The NHL Has A New Star And He's Only Getting Better

The beauty of the NHL (and pro sports in general) is that there is never a shortage of new talent. Every year a new star emerges and sometimes several blossom simultaneously. The 2021-22 season is no exception. A number of youngsters have exploded onto the scene but perhaps none have shown more brilliance than New Jersey Devils' F Jack Hughes.

The 1st draft pick in 2019, Hughes had a bumpy start to his career. After one of the worst inaugural seasons ever from a 1st overall pick (.34 points/game), critics flocked. "Is he able to play against men?" they asked. Well, it's safe to say he can. His sophomore season saw solid improvement, scoring 11g-20a-31p in 56GP (.55 points/game). But more significant than his point totals are what he does when he does not have the puck. It is here that Jack Hughes excels. In the 2020-21 season, Hughes led the NHL in Steals. As a 19-year old.

Let me repeat that--at the age of 19, Jack Hughes led the National Hockey League in Steals. That's crazy.

Fast forward to this season, and Hughes' game has taken off like a falcon in the wind. His U20 NHL stats for the current campaign are off the charts. See figures below:

Now that Jack Hughes' status among "star-level" players is assured, lets see the analytical view of the player. Eye-test is the penultimate method of assessing talent, but using data-driven analytics as a tool in generating context of a player's profile can be valuable. And JFresh Hockey (@JFreshHockey on Twitter) has one of the best models for it; his work aims to generate easily digestible analytic profiles. Lets see how Jack Hughes' card looks...

Oh boy, at 20 years old...that seems pretty good.

With a long (& I'm guessing pretty successful) career ahead of him, I think it's safe to say that no one is safe from Jack Hughes.

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