With the Olympics on the horizon and his spot on Team USA secured, Jack Hughes would be forgiven for letting his mind wander ahead. For all of the excitement that naturally comes with an Olympic year, Hughes was clear that that part of the calendar hasn’t arrived for him yet. Not because it isn’t meaningful, and not because he isn’t excited, but because there is still very real, very important work sitting directly in front of him right now with the New Jersey Devils. FanSided's Steph Driver sat down with Hughes to talk about balancing Olympic anticipation with the urgency of the Devils' season.
When asked whether preparing for the Olympics feels different mentally than preparing for an NHL season, Hughes didn’t overthink it. “Not really,” he said. “I haven’t even had time to prepare for the Olympics, because you’re so worried about my NJ Devils being in the mix here. I can’t even say the focus has shifted yet. You’re still worried about the Devils, and you’re focused on NHL hockey.”
That answer wasn’t dismissive, it was practical. Hughes understands how narrow the margins are in an NHL season, and how quickly focus can’t afford to drift. With the Devils fighting through a meaningful stretch of games, he said his mindset is exactly where it should be. This is what makes him one of the most level-headed players in the game and a great leader in Newark.
Timing matters, too. Hughes pointed to the next few weeks as a defining window for New Jersey, one that demands full attention before anything else can take shape. Olympic excitement can wait. Right now, the Devils can’t.
“We’ve got three weeks to a month of important time and important games that we need to play well,” he said. “So the focus hasn’t shifted yet.” When his mentality does shift, Hughes expects the transition to feel energizing rather than overwhelming, like turning the page to a new chapter once the current one is finished.
Hughes on the future of the Devils
That present-tense urgency is rooted in Hughes’ belief in the Devils themselves. Asked what excites him most about where the team is headed, his answer was confident and direct, without sounding forced or overly optimistic.
“We have a really good team,” Hughes said. “What we’ve got to do is just act like it and play like it. We’ve got a great squad with good players, and we just have to figure out our game. If we do that, we’ll be right back in the playoffs where we should be.”
New Jersey enters the break knowing there’s more in the tank than what they’ve shown at times this season. The opportunity is still there, and for Hughes, the focus remains on making sure the Devils are in the right place before the calendar, and conversation, turns toward Milan.
Hughes cares about the next generation of hockey players
Hughes was able to find a brand that believes in the same mission, let's get more kids playing hockey. Mucinex Kickstart has launched its new campaign, Kickstart to Greatness, supporting youth hockey, a community very familiar with early wakeups and tough morning practices. The campaign aims to support and highlight the commitments of youth hockey coaches, parents, mentors, and volunteers — who power through early mornings to shape the next generation of hockey stars.
Mucinex has donated $20,000 to the USA Hockey Foundation to help youth hockey communities continue to kickstart greatness in the next generation of players.
"Mucinex Kickstart gets a lot of people through sickness, and that's NHL players included. It's in a lot of the NHL locker rooms." Hughes continued, "I know guys when they're feeling not good are always taking Mucinex Kickstart. And then on top of that, you know, I'm obviously really passionate about hockey and youth hockey, and Mucinex's done a good job of donating to the USA Hockey Foundation and providing for kids, so just a mutual thing between us, and I'm lucky to be a part of it."
Giving back is part of how Hughes uses his platform, but it hasn’t distracted him from what matters most right now. With the Devils still pushing through a meaningful stretch of the season, his focus remains where it’s been all along, making sure New Jersey is ready before anything else takes center stage.