There was a lot of excitement going into the 2021-22 New Jersey Devils season. There were a lot of sweet moves in the offseason that make them look like a much better team on paper than they have been in the recent past. One of those additions is Dougie Hamilton.
He scored his first Devils goal in his debut with the team just 17 seconds into the contest. As awesome as this was, however, it wasn’t the main story. The main story was the play of Jack Hughes. New Jersey selected Hughes with the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Since then, he has developed very well.
After his first game, you can only wonder if he is going to finally show off that he is a legit superstar in the NHL. We all know that he has the skills. He has had flashes since his draft but now it is time to kick it into overdrive. He did that against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.
It started with a very nice goal that he scored early in the game. It was a snipe that broke a 1-1 tie and allowed the Devils to take the lead. It was much needed as Chicago seemed to have the momentum after tying it. It was a great play that showed his ability to steal pucks and turn them into offense for his team.
Jack Hughes was everything the New Jersey Devils needed and more on Friday.
The Devils would eventually be up 3-1 before letting the Hawks get two quick ones late. As tough as that was, it allowed Jack Hughes to do something special. In 3 on 3 overtime, Hughes came away with the puck after some Chicago pressure and made a sweet move on Kevin Lankinen to win the game. His second of the night was as pretty of a goal as you will ever see.
Without Jack Hughes, New Jersey probably doesn’t hold on to win this game. He is a legit superstar and it is officially his year. This is the type of player that is gifted enough to become one of the best players in the history of the team. They selected him with the first overall pick for a reason. As the roster continues to improve around him, it will start to turn into even more wins.
Hughes and the Devils have a long way to go before we can start making serious claims but this was a great start. It is fair to have high hopes after seeing that but it is just one game. It would be nice to see them string a bunch of those together. It will start on Tuesday night when they welcome the Seattle Kraken to Prudential Center for the first time ever.