C Jack Hughes - USNTDP (2019, 1st, NJD) Part 6

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Had to scroll to page 8! of the prospects board to find Jack Hughes, the #1 pick in the most recent draft. No activity in 2 weeks. Yeah f*** the Devils and everything and they suck but its pretty insulting. Bet if he was on Vancouver or Montreal we would be on part 46 of this thread, even if he only had like 1 point in 20 games.

 

[Kiekura]

Had to scroll to page 8! of the prospects board to find Jack Hughes, the #1 pick in the most recent draft. No activity in 2 weeks. Yeah **** the Devils and everything and they suck but its pretty insulting. Bet if he was on Vancouver or Montreal we would be on part 46 of this thread, even if he only had like 1 point in 20 games.

Makar and Dach are so hot right now

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Had to scroll to page 8! of the prospects board to find Jack Hughes, the #1 pick in the most recent draft. No activity in 2 weeks. Yeah **** the Devils and everything and they suck but its pretty insulting. Bet if he was on Vancouver or Montreal we would be on part 46 of this thread, even if he only had like 1 point in 20 games.

Devils fans are being quiet because the hate finally stopped and we don’t want to wake it back up.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Devils fans are being quiet because the hate finally stopped and we don’t want to wake it back up.

I know but it shouldn't just be Devils fans in this thread. The NHL world doesn't care about Jack Hughes and its bullshit. Its because he doesn't play in Canada or one of the "sexy" teams like Colorado. Same thing with Islanders , they're on a 15 game win streak and nobody could give less of a f***.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

I know but it shouldn't just be Devils fans in this thread. The NHL world doesn't care about Jack Hughes and its bull****. Its because he doesn't play in Canada or one of the "sexy" teams like Colorado. Same thing with Islanders , they're on a 15 game win streak and nobody could give less of a ****.

That’s true and he isn’t Canadian. Next year the hype is probably going to be insane for Lafreniere.

 

[tealhockey]

I know but it shouldn't just be Devils fans in this thread. The NHL world doesn't care about Jack Hughes and its bull****. Its because he doesn't play in Canada or one of the "sexy" teams like Colorado. Same thing with Islanders , they're on a 15 game win streak and nobody could give less of a ****.

If he and the Devils were lighting it up they would care. He's back to not putting up points and the team looks like they're tanking...

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

If he and the Devils were lighting it up they would care. He's back to not putting up points and the team looks like they're tanking...

He's the no. 1 pick, he should be getting attention whether its positive or negative.

 

[Kiekura]

That’s true and he isn’t Canadian. Next year the hype is probably going to be insane for Lafreniere.

Hughes got huge hype before. Other prospects (Makar specially) just stole Spotlight.

 

[Dominance]

He's the no. 1 pick, he should be getting attention whether its positive or negative.

Oh, really? I didn’t think that was allowed here.

I most recently saw the Devils play against Vancouver and Pittsburgh. He didn’t stand out really, good or bad. Excellent core puck skills and skating are evident with the eye test but they’re not leading to much right now. Still remarkably weak and unbalanced. Like, Gaudreau can withstand more contact.

Tracking for a 16 goal, 41 point season. That would be the worst 18 year old season for a first overall forward since Patrik Stefan by a substantial margin. Also, 5 of those points came in a span of one week over three games. There is evidence galore in this thread of how that stretch demonstrated that he’s figured out the NHL game, so there’s that. -7 and 38% on the dot right now. Averaging ~15 minutes a game with a number of different linemates, which probably isn’t a great situation, but he gets ample powerplay time and it’s not like he’s being stuck with scrubs.

In terms of advanced stats, he has pretty decent possession metrics across the board, especially relative stats, which is a good sign. He has absurd zone starts that may be factoring into that, but I think that’s a pretty meaningless statistic in general.

Given the hype and the comparisons thrown out there, you can’t tell me he’s not been disappointing. On the other hand, his draft “rival”, if you really want to call Kakko that, isn’t lighting the world on fire, either. I’m still pretty sure NJ made the right choice long-term. Just less than before.

This should get this thread rolling again

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Hughes got huge hype before. Other prospects (Makar specially) just stole Spotlight.

I think the point is there was never going to be as big of a spotlight on him because of where he’s from and who he plays for.

 

[tealhockey]

Oh, really? I didn’t think that was allowed here.

I most recently saw the Devils play against Vancouver and Pittsburgh. He didn’t stand out really, good or bad. Excellent core puck skills and skating are evident with the eye test but they’re not leading to much right now. Still remarkably weak and unbalanced. Like, Gaudreau can withstand more contact.

Tracking for a 16 goal, 41 point season. That would be the worst 18 year old season for a first overall forward since Patrik Stefan by a substantial margin. Also, 5 of those points came in a span of one week over three games. There is evidence galore in this thread of how that stretch demonstrated that he’s figured out the NHL game, so there’s that. -7 and 38% on the dot right now. Averaging ~15 minutes a game with a number of different linemates, which probably isn’t a great situation, but he gets ample powerplay time and it’s not like he’s being stuck with scrubs.

