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LD Luke Hughes (2021, 4th, NJD)

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Morgan Reilly 2.0, great pick up for NJ.
 
simple solution to all this geographical BS.... all 3 brothers will one day end up in Tampa. Where the sun shines, the babes play & everyone wants to stay....yada yada no income taxes, blah blah over the salary cap, etc...
 
Ed Ned and Leddy said:
Michigan should be a pretty exciting team to watch next year, I'd recommend tuning in some time if your team has a prospect at U of M.
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Ya I'm excited to see both Power and Portillo on a stacked team together.

MichaelFarrell said:
I’m really excited to see Luke Hughes outplay Power. I think by the end of the season, Hughes gets more minutes. He’s just faster and is able to move the puck better IMO.
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:laugh:
 
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Ed Ned and Leddy said:
Well we've got like three pages of Cam Fowlercomparisons and three pages of... whatever is happening above this comment.

Last year, Michigan's defensive pairings were

Cam York - Keaton Pehrson
Owen Power - Nick Blankenburg
Jacob Truscott - Jack Summers

My guess is that the Power/Blankenburg pairing probably takes on more responsibility, and Hughes fills in the hole left by York next to Pehrson.

For reference, Keaton Pehrson isn't a player with NHL buzz, but he's a good meat and potatoes NCAA defenseman with plenty of experience who should help Hughes with the transition to higher level hockey.

While Hughes, as a top 5 pick, likely has the inside track to top 4 responsibilities with powerplay time, I think Truscott will provide some competition there as well. He's a solid defenseman.

Michigan should be a pretty exciting team to watch next year, I'd recommend tuning in some time if your team has a prospect at U of M.
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Any idea how Ethan Edwards (NJ 2020 4th rounder) fits into the Michigan defense pairings?

Assuming Power returns, it would appear that York is the only top 6 defenseman not returning and would assume Hughes takes his minutes.
 
MichaelFarrell said:
I’m really excited to see Luke Hughes outplay Power. I think by the end of the season, Hughes gets more minutes. He’s just faster and is able to move the puck better IMO.
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As a U of M and Red Wings fan I was sort of hoping we'd land one of Power, Beniers, Hughes, or Johnson. The silver lining of that not happening means I don't really have a horse in the race now.

That said, I'd be pretty surprised to see Hughes "outplay" Power this year. The latter has a pretty serious strength advantage, plus a year of experience with the team, its system, and the competitiveness of NCAA hockey. I think you may also be selling Power's puck moving attributes a bit short. I agree that he's not as much of a transition monster as Hughes, but he almost never misses a breakout pass. I have some reservations about the way he processes the game without the puck, but he's a really mature player with the puck on his stick.

None of this is a knock on Hughes of course, and I think it's anybody's guess who is the better defenseman at, say, 24 years old. I'm not super super confident in Buffalo's ability to get the best out of Power frankly. But for next year, Owen Power certainly has the inside track.

HBK27 said:
Any idea how Ethan Edwards (NJ 2020 4th rounder) fits into the Michigan defense pairings?

Assuming Power returns, it would appear that York is the only top 6 defenseman not returning and would assume Hughes takes his minutes.
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Like you mentioned, it's tough to crack a blueline with several returning players and high end prospects. Power and Hughes are of course going to play. Blankenburg and Pehrson are the two upperclassmen staples I don't see slipping out of the top 4. Truscott entering his sophmore year will be competing there too.

Edwards' path in probably relies on him surpassing Jack Summers, the upperclassman on the third pairing. I didn't see enough of Edwards at Sioux City to say how likely that is.

Keep in mind that injuries always happen, and both Power and Hughes will almost certainly leave for the WJC as well, so there's some room to work with here.
 
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I don’t think Power and Hughes will be in competition with each other while on the same team. Coach will make that clear I’m sure.
 
Love Hughes. Had him as the clear #2 dman in the draft. (Was my #1 for a long time).

Should have a great career in NJ.
 
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Ed Ned and Leddy said:
Hughes tallies the primary assist on Blankenburg's powerplay goal.

He's playing a lot of minutes on 5v5 and both special teams against #1 ranked Minneosta State tonight.

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Very good, and after two periods (Michigan now down 2-1, college refs are brutal), I'd suggest he's been Michigan's best player today.

