may not be able to beat Art Ross, but right now he is among at least three contenders for the season’s MVP title. Of course, here it will also be necessary to overcome Nikita Kucherov, who ignites the entire Tampa attack, which has noticeably faded in the last two seasons, but the Lightning as a whole continue to play worse. “Vancouver”, for the first time in 10 years, looks like a team that claims to be something, and its backbone is the defender.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS