He’s going to play the left. Maybe this would be up air if he played elsewhere but not here. The right is too stacked
LD Luke Hughes (2021, 4th, NJD)
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He’s going to play the left. Maybe this would be up air if he played elsewhere but not here. The right is too stacked
Jersey Fan 12
Positive Vibes
- Nov 20, 2006
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If history is any indication, this decision will be made above the coaching staff and given his last name Luke will join the Devils as soon as the Wolverines' season ends; regardless of whether he is ready or not.
I don’t doubt the team will play him in the last couple of regular season games. That accomplishes what both sides want. Hughes wants to burn an ELC year and NJ wants to see him against NHL teams . I’m skeptical management forces the coaches to play him in playoff games if he isn’t ready.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
Pretty funny how much emphasis is placed on a short tournament as opposed to two seasons of dominant play in one of the NHL's best feeder leagues.
Wonder how Matty Beniers and Cole Caufield ended up better than John Farinacci and Alex Turcotte.
Wonder how Matty Beniers and Cole Caufield ended up better than John Farinacci and Alex Turcotte.
He may just prove a revelation. Not expecting it. But if any of the current college prospects could step right in and perform, aside from Fantilli, I think I'd put my money on this other Hughes guy. Bigger issue perhaps right now, there is really no spot for him for the playoffs even if he did play well. He's definitely not replacing Severson or Dougie.
I'm sure time in the A wouldn't be a bad idea for Luke. He would have to perform pretty damn well though for them to keep him through the playoffs. And they are probably going to need Smith for the playoffs. Even if Hughes performed well, he would need to fill that 3rd pair role to get any time during the postseason. And I'm just not sure, from a physical standpoint, if he's ready for that. He'd have to really come out hitting people, hard, more so than even playing well offensively or anything. And he'd have to be defensively relatively mistake free.
So not expecting it to go past the last few games, yea. But this kids going to be damn good, and I have a feeling it won't take him too long. Maybe a season or two before he's fighting Dougie and Severson for their spots.
FooteBahl
Took a big shitz for Nemec
Severson will be gone next year and Luke should go to the left side. Our right side will be Hamilton, Marino and Nemec. Left side Siegenthaler, Graves (if he re-signs) and Luke…an absolutely ridiculous back end.
Doesn't need to play any NHL or AHL games to burn an ELC year. Happens automatically if he signs his ELC to start this season as he is not eligible for a slide given his age. Only way he doesn't burn a year is if he signs his ELC to begin next year and then a PTO/ATO to be able to play in the AHL (and not the NHL).
I can’t see them signing him only to have him practice. If they have those last two regular season games I have to believe he gets into at least one if not both.
I think he gets signed no matter what. It's kind of just part of what happens with top tier prospects, the expectation is to sign them and burn the year. This will be no different.
I do think there's a very strong chance he sees NHL time this year. It will depend on when he comes and what's going on standing wise. If those last 2 games are pivotal for NJ for seeding/playoffs, I can't imagine he gets in. If Michigan is out earlier, good chance he does make his NHL debut. If not, still lot of value in having him around professionals during a playoff run + definitely has a shot of suiting up in the playoffs if the team needs an injury replacement or a shot in the arm.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
Which is very unlikely to happen with a player of Hughes caliber who was drafted that high. If by some odd chance the Devils tried to go that route, Brisson will just play hardball and tell the Devils he is returning to UM and we will see you next spring. In that scenario his ELC would expire the same time (after 2026) as it would if he signed an ATO this spring. Also teams don't like to mess around with the UFA thing, although with Jack being in NJ that is obviously much less of a risk. The only Top 5 type player I can think of who didn't burn a year was Turcotte, and he was coming off a very underwhelming freshman season and the Kings had all the leverage since Turcotte wanted out of college. Hughes will be coming off two spectacular seasons and is the type of talent who could step right in and play.
If all goes according to plan he burns year 1 this season and the Devils can lock him up for a big long-term deal after the 24-25 season. Which is now the thing many teams are doing with players of this caliber.
There is no universe where NJ does anything but roll out the red carpet for Luke the day his NCAA season finishes. if that red carpet has to rolled over Bahl and Okhotiyuk so be it. My guess is that Luke will want a day to sleep off his last Michigan game and has his agent call NJ the next day to get the ELC signed electronically and Luke is in NJ at practice the day after that. Nothing suggests the team is anything less than 100% excited to have him join them and NJ could play a scrimmage against a local high school and Luke's first game with Jack will be a sellout. That's not lost on management or ownership.
Will be exciting to see, between he and Nemec most likely, who will end up being the PP1 QB over the long haul. My money is on Hughes. All though, I suppose there is a world where both become so good, they play them both on the PP1. Nemec prob has a good enough shot to play a different role.
Plus we have another right shot stud in Casey. Not only will Luke probably have to play on the left, but we may need Casey to as well. Marino and Nemec probably could too, but I think we're better off with more mobile guys on their off side.
Siegenthaler - Hamilton
Hughes - Nemec
Casey - Marino
That's a pretty strong group. Though I wish we had more true shutdown defenseman. But so does everyone.
Don't need shutdown defenseman if you have the puck and keep insane tempo all the time. See Avs in last year's finals.
Yes, which is a great regular season strategy. But when playing against top teams in the playoffs that isn't always possible. Sometimes you have to defend. It worked for the Avs because their defensive core was actually pretty well rounded - there's a reason they went out and got Manson at the deadline. Toews, Manson, and EJ were a pretty solid trio in terms of their defensive abilities. Plus they had a generational offensive dman + Byram. I'm not even sure the Avs model is all that attainable honestly.
Devils are great at keeping the puck out of our zone, but once the other team is able to establish possession we're pretty lost and very poor at breaking out the puck. Guys like Hamilton and Severson get exposed in these situations. I would trade Hamilton for Larsson in a heartbeat. He's a big reason why Seattle is as good as they are.
Hamilton will be gone quickly for cap purposes once Hughes is better than him.
Hughes will be putting up points on the board from the get go in the NHL. However, I think he'll need a few years (if he ever) to reach his peak potential as a number 1 Dman. Needs to make better decisions on both sides of the ice.
Well I mean obviously. No one is coming into the NHL at their peak at 19.
Yes. I mean't that he's very raw. He's a 'pure sang'.
Reminds me of Subban in that way. Type of guy who might benefit from toning down his game.
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Forge
Blissfully Mediocre
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