The New Jersey Devils sent five prospects to the World Juniors this year and all of them are hoping to make an impact at the tournament.
With the Devils playing well at the NHL level this year for the first time in a while, it is good to know that they are also highly regarded when it comes to NHL prospects that are showing in this tournament.
Their top prospect, Luke Hughes, is amongst the most famous for obvious reasons. For one, he was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft which means that the Devils have a lot of hope for this young defenseman.
He is also the younger brother of the Devils’ leading scorer Jack Hughes. Once he reaches the NHL, it should be a lot of fun to see the two brothers play together.
Luke Hughes is representing the New Jersey Devils at the World Juniors.
Like older brother Jack, Luke wants to make some noise at the World Juniors, and he is off to a pretty good start. Early in the game, a defensive miscue led to a goal for Latvia, but he made up for it by scoring his first goal of the tournament in Team USA’s 5-2 win.
Hughesy off the pipe! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/qJlmlIDV7f
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 26, 2022
His goal was the fifth of the game for the United States in their big win. They entered the third period tied at two before taking over. It was a team effort that saw the Americans get better with each passing period.
Hughes’s goal was a seeing-eye shot that went through some traffic before hitting the post and going into the net. It is plays like this that the Devils want to see Luke making.
He has the ability to do this kind of stuff, so it will be fun to see him play with some of New Jersey’s top playmakers, including his older brother Jack Hughes.
Team USA got excellent goaltending from Trey Augustine, along with contributions from everyone to get the job done. We will see if their lack of firepower up front haunts them against stronger opponents, which is possible.
Luke Hughes does have the ability to elevate people, though, which is a positive. He isn’t the only good Devils defenseman on the team, as Seamus Casey is there. The two Michigan/Devils draft picks can make big impacts if they keep working hard.
Team USA escaped an upset loss to these resilient Latvians with this big third period in which Luke scored. They now get a day off before playing Simon Nemec and Team Slovakia on Wednesday.
This will be a big test for Hughes and Team USA as they try to escape their group to get into the elimination rounds.