Jack Hughes Will Represent New Jersey Devils At ASG; Jesper Bratt Snubbed

The New Jersey Devils played a tough game on Thursday night. It was a close game between them and the New York Islanders but a late Mat Barzal goal allowed New York to take the 3-2 victory. There were some good performances all around but they couldn’t snag the two standings points.

The most fun story of the night, however, came right before the game. Jack Hughes was selected to be the New Jersey Devils’ representative at the All-Star Game. It will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 5th. The skills competition is one night earlier on the 4th.

Hughes will be a part of the 3-on-3 tournament as a part of the Metropolitan Division All-Stars. He will skate alongside Sebastian Aho, Claude Giroux, Chris Kreider, Alex Ovechkin, Adam Fox, Adam Pelech, Zach Werenski, Frederik Andersen, and Tristan Jarry. Of course, it is a team loaded with superstars.

It is a great chance for Hughes to showcase himself on one of the game’s biggest stages with some of the best players in the world. He has had an outstanding season so far and has earned the right to be here. The Devils love to market him and he is well on his way to being one of the faces of the league. 

The New Jersey Devils are going to be represented by Jack Hughes at the ASG.

This is Hughes’ first All-Star Game since being the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. His development has been so fun to watch as he continues to get better and better right in front of our eyes. So far this season, he has nine goals and eleven assists for 20 points in 20 games played.

Hughes missed some time this season due to an injury but has bounced back nicely. For him to come back and make the All-Star Game has been remarkable to watch. Becoming one of the best centers in the league is absolutely on the table for this kid.

There is a chance that Hughes is not the only Devils player to make the team. There is a “Last Man In” vote that will run through Monday and each team has one representative to vote for. For the Devils, that person is Jesper Bratt.

Bratt was a snub to be voted in as a captain as Hughes along with Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton were New Jersey’s representatives for that. Obviously, Bratt’s outstanding season has earned him some respect.

He has 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 34 games played so far this season. He has every right to be considered for this vote. He is going up against Cam Atkinson, Mathew Barzal, Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andrei Svechnikov, Jakub Voracek, and Mika Zibanejad. It is certainly a great group of players that all deserve consideration but everyone should vote for Bratt.

This has been a very up and down season for this young New Jersey Devils team. COVID-19 has had a bit to do with that but they are still learning. Hopefully, they are able to continue playing well and get just a bit more luck with health and everything else.