For prospects, culture is key
Devils GM insists development starts in the locker room
Whether it involves rookie center Jack Hughes or any other prospect, Devils general manager Ray Shero says the most important aspects of a prospect’s development must be in place before first stepping into the locker room.
Simply put, the key is culture, and how it rubs off on an impressionable 18-year-old.
“If you have a bad group of guys, if you’re not in a good environment in terms of work ethic, you’re like, ‘ OK, that’s how it’s done here, great. I’m not going to work, I’m going to stay out til 4 o’clock,’ ” Shero told The Associated Press.
“If there’s accountability, and that’s really a big thing in terms with anything whether it’s business, sports, whatever when you walk into that it’s ‘ Oh, that’s how it’s done,’ ” he added. “There’s learning curves for everything on and off the ice. I think the better you support those guys as young kids and teenagers, the better off they’re going to be.”
In New Jersey, all eyes are on Hughes, the undersized, playmaking center who became the eighth American-born player selected with the top pick in June. He joins a team that features two other No. 1 draft picks in Taylor Hall, who was selected first by the Oilers in the 2010 draft, and Nico Hischier, selected No. 1 by the Devils in 2017.
Nothing Hughes has done thus far should give Shero pause as the Devils prepare to open their season hosting the Jets on Friday.
The 5-foot-10, 170pound Hughes displayed how much of a competitor he’s in expressing how unhappy he was losing in his first NHL competitive setting — a 6-4 loss to the Sabres at a prospects tournament last month.
“We kind of got lucky to put four on the board, and only gave up six. Disappointing game,” Hughes said.
The youngster responded once the preseason began by scoring twice, including the decisive goal, on a give-and-go with Nikita Gusev in a 4-3 overtime win in his preseason debut against Boston.
Devils defenseman P.K. Subban was so impressed, he referred to Hughes’ performance as “nasty.”
And the player who spent the last two years setting USA Hockey’s National Development Program’s scoring record followed up by scoring a breakaway goal 34 seconds into a 4-2 win over the Rangers a few days later. Hughes finished the preseason with three goals and an assist in four games.