We knew way back when the New Jersey Devils drafted Luke Hughes with the fourth-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft that he had a chance to be special. He had a special set of skills, and he was one of the younger players in the draft, so he had a lot of room for growth. He was committed to the University of Michigan, and he would be surrounded by some of the great prospects, including Owen Power, Adam Fantilli, Matty Beniers, Kent Johnson, and fellow Devils prospect Seamus Casey.
Hughes clearly raised his game at Michigan, and he got better and better in the NHL. Since joining the Devil after his 2022-23 NCAA season, Hughes made an immediate impact. He did that with the one thing that was a sure thing to be at an NHL level: his speed.
Hughes was always one of the fastest skaters on the planet. Thanks to NHL Edge stats, we now know that Hughes is the fastest defenseman in the NHL.
Sheldon Keefe asked Hughes to change his game this season, and he's become a defensive fiend. His pairing with Brett Pesce has become one of the best shutdown pairs in the league. Hughes' best quality has been his ability to track back and break up plays that look like they could be a breakaway or a 2-on-1 chance. He's been able to make plays that ruined opponents chances.
Luke Hughes proves he is the fastest defenseman in the NHL
And that brings us back to his speed. Hughes has been able to use speed bursts to make plays and take them away. And that has shown up in his speed burst stats. Despite only playing 28 games this season, Hughes leads all NHL defensemen in speed bursts over 22 MPH. He has six, which is one ahead of the Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson, Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar, and Pittsburgh Penguins' Erik Karlsson.
While Hughes is slightly behind Jaccob Slavin for fastest burst of the season (24.18 MPH vs. 23.58 MPH), he continues to hit those speeds with consistency. He's also exactly halfway to Colton Parayko for most 20+ MPH bursts, but that has a lot to do with Hughes' injury and time missed more than anything. He should be closer to the top by season's end.
Luke Hughes has also started to add more offense to his game after a solely defensive start. He has 15 points in 28 games, which is just slightly off the pace he was on in his rookie year.
Hughes can outskate everyone on defense. We would love to see him in the fastest skater competition at the All-Star Game, although he's not yet on the level of Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid. Still, being the fastest defenseman in th league is a pretty great start.