Big Brother
FLASHY CANUCKS ROOKIE QUINN HUGHES IS READY TO BATTLE HIS HEAVILY HYPED SIBLING JACK FOR HOBBY SUPREMACY.
It was one of those plays you have to watch multiple times to comprehend. Having turned over the puck at his own blueline in overtime, Vancouver’s J.T. Miller was racing back to his own end hoping to catch Washington’s T.J. Oshie on the breakaway. Just when it seemed that the Capitals star was in alone, Miller li ed his stick from behind, striped the puck and ended the threat.
A great effort by Miller … but he didn’t do it alone.
Replays revealed that Vancouver’s rookie sensation Quinn Hughes had caught up to Miller and pushed him from behind, giving him the last-second boost of speed needed to catch Oshie. It was a wonderfully heady play, displaying the sort of determination and hockey sense you’d expect from a 10-year veteran, not some kid fresh out of college. Of course, Hughes isn’t simply “some kid.” e 20-year-old has emerged as one of the season’s most exciting players, giving Vancouver’s long suffering fans reason to believe they’ll soon be back in contention.
Every element of his game screams special, from the seeing-eye saucer passes to the fearless neutral zone dangles to the effortless defensive zone breakouts.
“He’s a unique talent,” coach Travis Green said. “He’s a player who can be a difference maker.”
That’s a lot of pressure to put on a rookie, but Hughes has lived with high expectations his whole life. The Orlando, Florida native was born into the game, living a peripatetic childhood as his father, Jim, moved the family around North America for a series of coaching jobs, including a stint as an assistant with the Boston Bruins from 2001-03 and the director of player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2009-15. The constant exposure to the pro game at various levels helped shape middle brother Jack into the first pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Younger brother Luke will contend for the same honor in 2021.
By comparison, Quinn Hughes looks like a bargain after “dropping” all the way down to the seventh pick in 2018, where Vancouver was thrilled to snatch him up.
His size – just 5-foot-10, 170 pounds – contributed to that slide. Still, scouts found plenty to love about the young defenseman. They raved about his ability to eviscerate a defense with a slick stretch pass and compared his effortless stride and ability to change direction to that of Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer.
“He competes. He loves playing the game,” one scout told Beckett Hockey at the time.“He sees the ice in a way not many can.”
“He has an aura about him,” said another. “When he has the puck on his stick, there’s always a chance something special could happen. He makes the kind of plays that end up on the highlight shows.”
Long-time observers of the team say the Canucks have never employed a defenseman with the game-changing ability of Hughes in their entire 50-year history. Chris Tanev has no problem with that assessment.
“He’s definitely by far the most skilled partner I’ve played with,” the Vancouver defender told NHL. com.“Just the way he can change direction and how good he is with the puck, any partners I’ve played with, no one’s really been that skilled. He’s a little bit smaller, and I think that helps him. He’s able to slip through guys and change direction in the blink of an eye, and it’s very impressive to watch.
“He plays very good defense, he’s very good obviously up the ice with the puck, and [he’s] really good on the power play. He’s a full 200-foot player and he’s only going to get better as time goes on.”
His impact on a power play that ranked 22nd last season has been immediate. A unit that was plagued by predictability is now challenging opponents because of Hughes and his ability to assess options and distribute the puck at lightning speed, or find lanes to gets pucks on net.
“He gives us a whole new look,” Green raved. “He opens up a lot of ice with his skating and his vision. He’s got the instincts...the creativity. He’s been good.”
While collectors fixate on Hughes’s offensive potential, he’ll only reach it by being reliable
without the puck as well. So far, his defensive play has earned him the full trust of the coaching staff. Green routinely matches him up against the opposition’s top lines, knowing he can count on Hughes’s discipline and effort to meet the challenge.
The timing of his arrival in the city couldn’t have been better. After several seasons spent lurking among the league’s bottom feeders,Vancouver’s rebuild is finally paying dividends. 2018 Calder Trophy winner Elias Pettersson is on course for superstardom in the game and the hobby and appears capable of assuming the No. 1 center role recently vacated by Henrik Sedin. Brock Boeser is the physical winger with the silky mitts on the verge of being an elite scorer. Bo Horvat is the consummate lead-by-example captain. The play of backup goaltender Thatcher Demko suggests he’ll be ready soon to assume the starting job.
And now there’s Hughes, ready to take the hobby by storm. Defensemen rarely capture the attention of collectors for long, but Hughes and his cards have a lot going for them. Because he made his NHL debut late last season, he was eligible to appear in all of the early 2019-20 sets, including Upper Deck #249, Artifacts #180, MVP #248 and O-Pee-Chee #519. And by virtue of playing in Vancouver, he’s lifted by one of the most passionate collector bases in the sport.
“It’s not quite like Toronto or even Detroit, but when collectors get behind a player in Vancouver, everyone knows it,” says collector Glenn Hughes (no relation).“Pettersson, [Pavel] Bure...even guys like [Trevor] Linden. This city can generate a lot of demand.”
Hughes, who says he is transitioning his own collecting focus from Linden to Quinn Hughes, says the market isn’t quite as strong as it was for Pettersson this time last year, but he sees a lot of competition building for the cards of the young defenseman.
“I don’t think of it in terms of competition [between the two young stars though],” he says. “They’re both part of something special that’s happening for this team and when Vancouver is going good, it’s good for the hobby.
“It’s a good time to be a Canucks fan.”