Until recently, the general consensus was that Cale Makar is the best defenseman in the world, with Quinn Hughes as the clear No. 2.
Now, the perception seems to be changing.
Since the Vancouver Canucks traded Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in December, dozens of writers, podcasters and broadcasters have noted their shock at how good Hughes actually is — and his Olympic performance with Team USA only increased his stock.
But he’s the same player he always was. The difference is that more people are paying attention to him, being two time zones closer to the Eastern Conference and all.
Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt played a season with Hughes and the Canucks. It was only Hughes’ third year in the NHL, but Schmidt could already see that he was special.
“You could tell it was all in there if he could just gather even more confidence when he has the puck,” Schmidt said. “He’s such a game changer. I think the gap between him and Makar has shrunk, and it’s always been pretty close.”
Part of what makes Hughes so good is his ability to get through the neutral zone with the puck. Rather than skating forward, he turns his back to oncoming forecheckers.
That opens up passing options behind him and to both wings, in addition to the ability to pivot around the forechecker and advance the puck.
The more time you can spend in the offensive zone, the more likely you are to both score and prevent the opponent from scoring — and that’s a major factor in the 57 points Hughes has scored through 52 games this season.
“His skating separates him,” said Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi, who grew up around the Hughes boys when they lived in Toronto while their father was working for the Maple Leafs.
“His conditioning, how efficient he is. He plays 30 minutes (a game) and it looks like it’s pretty easy for him, so that’s a credit to how well he’s done.”
Durzi noted the game the Mammoth played against Hughes in Vancouver just before the trade, and Hughes had a hand in every one of the Canucks’ scoring chances in the first period.
“He’s got that calmness to him that allows him to step up big in these pressured situations, but, like, he’s got that passion, too. I think the whole family’s got that love for the game and they want to be out there in those moments and I think he’s done a good job of that.”
With two parents who work in high-level hockey, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise that all three of their boys became NHL stars. Durzi credits his three brothers for his success, and he noted that the same must be true of the Hughes brothers.
The Mammoth host Hughes and the Wild on Friday. Despite being in the same division as Minnesota, Utah has yet to lose to the Wild in regulation, and they’re a perfect 3-0-0 against Hughes as a Canuck.
Utah head coach André Tourigny gave his thoughts about Hughes after the Mammoth’s practice on Thursday.
“We know how good he is. He’s one of the best players in the world — all positions," Tourigny said. “I think there’s a debate to be made on a few, maybe five, six guys in the world, and he’s probably at that level.”
Added Schmidt with a laugh: “Makes me feel a lot better about myself, because if he can go out there and dominate and game-change in the Olympics, it makes me feel a lot better when he does it against me in the regular season.”
