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New Jersey Devils Fans Must Temper Expectations For Jack Hughes Rookie Season

By Alan Goldenberg

VICTORIA , BC - JANUARY 2: Jack Hughes #6 of the United States stands on the blue line as the American flag is raised following a 3-1 quarter-final game victory versus the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on January 2, 2019 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VICTORIA , BC - JANUARY 2: Jack Hughes #6 of the United States stands on the blue line as the American flag is raised following a 3-1 quarter-final game victory versus the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on January 2, 2019 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /
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We have all heard about the “Next Next One”, Jack Hughes, who will be taken first overall by the New Jersey Devils at the 2019 NHL Draft. Analysts and fans alike have been raving at the combination of speed, skill, shot, setup ability, and natural hockey sense that Hughes brings to the ice. Let’s talk about where Hughes fits into the Devils lineup this coming fall.

Being an undersized hockey player at only 5’10” and 170 pounds, he will need to learn to use his speed to his advantage against much larger opponents than he played in the USA National Development Program.

Starting the season, he will be harbored from the tough defensive matchups against the elite offensive players in the NHL. Hughes should start out on the second powerplay unit on the right half wall with a potential free agent winger such as Jordan Eberle or Anders Lee, Miles Wood, with Will Butcher and Ty Smith holding the blue line. The first unit is set to begin the season with with Nico Hischier, Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Jesper Bratt and Damon Severson. It will not be long before we see Hughes on the first unit due to his vision and underrated shot from the right faceoff dot.

There will be a learning curve. It is not fair to expect Jack to come out of the gate and average 2 points per game for the first 20 games or something along those lines. There will be bad turnovers and bad judgments as seen in the otherwise record-breaking performance by Hughes at the Under-18 World Championships, but this is an 18-year-old kid and the fans need to be prepared to lower their expectations and allow him to mature throughout the season.

I expect that Jack will overtake Nico as the number one center by the end of the season. This is a player who has averaged almost 2 points per game in every division he has ever played in (usually playing one age group up).

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Fans expect him to excel and be a franchise-altering player. His game fits with Taylor Hall’s and they skate together in the offseason at the BTNL, a hockey and fitness training facility in Ontario. It’s a perfect match. The Devils have never had a skater of this caliber in their 37 years in New Jersey. Jack Hughes will be in the Calder Trophy conversation, if not the favorite.

All in all, this is a player who will bring the “Mickey Mouse” organization back to the playoffs and to glory. The combination of speed, skill, shot, setup ability, and hockey sense that is garnering comparisons to Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Patrick Kane is something to be extremely excited about. Welcome to the Rock, Jack Hughes.

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