New Jersey Devils: 5 Career Comparable’s For Jack Hughes

With training camp for the 2019-20 season just weeks away, New Jersey Devils fans are getting more and more excited to see Jack Hughes hit the ice. When he does hit the ice, what should we expect to see? Based on Jack Hughes’ style of play, who should we expect to see? We’ve looked at players past and present to see what we should expect.

Another thing to think about are the statistics and the possible achievements like the Stanley Cup. Jack Hughes is going to be the most marketable player in the Tri-State Area, and eventually the whole NHL. With Fans love to compare players, so we looked at those who Hughes can have a similar or even better career.

After scouting the behaviors of Jack Hughes and other superstar wingers is something to think about. When first watching Hughes it’s obvious he’s extremely smart like some of the best players in the league. The way he performs is similar to one of the greatest Devils players in history. Over the draft year, Jack has been getting that “he’s a small guy”.  There are a ton of players in the league today who heard the same thing, and now they are some of the best players in the NHL.

The New Jersey Devils seem to have a gem on their hands in Jack Hughes. He compares very well with some of the best that have ever hit the ice. Before he makes his NHL debut, there are a ton of players that we can consider when thinking of how his career will play out. We think things will work out quite well if he mimics any of these.

Patrik Elias:

Having Patrik Elias being the all-time points leader in Devils history is a major target to eclipse. Elias won two Stanley Cups on top of scoring 1,025 points in 20 seasons. One of the character traits we see in Jack Hughes is his calmness, his swagger, and that contagious smile. He makes people around him look so much better and knows when to shoot or pass the puck. If we want to think of the amount of points Jack could yield taking an average of 87 points per season in 20 seasons that would be 1,740 points. That by default would make Jack Hughes the all-time scoring leader in points.

What Jack Hughes has going for him in this day and age is his speed, youth, smarts, hockey sense, and hockey IQ. This kid is so creative, and absolutely a pure natural talent.

Jonathan Toews: 

Jonathan Toews has captained a three-time Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup team. Toews is one of the best, if not the best well-rounded center in the game. Especially after a few Selke Trophies. If you had Jack Hughes learn to be more defensive minded on a two-way game because of Nico Hischier, you can make Jack Hughes an absolute monster. If you thought Toews’ stick handling was lethal during regulation hockey, but in overtime and a shootout expect to see Hughes lighting up the lamp. Toews and Hughes are very mature, very calm, and provide their respective teams with positive energy day in and out.

Over a 12-season career, Toews has 755 points during that time. That would mean Hughes would need to score 62 points or more a season to be like Jonathan Toews statistically. However back to that 87-point average for a minimal of 12 seasons Jack Hughes beats Jonathan Toews out of the water. With the team that’s around Jack Hughes don’t be surprised to see him win a minimal of one Stanley Cup or more because the playoff window is beginning to open up very soon.

Pavel Datsyuk: 

After watching Pavel Datsyuk for so many seasons, the admiration of a smaller yet very talented Russian player in Pavel Datsyuk really caught our attention. His skill, determination, perseverance, and blue-collar mentality paid mega dividends. Since Jack Hughes is a similar height to Pavel Datsyuk, the speed and agility along with the natural ability to make plays is a bit unfair to Datsyuk, but it’s worth mentioning he also won a Stanley Cup.

Over 14 seasons in the NHL, Pavel Datsyuk ended up having 918 points. In order for Hughes to reach similar point totals, he would need more than 66 points per game. This is a very fair statistical matchup. However, if you took the 87 average points I predicted in 14 seasons that would be 1,218 points.

Patrick Kane: 

During Jack Hughes’ draft season, many pundits and Devils fans always thought of Hughes as a Patrick Kane 2.0. What that means is Jack has the height, weight, and similar if not better skill set. He has that “swagger dagger” kind of energy that he brought to Team USA Hockey’s national and developmental programs. Although Patty Kane came from the OHL’s London Knights, Hughes on the other hand is going from the USHL to the NHL.

Patrick Kane has been known to be one of the best forwards in today’s NHL. The smarts, stick handling, creativity, the smoothness, skating, and the hockey sense breaks a lot of opponents over the years being such a clutch playmaker. Both these players have those intangibles.

If we looked 12 seasons into Kane’s career, he hit 938 points. 78.16 or 79 points if you yield it to the next point is what Jack Hughes needs to hit per season. 1,044 points is a perfect floor for Jack Hughes since the median number we’re talking about is 87 points on average for a season. The net of average points vs. Kane is eight points profit.

If everything goes according to plan and Hughes wins a Cup or more he can be the next best American forward since Patrick Kane achieved that milestone.