4. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec don't take steps forward
Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec were fine last season. They didn’t have great seasons, but they definitely weren’t terrible. For rookies, they were fantastic. Luke Hughes finished the season as a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Nemec solidified a spot on the NHL roster moving forward. The two former top-five NHL Draft picks were building on great careers.
And if that keeps building, even incrementally, then everything will be great. However, what if we get the Hughes and Nemec we got last season? While they were good for rookies, that doesn’t translate as “good for sophomores.”
There is some expected growth here. Hughes was making way too many mistakes in his own end, and his ability to pass the puck out of the zone under pressure was not the best. Nemec was a two-way defenseman, but he clearly left some of his upside on the table to do what was best for the situation. We hope to see more of the dynamic skillset that led to Nemec going second overall.
Again, we need to see at least incremental steps forward. Hughes must be smarter with the puck in his own zone and the neutral zone. Nemec needs to be more than just a solid defenseman and he has to showcase his offensive skill. They both need to be better on the power play. This is something to watch under…