Jack Hughes NHL ranking is completely and utterly disrespectful

Second place isn’t a terrible place to be. Michael Phelps has three silver medals to his name, and Simone Biles has two of her own. The Philadelphia Eagles were the second seed in the NFC last season, and they won the Super Bowl! Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels was the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, and the Washington Commanders couldn’t be happier that he fell to them. 

However, second place isn’t good for Jack Hughes; at least not in this context. A recent list by the NHL listed the best players under 25 years old. Hughes was not number one. 

Hughes falls behind Tim Stutzle on the list. The Ottawa Senators forward is very good, don’t get us wrong, but where does he rank in overall player rankings? Jack Hughes is often considered one of the 10 best players in the league. Even with the injuries considered, he’s still easily in the top 20. Stutzle often sees himself ranked outside of the top 25. So how does he rank ahead of Hughes on this list?

It’s clear the NHL chose a player with a little consistency over the premium player. Jack Hughes will likely hit 100 points the next time he plays 75 games. That doesn’t appear to be in Stutzle’s wheelhouse unless we see an incredible increase in his production.

Stutzle had an incredible season in 2022-23, just like Jack Hughes did. He had 90 points to Hughes’s 99 points. The difference between these two is that Stutzle’s production immediately fell to a more realistic value, while Hughes remained out of this world. Stutzle remained a 50ish assist player, but his goals went from 39 to 18 in 23-24 and then 24 last year. 

Even with the injuries, Hughes easily surpassed Stutzle in goals the past two seasons, matching 27-goal seasons in 62 games. 

Hughes had nine fewer points than Stutzle did last year despite playing 20 fewer games. Literally, what are we doing here?

Jack Hughes should be ranked as the top player under 25 years old

Hughes’s injuries are unfortunate, but the only person who wouldn’t trade Stutzle for Hughes straight up are Senators super fans. Again, we think Stutzle is a great NHL player. We appreciate him for allowing us to dunk on the New York Rangers for letting him go in the 2020 NHL Draft. Truly, this is nothing against him.

It’s just that Hughes is a special player. He could be the best player in the world if he gained a little weight and stayed on the ice. He has offensive skill that’s generational. He can skate as well or better than literally everyone in the league. He is one of the faster players and might have the best stick handling of any player. 

Meanwhile, Stutzle can match Hughes’s speed, but his stick handling is slightly lower than the Devils’ star forward. And that’s why his goals have been inconsistent. Even in a quality Senators season, he wasn’t able to bring his scoring to that next level.

Hughes has been doing that every year since 2022. He was always an elite passer, but he knew the Devils needed a finisher, so he became an elite finisher. 

We can’t wait for the season to start, Jack Hughes remains healthy, and he proves that he is still one of the great players in this game. Just stay off the covers of any video games.