Jack Hughes is the lone New Jersey Devils representative at the 4 Nations Face-Off. His USA squad made it to the championship game by beating both Canada and Finland in regulation. The Americans didn't give it their all on Monday in a loss to Sweden, but the game was a true exhibition with nothing to play for between either team.
Things could get better if Quinn Hughes joins Team USA, but that's still up in the air as of Wednesday morning. We think Thursday could be the coming out party for Hughes, as he has as much as anyone to gain from a huge game, but he's had a decent tournament so far. Head coach Mike Sullivan has given him a distinct role, and Hughes has played it well.
The Jake Guentzel-Auston Matthews-Jack Hughes line has been tasked with making plays and stopping plays. They've done both in droves. Guentzel has especially been great, scoring two goals against Canada that secured their victory. Hughes has been a little bit of a passenger on the scoresheet, but he's been great at the little things in the game to allow Guentzel to play like this.
Hearing that some say that Jack Hughes is having a bad tournament is a surprising turn of events. He's been just fine, and one look at his shifts shows he's been impactful. He might be the best puck handler on the ice, which is impressive since this is a best-on-best tournament. He gets to play with a little risk in the offensive zone, and he knows he can be aggressive in the defensive zone.
It's shocking to see some say that Jack Hughes is having a bad 4 Nations Face-Off
The popular Puck Soup podcast, with hosts Ryan Lambert of Elite Prospects and Sean McIndoe of The Athletic, brought up Jack Hughes when talking about disappointing American players.
"Jack Hughes is the other guy we're kind of waiting on... The fact that they can have Matthews and Hughes both go ice cold on them and still not even, I wouldn't say not miss them, but kind of not miss them is good."Puck Soup Podcast
This sentiment appears to be prevalent on social media. Now, we don't want to take too much credence in the unfiltered opinions on social media platforms, but it is interesting to see this as a talking point.
We assume this is because of Hughes on the scoresheet. He only has one point this tournament, but he's been so much more than points for Team USA. He's playing some incredible defense, and he's avoided any big mistakes. Any giveaways he has haven't really impacted the game, and he's been great at zone exits.
Of course, we'd love to see a Hughes goal in the Final, but it's not required for him to have a good tournament. He's still playing incredibly well, and we'd be floored if they separated that top line that has been working so well.