Quinn Hughes | #43 | D

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-AJ-]

At 47 assists on the year now, Hughes is 4th all time in the most assists in a single season by a Canuck. Reinhart, Lidster, and Kearns, who is in first with 55 assists, are the three above him. It's noteworthy that Reinhart had his 50 assists in just 64 games way back in 1988-89. Hughes currently has 47 in 62 games.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Quinn Hughes hypes 'fun' factor of improved penalty kill:

 

It’s always been considered grunt work.

 

The rewards of a successful penalty kill are usually battle scars for falling in front of vulcanized rubber and some self satisfaction for keeping the opposition from scoring.

Quinn Hughes doesn’t quite see it that way.

 

“It’s an honour to be on the PK — especially because I haven’t been on it,” the Vancouver Canucks defenceman said Sunday of a revitalized special-teams unit that has had a perfect kill sheet in seven of the last 10 games, including 3-for-3 on Saturday in a 4-1 win at Dallas.

 

“I’m having a ton of fun on it and I joke with Millsy (J.T. Miller) that sometimes I have more fun on the PK than the PP.”

 

Fun? That’s a new one.

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-quinn-hughes-hypes-fun-factor-of-improved-penalty-kill

[-AJ-]

An unfortunate three-game pointless streak has Hughes looking a bit tight to break the Lidster record. Right now, he's on pace for 62.6 points in 78 games. The assist record is a bit safer, as he is still on pace for 56.7 assists.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Canucks’ gifted Quinn Hughes will break blueliner records, sooner or later:

 

Sooner or later, Quinn Hughes is going to break records.

 

Bruce Boudreau believes that’s a safe bet, and he should know. 

 

The Vancouver Canucks’ bench boss has guided prolific point-producing defencemen like Mike Green, Sami Vatanen, Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba, and has seen what it takes to excel. But he’s never seen anything quite like the nimble, elusive and pinpoint-passing Hughes.

 

“The best first pass, and it’s always on the tape,” Boudreau said Wednesday. “His evasiveness is real good and the smoothness in which he gets away from players I find amazing. He doesn’t look like he’s exerting himself and the next thing you know he makes that pass that makes him special.

 

“He’s going to be here for a long time. Records are going to be broken. I’m not going to tell him to jump into the play more because the No.1 thing right now — and Quinn knows it — is winning.”

 

Hughes has production plateaus he’d like to reach, but hasn’t spoken of them because to be regarded as an elite defenceman also means being good without the puck.

 

Hughes, 22, has already eclipsed the 50-point plateau for the second time in his three seasons with 55 points (6-49) in his 68 games. He’s within striking range of two long-standing franchise marks for points and assists by a defenceman in a single season.

 

Hughes has eight games to amass nine points to better Doug Lidster’s team standard of 63 points (12-51) set in the 1986-87 season. And he needs seven assists to pass a record 55 established in the 1976-77 season by Dennis Kearns.

 

What could hold Hughes back is his health, and certainly not his heart.

 

He missed two games last week with a bug circulating among the players. A nagging sore throat and hoarse tone sound like the marks might be harder to attain. He had gone pointless in five games before an assist and overtime winner Tuesday.

 

Boudreau believes there’s untapped goal potential in Hughes, especially with the way today’s game is played. Whether it’s joining the rush or pinching to shoot successfully from sharp angles, there’s potential for Hughes to get more goals.

 

“Eventually, I think there is,” said Boudreau. “Good teams have four guys in the play all the time and they outnumber teams down low.”

 

Defence partner Luke Schenn believes what sets Hughes apart is skill, will and especially confidence. He saw it in a late-season pairing with the rookie in 2018-19.

 

“He felt so calm and you look over at him and it’s kind of like wondering if he’s even worried about the moment, or the pressure on him as a first-round pick that’s highly touted coming out of college,” recalled Schenn. “He has such poise and composure that not a lot of guys have.”

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/quinn-hughes-will-break-blueliner-records-sooner-or-later

[-AJ-]

With his big three-assist night, Hughes is again on pace to beat out Lidster's record and hit 64 points (63.88, to be precise). He also only needs 4 assists in the final 7 games to beat out the record of Kearns.

