Jack Hughes is well on his way to becoming one of the most successful players to ever come out of the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP).
The New Jersey Devils stormed their way back into hockey relevance this past season, headlined by the 21-year-old Hughes taking down Patrik Elias’ franchise points record. In a fitting conclusion to that storybook year, he garnered his 99th regular season point by assisting on his brother Luke’s first NHL goal. A second consecutive season where he performed higher than a point-per-game pace has made people quickly forget his rough start in the NHL.
After being selected first overall by the Devils in 2019, his struggles and frustration in trying to immediately adapt to the NHL’s style of play were evident. The teenaged Hughes was held to just seven goals and 14 assists in 61 games played, in addition to a minus-26 rating. He also shot at an abysmal 5.7 percent clip.
Hughes took the brunt of criticism from analysts and fans alike, who were disappointed in his failure to meet some very high expectations. Some even gave him the label of “bust”.
The shortened COVID-19 season in 2021 was a little friendlier to Hughes, but still nowhere close to performing amongst the likes of Auston Matthews, like some thought was possible on draft day. He had 11 goals and 20 assists, totaling 31 points in 56 games. While that was a step in the right direction, he still often looked overmatched by his competition. His lack of size was a glaring issue that left him getting tossed around with ease on a nightly basis.
Related: New Jersey Devils’ Jack Hughes Has Reached Superstar Status
Just two games into the 2021-22 season, Hughes suffered a crushing blow along the boards from Seattle Kraken defenseman, Jeremy Lauzon. That hit forced him to miss slightly under two months with a dislocated shoulder.
While some may have written off the underperforming and injury-riddled Hughes already, general manager Tom Fitzgerald had different ideas. Just hours before his return from injury, he was inked to an eight-year, $64 million deal that will keep him a Devil through the 2029-30 season. The organization took a large gamble on a player who only had 55 points in 119 career games, banking on his potential alone.
The Tweet
Early that morning, excited to return to action, Hughes made the very rare trip to his Twitter account:
The tweet instantly blew up, with teammates and fans alike spreading it across social media. It’s safe to say that Hughes was indeed ready to play hockey. He went on to finish that season with 56 points in 49 games, reaching an entirely different gear and showing he can compete with some of the best. His season-to-season shooting percentage more than doubled – from 7.7 percent to 15.8 percent. He also doubled his even-strength goals, going from 10 to 20. Additionally, he started finding a niche on the powerplay, potting six as opposed to one. He did not commit a single penalty as well.
The 2022-23 season was more of the same for Jack, where he exploded for 43 goals and 56 assists over 78 games. He was one of the best even-strength players in the entire league, with 34 of his goals coming at 5v5. That was good enough for fifth, with only David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen, Connor McDavid and Carter Verhaeghe having more.
Pre-tweet, Hughes had 54 points in 119 career games. Post-tweet, 153 points in 125 games. Since being drafted, he had a sort of confident swagger that fans around the league could go head over heels for. But post-extension and tweet, he was able to finally back it up on the ice.
Hughes’ turnaround from below average player to a star in the NHL has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s now a regular on highlight reels, making end-to-end rushes and behind-the-back passes part of his everyday repertoire.
After all, there has to be a reason Wayne Gretzky himself said this…
Between Hughes, Nico Hischier, and the rest of the star-studded cast of the Devils, there is certainly a reason for hope amongst the fanbase. So, I propose an idea to every player on the Devils’ active roster:
Just before opening night, log on to that Twitter account and let the fans know that you “feel like playing hockey tonight”. It can’t hurt…