There was this narrative around the draft that Hughes is a liability defensively. I think that comes mostly from folks who watch scattered highlights and scouting videos, I don't know anyone who watched him consistently with the NTDP and came away with that impression. In his first few games he's exhibited excellent gap control and he battles hard along the boards. The NCAA isn't a Hfboards Certified Men's League, but he's routinely going up against guys that are much older and stronger than he is and he looks comfortable.

His transition game stands out of course, he's almost always the best skater on the ice. He's kept his passing game pretty simple and mature from what I've noticed so far.

In the offensive zone his agility in navigating tight spaces is really evident, his movement opens up a lot of offense for the Wolverines. He looks really poised on Michigan's second unit.

The Wolverines on the whole have started the year very well, but they trail going into the third tonight so we'll see how the react.
 
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Ed Ned and Leddy said:
Very good, and after two periods (Michigan now down 2-1, college refs are brutal), I'd suggest he's been Michigan's best player today.

There was this narrative around the draft that Hughes is a liability defensively. I think that comes mostly from folks who watch scattered highlights and scouting videos, I don't know anyone who watched him consistently with the NTDP and came away with that impression. In his first few games he's exhibited excellent gap control and he battles hard along the boards. The NCAA isn't a Hfboards Certified Men's League, but he's routinely going up against guys that are much older and stronger than he is and he looks comfortable.

His transition game stands out of course, he's almost always the best skater on the ice. He's kept his passing game pretty simple and mature from what I've noticed so far.

In the offensive zone his agility in navigating tight spaces is really evident, his movement opens up a lot of offense for the Wolverines. He looks really poised on Michigan's second unit.

The Wolverines on the whole have started the year very well, but they trail going into the third tonight so we'll see how the react.
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Thanks for the response. Good to hear that his two way game is pretty decent
 
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Maplebeasts said:
Rielly is a legit top pairing guy and finished top 5 in Norris voting. That is not a disappointment.
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he finished top 5 because he scored 20 goals and had 72 points that one year. If Hughes turns into a <10 goal, 40ish point offensive dman like Rielly then he was a waste of a 4th overall pick. We are hoping Ty Smith has that role covered.
 
justHypnos said:
he finished top 5 because he scored 20 goals and had 72 points that one year. If Hughes turns into a <10 goal, 40ish point offensive dman like Rielly then he was a waste of a 4th overall pick. We are hoping Ty Smith has that role covered.
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Rielly has been averaging well over a 50 point pace per season for the last 4 years. He also has played the hardest minutes on the team. That is a great result for a top 5 pick. Luke Hughes can become more than that, but if he doesn't that's totally fine.
 
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justHypnos said:
he finished top 5 because he scored 20 goals and had 72 points that one year. If Hughes turns into a <10 goal, 40ish point offensive dman like Rielly then he was a waste of a 4th overall pick. We are hoping Ty Smith has that role covered.
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You think having a 10 goal 40 point Dman who can play defense on your team is a waste? lol we'll gladly take him if you don't want him.
 
justHypnos said:
he finished top 5 because he scored 20 goals and had 72 points that one year. If Hughes turns into a <10 goal, 40ish point offensive dman like Rielly then he was a waste of a 4th overall pick. We are hoping Ty Smith has that role covered.
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Your expectations are insane. Obviously it would be disappointing but to say he is a bust or a waste of a pick is just crazy. A 40 point defensemen that is solid defensively is a solid #2 defensemen.
 
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Maplebeasts said:
Rielly is a legit top pairing guy and finished top 5 in Norris voting. That is not a disappointment.
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Agree but for me personally I don’t love the comparison or hoping Hughes projects to be like Reilly but simply because I don’t really care for Reilly as a player. I want our #1 prospect to be likened to a player I really enjoy watching play lol . How about a lesser version of Pietrangelo lol
 
Eggtimer said:
Agree but for me personally I don’t love the comparison or hoping Hughes projects to be like Reilly but simply because I don’t really care for Reilly as a player. I want our #1 prospect to be likened to a player I really enjoy watching play lol . How about a lesser version of Pietrangelo lol
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That's fair. I don't even think they're a good comparison. Rielly maybe had more raw skill as a prospect but Luke strikes me as a very smart player on top of being a really great skater. I could see him being quite the two way player.
 
DJB said:
Love Hughes. Had him as the clear #2 dman in the draft. (Was my #1 for a long time).

Should have a great career in NJ.
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It would be interesting to see which of Power, Hughes and Edvinsson would end up being the best defenceman of the 2021 NHL Draft. The latter is excelling in the SHL early this season and is earning top line minutes with 6 points on a team that has difficulty scoring goals.
 
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