The New Jersey Devils made it official. They selected defenseman Luke Hughes out of the U.S. National Development Program. He came to the Devils with their fourth-overall pick in the NHL Draft, and the Devils fanbase could not be more excited. The Devils have two Hughes brothers on the team, and this could the first day of a very fruitful partnership.
The Devils now have Luke and Jack Hughes on the same team. Jack was starting to show the signs of a superstar last season. He is also on the last year of his entry-level contract. There is a major negotiation coming between the Devils and the middle Hughes brother.
There have been a lot of brothers in the league before, but there aren’t a ton who got to play together. The one closest to the Devils is Scott and Rob Niedermayer. Obviously, they weren’t drafted together, but after a lengthy career with the Devils, Scott left to go play with Rob’s Anaheim Ducks. They ended up winning the 2007 Stanley Cup together, and the Devils actually signed Rob later in his career, but Scott never came back to join him.
The most famous situation where brothers played together is the Sedin Twins in Vancouver. Henrik and Daniel Sedin were taken second and third overall in the 1999 NHL Draft. They played their entire careers in Vancouver, and they were so good, it was probably impossible to find another team who could afford to have them play together.
The Hughes brothers are a little different because Jack plays center and Luke plays defense. Still, they already said they have a desire to play together, and now Luke and Jack are on the same team for at least a few years, but it’s more likely that Jack Hughes signs long-term with the Devils and New Jersey makes them a huge part of their marketing. Just look at Jack’s reaction when Luke’s name was called.
The @NJDevils take Luke Hughes with the No. 4 pick and his brother couldn't be happier! #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/hTEbBXcaYt
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) July 24, 2021
This is going to become a really fun era of Devils hockey. Devils fans haven’t had a lot to celebrate over the past few seasons outside of draft picks and trade deadlines. Now, it looks like the on-ice product is getting close to being as exciting. Let’s hope this pick turns out the be the right one. Hughes is a really good player already, and he’s one of the youngest players in this draft. He will only get better at the University of Michigan.