Ontario Reign Player Review: Jack Hughes

With the Ontario Reign season over, we will begin our player reviews for the 2025-26 season. Up next: Jack Hughes!

*Note: These player reviews will be for players who played at least five games with the Reign and finished the season with the team*

Season stats

Game: 60

Goals: 5

Assists: 13

Points: 18

+/- rating: +/- 0

Penalty minutes: 26

Season review

Jack Hughes not being signed to his entry-level contract wasn’t surprising. However, the Ontario Reign signing him to a two-year AHL contract during development camp threw me off. It was a move I didn’t expect to happen after Hughes’ offensive game didn’t progress much at the collegiate level during his four years combined at Northeastern and Boston University.

With the Reign, Hughes played mainly on the fourth line, and played on the wing and center. He also saw time on the penalty kill and occasionally time on the second power-play unit. I didn’t have high expectations for Hughes this year after having to settle on an AHL contract, considering he wasn’t an everyday player. After finishing the season with 18 points in 60 games, Hughes turned out to be one of Ontario’s best players in their five-game series against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Hughes tied for the team lead in goals (2) and assists (2), and led the team in points (4). It’s tough to tell if the organization sees the former 2022 second-round pick as part of its future. For me, it’s tough to tell, and I don’t expect him to live up to the complete around player he was labeled during his draft year.

Featured image credit: Bailey Holiver/Ontario Reign

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