In terms of advanced stats, he has pretty decent possession metrics across the board, especially relative stats, which is a good sign. He has absurd zone starts that may be factoring into that, but I think that’s a pretty meaningless statistic in general.

Given the hype and the comparisons thrown out there, you can’t tell me he’s not been disappointing. On the other hand, his draft “rival”, if you really want to call Kakko that, isn’t lighting the world on fire, either. I’m still pretty sure NJ made the right choice long-term. Just less than before.

This should get this thread rolling again

The absolute madman.. I never took you for a Finn

 

[Jerzey Devil]

And here it comes again.

 

[Dominance]

I think the point is there was never going to be as big of a spotlight on him because of where he’s from and who he plays for.

What? He played in the GTHL. He was hyped as the “next McDavid” since he was 15. Then he caught on to a massive hype machine as the next top American draft pick in a time where everyone related to the NHL is going crazy over hockey in the states. Yes, including all forms of Canadian hockey media. Then the (falsely, I may add) built-up race with Kakko just blew things up further. At this time last year, Hughes had more threads than Lafreniere does; his thread rarely left the top five on the prospect board, whereas Lafreniere’s regularly drops off the first page.

You’re just wrong here.

And here it comes again.

Again, all forms of discussion are allowed.

He. Is. On. Pace. For. The. Worst. 18-year old. Season. By. A. First. Overall. Forward Draft. Pick. For. 20. Years. And a good time before that, even in the dead puck era.

This isn’t undue criticism. This isn’t “hate”. This is a very valid topic for discussion. You look like a fool shrugging it off like it’s anything else and you are superior to it, quite frankly.

ETA: and as I said in my former post, I still strongly believe New Jersey made the right choice and Jack Hughes has the highest chance of being the best player from the 2019 NHL Draft.

 

[My3Sons]

I’m not sure Gretzky would be putting up points with the current NJ team. It’s really a mess offensively even if they’ve gotten better starts in goal more recently. Disappointing or not it’s hard to expect an 18 year old to carry a team on offense which is what he’d have to do right now.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

What? He played in the GTHL. He was hyped as the “next McDavid” since he was 15. Then he caught on to a massive hype machine as the next top American draft pick in a time where everyone related to the NHL is going crazy over hockey in the states. Yes, including all forms of Canadian hockey media. Then the (falsely, I may add) built-up race with Kakko just blew things up further. At this time last year, Hughes had more threads than Lafreniere does; his thread rarely left the top five on the prospect board, whereas Lafreniere’s regularly drops off the first page.

You’re just wrong here.

Again, all forms of discussion are allowed.

He. Is. On. Pace. For. The. Worst. 18-year old. Season. By. A. First. Overall. Forward Draft. Pick. For. 20. Years. And a good time before that, even in the dead puck era.

This isn’t undue criticism. This isn’t “hate”. This is a very valid topic for discussion. You look like a fool shrugging it off like it’s anything else and you are superior to it, quite frankly.

ETA: and as I said in my former post, I still strongly believe New Jersey made the right choice and Jack Hughes has the highest chance of being the best player from the 2019 NHL Draft.

The reason I shrug it off is because the coach seems to have no idea what to do with talented players and the rest of the team is playing horribly. I don’t care if he wins the Calder. I don’t even care if he’s in the discussion at the end of the year. If he isn’t putting up points it’s because of who he’s playing with and how much the coach plays him. He only played on the top line with Hall for a small portion of the season even though he had much better results when Hughes was with Hall and Hischier was with Zacha and Bratt.

Sounds. Like. You’ve. Only. Watched. Him. Play. One. Game. And. Look. At. Point. Totals.

 

[Dominance]

The reason I shrug it off is because the coach seems to have no idea what to do with talented players and the rest of the team is playing horribly. I don’t care if he wins the Calder. I don’t even care if he’s in the discussion at the end of the year. If he isn’t putting up points it’s because of who he’s playing with and how much the coach plays him. He only played on the top line with Hall for a small portion of the season even though he had much better results when Hughes was with Hall and Hischier was with Zacha and Bratt.

Sounds. Like. You’ve. Only. Watched. Him. Play. One. Game. And. Look. At. Point. Totals.

Well, the latter is blatantly false as the briefest of glances at my original post would clarify.

As per the bolded - you can’t be serious. Just step back and look at how that appears. “If he isn’t putting up points it’s because of who he plays with and how much the coach uses him.” You’re a good poster. You have to understand how ridiculous that is.

All sorts of rookies have to deal with various things that fans see as stupidity; just look at Dach and his terrible usage before last game (Hughes has certainly had a better introduction than him, but hasn’t performed at close to the same level), or Stamkos being actively suffocated by his coach in his rookie season. They just have to overcome it; I’m sure Hughes will. I’m sticking with my prediction that he scores at least 50 points this season. But he needs to be better.

