What we learned from spending a week watching Devils prospect Luke Hughes
New York TimesPLYMOUTH, Mich. — When you spend a week focusing mostly on one prospect during a flurry of hockey games, you are trying to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the player’s game, but you also tend to pick up on smaller details as well. There was a different kind of observation watching Luke Hughes play four games this past week at the World Junior summer showcase in Plymouth, Mich. At one point during a game against Finland, an opposing player flipped the puck over Hughes’ head and into the United States zone before heading to his bench along with his linemates for a change. He’s an exceptionally talented hockey player, but he’s also a self-described “late bloomer” and there is still a lot of work for him ahead before he joins his two older brothers in the NHL. “People see the Hughes brothers as these super offensive players, and I think Luke is really good offensively — I mean, he’s almost a point a game as a defenseman — but I think he holds even more value because of how he defends. “Watching them in line drills, trying to see what they’re looking at when they’re trying to score.” Luke Hughes has forged his own path as an elite prospect.
History of this topic
How Luke Hughes cemented his place as the Devil’s first-round NHL draft pick: ‘He earned it on his own’
New York TimesDiscover Related
