Meanwhile, Hughes was scoring at a 2.0 PPG pace.Īs is fairly obvious from the gap between their numbers, Hughes would appear to be a significantly better prospect than Keller. Going to the U17s now, Keller only had 1.3 PPG. That’s comfortably below the total that Hughes put up. With the U18s, Keller had 23 points, for 1.44 PPG. Keller didn’t suit up for the U18s as often as the other prospects on this list, only playing 16 games, so we’ll bring up time spent with the U17s as well. If Hughes ends up at a similar level, he’d be a star as well. Kane has cleared a point per game over his entire career, with 828 points in 822 games. He’s the only legitimate superstar on this list, although Matthews could challenge, and the fact that Hughes ranked higher on the list than Kane is extremely promising. Kane could be the best player to ever come of the USNTDP. If these statistics indicate anything, Hughes should be good for a total comfortably above that. His 1.64 PPG, although impressive, isn’t quite Hughes’ 1.88.Įichel has been good for 55-65 points so far throughout his three year career, and it’s safe to expect that to increase as Eichel ages, growing closer to his prime. Before heading to Boston College for his draft year, Jack Eichel also suited up the U18 team while a year younger than the competition. Let’s move on to another American star out of the USNTDP. Hughes outproduced Kessel in his draft-minus-one season by 0.11 PPG, which equates to about nine points over 82 games played. He’s been good for about 65 points a season throughout his career, and set a career high in points this season with 92 recorded. Kessel has enjoyed an illustrious 12 year career, totalling 741 points in 914 games. Kessel is a winger, not a pivot, so this comparison isn’t ideal, but the Penguins star is one of the best players the program has ever produced. Hughes’ production for the U18s equates to 96% of Matthews - if his NHL production ends up being 96% of Matthews’, we’re talking an 80+ point player. He put up over a point per game last year, and he’s only getting started on the age curve. Matthews is already an NHL star in just his second season. It appears that Hughes is slightly below Matthews, but that shouldn’t be a knock on the draft-eligible phenom. That’s superior to what Hughes put up, and Matthews did it over a larger sample size as well. That’s an excellent total, good for 1.95 PPG. Matthews played 60 games with the U18s in his draft-minus-one season, totalling 117 points. That’s quite the mark, but how does it stack up to Matthews? In 36 games with the U18s, Hughes put up 68 points, which translates to 1.88 PPG.

Like Matthews, Hughes played for the USNTDP U18 team in his D-1 year, and like Matthews, Hughes put up statistics for that team that bordered on insane despite being a year younger than the competition. One of the best comparisons for Hughes would be Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews. Hughes is an excellent hockey player, but how does he compare to similarly excellent prospects of years past?įirst off, let’s compare some of the numbers that have come as a result of the time in which current NHL’ers have previously spent with the USNTDP, like Hughes: He’s been described as a “super-prospect”, and that isn’t hyperbole. That’s not because of a lack of depth behind him this is undoubtedly not a class without a “true #1 pick” - in fact, I think consensus #2 prospect Kaapo Kaako could pass as an excellent first overall selection any day of the week, but simply because Hughes is just at another level. This year, it’s Jack Hughes, and although things can change, it appears extremely unlikely that he isn’t in the same position next June. In years past, that player has been the aforementioned Patrick, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid. On less frequent occasions, that player is overtaken, like what happened in 2017 which saw Nico Hischier overtake Nolan Patrick, who entered the campaign as the consensus number one. Most of the time, that prospect stays on course and actually ends up being the first overall pick. Hughes may be said to be part of a family dynasty, with dad Kent Hughes recently joining the Montreal Canadiens as General Manager, after being hired in January of this year.įor more about Mr.Every year, there’s one draft-eligible prospect that enters the season as the projected first overall pick in the draft that will occur the following June. Hughes has been selected by the Los Angeles Kings as the 51st pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Westwood native and Northeastern University hockey player Jack Hughes is going professional. Image of Kings Drummers by mark6mauno from Flickr.

Jack hughes