 

[EbonyRaptor]

I have seen only part on NJ games this season and if you added them all up it might be 60 minutes - so I admit a very small sample size, but I have not seen Hughes stand out at all. Everyone sees the skating and the ability to make plays at top speed and based on that I would bet he will be a very good player but it might take him a little while longer until he hits his stride at the NHL level. Wanting it to happen sooner really isn't as important as that it will eventually happen. Kakko is kind of the same - it's just not flipping a switch - it takes some players longer to acclimate. Dach is being brought in slowly and I think that has served him well transitioning to the NHL game. His TOI is slowly increasing from single digits up to around 14 minutes the last couple games, but his average TOI for the 15 games he's played is still around 4 minutes less than Hughes. He's played mostly on the 3rd and 4th line with linemates like Zach Smith and Ryan Carpenter. He's getting very little PP time with only 1 assist (1 of 10), whereas Hughes has half his points on the PP (5 of 10) and so does Kakko (4 of 8).

 

[bigdog16]

Oh, really? I didn’t think that was allowed here.

I most recently saw the Devils play against Vancouver and Pittsburgh. He didn’t stand out really, good or bad. Excellent core puck skills and skating are evident with the eye test but they’re not leading to much right now. Still remarkably weak and unbalanced. Like, Gaudreau can withstand more contact.

Tracking for a 16 goal, 41 point season. That would be the worst 18 year old season for a first overall forward since Patrik Stefan by a substantial margin. Also, 5 of those points came in a span of one week over three games. There is evidence galore in this thread of how that stretch demonstrated that he’s figured out the NHL game, so there’s that. -7 and 38% on the dot right now. Averaging ~15 minutes a game with a number of different linemates, which probably isn’t a great situation, but he gets ample powerplay time and it’s not like he’s being stuck with scrubs.

In terms of advanced stats, he has pretty decent possession metrics across the board, especially relative stats, which is a good sign. He has absurd zone starts that may be factoring into that, but I think that’s a pretty meaningless statistic in general.

Given the hype and the comparisons thrown out there, you can’t tell me he’s not been disappointing. On the other hand, his draft “rival”, if you really want to call Kakko that, isn’t lighting the world on fire, either. I’m still pretty sure NJ made the right choice long-term. Just less than before.

This should get this thread rolling again

Im not sure what you consider a “substantial matgin”, but Stamkos had 46 points as a rookie and Rick Nash had 39 points in 74 games as a rookie, comes out to around 43 points over 82. Thats not very substantial

 

[Dominance]

Im not sure what you consider a “substantial matgin”, but Stamkos had 46 points as a rookie and Rick Nash had 39 points in 74 games as a rookie, comes out to around 43 points over 82. Thats not very substantial

Good catch. I made that statement after I had previously went through all of them stats, so was going on memory and obviously got caught with the overall perception, but it’s important to be accurate, so thanks.

I would point out that those are the only two examples of “not substantial” over the two decades, I imagine Nash had a very weak team to work with, and Stamkos only played 79 games while receiving absolutely brutal minutes in the first part of the season.

 

[Oneiro]

NJ is as weak as it gets currently. He throws away the puck too often but still I'd say his numbers have far more to do with team context than individual ability relative to other No. 1's.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Even though the general consensus amongst scouts, analysts, and level-headed fans was that Jack Hughes was not going to be one of the most NHL-ready first overall picks to come into the league, people are still going to have increased expectations for the kid because he was... the first overall pick.

Hopefully NJ develops him the right way, whatever that may be.

 

[AmericanDream]

I know but it shouldn't just be Devils fans in this thread. The NHL world doesn't care about Jack Hughes and its bull****. Its because he doesn't play in Canada or one of the "sexy" teams like Colorado. Same thing with Islanders , they're on a 15 game win streak and nobody could give less of a ****.

I have been here...and not a Devils fan...

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Cool, first it was Devils vs Rangers and now we have an invasion of Blackhawks fans too who “are not impressed”. Yeah...

Just let this kid play his games. He will probably end up with around 40-45 points and will be stronger next year.

 

[d rake]

Cool, first it was Devils vs Rangers and now we have an invasion of Blackhawks fans too who “are not impressed”. Yeah...

Just let this kid play his games. He will probably end up with around 40-45 points and will be stronger next year.

It was one Blackhawk fan who said that. @AmericanDream (a Blackhawk fan) has been one of Hughes most vocal supporters for a long time now.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Here's the icetime amongst forwards in NJ's last game vs. Boston:

1. Zajac
2. Simmonds
3. Coleman
4. Hall (1st in points)
5. Gusev
6. Hischier (T-3rd in points)
7. Zacha
8. Bratt
9. Palmieri (2nd in points)
10. Hughes (T-3rd in points)
11. Wood
12. Hayden

Hall 4th. Palmieri 9th. Hughes 10th.

John Hynes has no idea what he's doing and is getting desperate. Without him the team would be painfully average/below average, but he is driving it into the cellar.