The New Jersey Devils sent Jack Hughes to the All-Star Game in Las Vegas. He was well-deserving after a very interesting start to the season. The Devils aren’t very good but Hughes is amazing. He has 27 points in 28 games and he would be well over a point per game if he never suffered a freak injury in the fourth period of the season.
Everybody knows this kid is a star in the making which is one positive that will come from this dreadful season that the Devils are having. We can only hope that he is able to take his game to even bigger heights.
For now, we just have to enjoy him at 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend. Hughes is the youngest player that made the All-Star Game which is really cool. The league is loaded with many tremendous young stars and Hughes is one of them. First on deck for the weekend was the NHL Skills Competition which took place on Friday.
The night started with every shooter on the team trying to score on the goalies as they tried to have the longest save streaks. The Atlantic Division won but Jack Hughes was able to score to stop their streak. That was only the beginning for number 86.
Look at him go! pic.twitter.com/7P9PTKvdRw
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 5, 2022
Jack Hughes really put on a magical show for hockey fans in Las Vegas.
The night really began for Hughes (and hockey fans looking to be truly entertained) when the Breakaway Challenge came up. Of course, Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks and Alex DeBrincat of the Chicago Blackhawks deserve props for their skits as well.
Zegras had an outstanding bit that gave a nod to the movie “Dodgeball” while DeBrincat gave a nod to “The Hangover”. It was really cool. All three of these guys will be leaders amongst USA Hockey players for a long time.
That's a bold move, @tzegras11.
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) February 5, 2022
Let's see how it plays out. #FlyTogether | #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/UztCY09Ge6
For Hughes, he went out there and had a boring first shot. Of course, that was just to tease the crowd and make them think that he was boring. For his second shot, he put on a magician’s cape and put a kid’s sized Jack Hughes sweater in a box along with small gloves and a small stick.
He skated around the box a few times and a little boy now known as “Mini-Hughes” came out and took the shot. When he scored, he did his best Jack Hughes imitation by celebrating like him and throwing his stick into the crowd. It was absolutely magnificent.
Tired: Tossing sticks.
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 5, 2022
Wired: Let the two Jacks shoot again, but throw Jon Hamm into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/hilno0SHLD
The judges gave Hughes one extra point to edge out Zegras for the lead. Unfortunately, Alex Pietrangelo of the Vegas Golden Knights (the hometown team) went right after Hughes and was the beneficiary of some foul play.
Actor John Hamm gave Pietrangelo a 19 out of 10 on his scorecard and he was granted the win. Of course, Hamm is a St. Louis native and Pietrangelo was the captain of the St. Louis Blues when they won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
It was an enchanted night for hockey fans of all ages. It was really cool to see Jack Hughes go there and be as cool as he was. He has an incredible personality that likes to have fun. It makes it even better than he is an elite player. This isn’t the last time we will see Hughes on this stage.