Pavel Malyugin The LA Kings made their first selection in the 2022 NHL entry draft in the second round, and with the 51st pick, the Kings chose Jack Hughes.
No, not that Jack Hughes.
This Jack Hughes is from Northeastern University and tallied 16 points in 39 games as a freshman.
Notably, the son of Montreal Canadiens general manager, Kent Hughes, Jack has been an interesting case in the NHL draft rankings conversations since the start of the 2020-21 season.
Being ranked as high as 15 at the start of the season, he’s fallen down the rankings quite a bit since.
For the most part, Hughes has been ranked in the middle second round and that’s roughly where he was picked up by the Kings.
What can the LA Kings expect from Jack Hughes?
Overall game
The biggest plus to Jack Hughes is that while everyone his age is just about to go into the college level atmosphere of hockey, Jack Hughes has a year of college hockey under his belt.
As mentioned previously, Jack Hughes has already played 39 games in the NCAA with an exceptional team.
He may not have scored at an incredible rate seeing how he potted only 7 goals, but the fact that he played in a far more competitive league than the USHL is a really good sign.
While basically his entire offensive game is still an issue (we will get into that a bit later), he’s managed to perfect the defensive side of things. Analytically and visually, Jack Hughes has been one of the best defensive players on Northeastern this season.
Hughes plays with ferociousness along the boards. A huge part of him is that even though he was a kid playing against older kids, he was never scared of going into battles and fighting out.
Having a young player who goes into the hard parts of the ice is one typing, but being able to successfully fish out pucks and get possession from some of the hard-to-reach areas is beyond impressive.
Opponents hate playing against Hughes because he’s learned how to make opponents panic and cause turnovers. Hughes knows how to play the gap extremely well. Arguably his best asset, his ability to cut the opponent’s possession time short because of constant pressure has boosted him to lead his team in turnovers caused.
Being able to force players off pucks has been something he’s been doing for a bit and he’s only gotten better at it. Having players that can get opponents to cause turnovers in awkward situations is a big part of modern hockey. If Hughes can continue getting attackers to cough up the puck in vulnerable positions, then that can let the faster players on the Kings pick it up and explode past the blue line for a breakaway.
You thought that we’re done with Hughes’ defensive play? Don’t worry, there’s more.
A defensive wizard
Jack’s defensive positioning is a tier. Not only can he set himself into positions where he can read plays and block shots or create more giveaways, but that positioning has been a huge factor to his two-way sense. It feels like Hughes has eyes on the back of his head with how much you’ll see him making pass and shot interceptions.
His active stickwork and his awareness is possibly some of the best in the draft. Being able to quickly track the puck down with his stick is something that will be a huge part to killing penalties in the NHL one day. A big X-factor for Hughes this year, managing a fantastic defensive read on some of the best NCAA players this year has been a massive upside for Hughes.
A lot of young players play like they can’t keep up with the pace of the game especially in the defensive zone at high levels of hockey and that’s because they aren’t admittedly the most knowledgeable players. With young players, their focus is to give it their all offensively and make a nice move here and there.
But with Hughes, it’s the opposite. I’m sure if you were to ask Hughes what skill is most needed to be a successful player, he would say defense comes first. Keeping pucks out of your own net is a big part of hockey and whenever Hughes is out on the ice, that’s his first instinct.
Offense still needs some fine-tuning
As for his offense, it’s a work in progress. Scoring is a bit of an issue and so is his passing. He’s got an average shot for a second round player and it does have a touch of inconsistency to it, but it’s your very basic principal shot. Nothing that makes him stand out but it isn’t a shot to shrug off.
His passes can be crisp but they’re not accurate. A general notion is that two-way players are elite passers, but aim and accuracy could be worked on. Too many times Hughes tried making a pass which was simply undoable.
Hughes’ feet aren’t the fastest but that’s why he’s a quick mover. You’ll find many more players that are faster and more explosive with their speed, but they can’t create plays and move around the puck like Hughes can. Hughes is a lot of fun in that sense because his quick and nifty hands let him set up plays before defensemen are even able to catch up.
So even if he isn’t the fastest skater and he won’t look super flashy at first, Hughes is an extremely dependable player who knows how to generate plays at a fair rate while outsmarting defensemen left and right. A decent offensive touch, but definitely a work in progress.
With Jack Hughes getting drafted by the Kings with their first choice in the draft at 51st overall, Hughes will likely be much more productive in the NCAA next year because of his previous experience.
I talked about this earlier but having those extra 39 games with that sense of what the NCAA will likely put him ahead of a few competitors. His scoring is expected to go way up from last year, but not skyrocket.
A very dependable two-way forward, NHL coaches will love coaching him because of his defensive skill. His awareness, pressure, and his competitiveness will be a massive help to the LA Kings in the future.
(Featured image credit: Northeastern Huskies)