[-AJ-]

Hughes has tied Dennis Kearns' record of 55 assists with two assists last night. He's also just two points short of tying and three points of beating Lidster's 63-point record.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[bigbadcanucks]

13 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

To all those who were offended when Allvin proclaimed there were no superstars on the Canucks roster...well, there you go.  Everyone knew the day would come when Quinn Hughes would be proclaimed a superstar.  April 20th, 2022 marks the day that he's been ordained a superstar by Byron Bader.  Validates everyone's expectations of Quinn Hughes becoming/being a superstar.

 

IMHO, two superstars on the Canucks -- Demko and Hughes.  Jury still out on Pettersson.

[Tyndall2]

It's about winning games as a team, not worrying about 'superstar' status or points.  Hughes can't play out there by himself!

[-AJ-]

6 hours ago, bigbadcanucks said:

To all those who were offended when Allvin proclaimed there were no superstars on the Canucks roster...well, there you go.  Everyone knew the day would come when Quinn Hughes would be proclaimed a superstar.  April 20th, 2022 marks the day that he's been ordained a superstar by Byron Bader.  Validates everyone's expectations of Quinn Hughes becoming/being a superstar.

 

IMHO, two superstars on the Canucks -- Demko and Hughes.  Jury still out on Pettersson.

Miller is probably in that category too, depending on your threshold for "superstar".

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Doug Lidster knew Quinn Hughes would reach his points record:

 

Seeing was believing.

 

When Doug Lidster first witnessed how Quinn Hughes used elite edge work to spin on frustrated forecheckers, and then dazzled offensively at the University of Michigan, the former Vancouver Canucks defenceman just knew.

 

He knew that the diminutive fleet-footed, quick-thinking and laser-like passing blueliner was going to evolve into a prominent National Hockey League player and chase club performance records.

 

It occurred when Hughes scored and added an assist Saturday in Calgary during a 6-3 loss to the Flames. It equalled Lidster’s long-standing franchise standard for defencemen of 63 points (12-51) established in the 1986-87 season. 

 

Hughes, who has also eclipsed the club assist mark of 55 set by Dennis Kearns in 1976-77, and can better Lidster’s standard Tuesday when the Canucks host the Seattle Kraken.

 

The ultimate compliment from Lidster is why this record run took so long.

 

After all, with 53 points (8-45) in 68 games during the COVID-19 paused 2019-20 season, Hughes was already on the fast track to growing his game and putting up eye-popping points.

 

Lidster knows you can teach a lot of things, but you can’t teach skill, anticipation and execution. 

 

You either have it or you don’t and Hughes has it in spades. Lidster witnessed it when Hughes was a budding Wolverines star.

 

“He was terrific,” the 61-year-old Lidster recalled Sunday from his home in Northville, Mich. “He’s the kind of player that you can’t help but watch. He just attracts your eye all the time. The one thing that really stood out for me is that a guy who’s that exceptional — especially at a younger age — usually tries to skate himself out of trouble.

 

“But, more often than not, he made that quick pass before there was any kind of trouble — even if he was going backwards, to his right or left. It’s just as hard as if he was skating in full stride and it’s always tape-to-tape.”

 

Lidster even used Hughes video clips as a teaching tool when he taught at a hockey academy in Plymouth, Mich. Sometimes, it’s easier to show than explain how Hughes finds the open man and always has his head on a swivel.

 

“There was a play in his first NHL year and he was quarterbacking the power play,” said Lidster. “He made the pass from the left side to the right flank, and while that guy was shooting, I stopped the clip because Hughes was turning his head to see what his possible options were if he gets the puck back. He’s thinking a step or two ahead of everybody.”

 

Hughes was the seventh-overall selection in the 2018 draft and Lidster was a seventh-round pick in 1980. Hughes was destined for greatness and Lidster was tabbed as a reliable defender with offensive potential. He put up 30- and 28-point seasons here and then exploded for 63. He hadn’t had that many since amassing the same total in 1977-78 with the Kamloops Chiefs of the BCHL.

 

So what happened in 1986-87?

 

The Canucks finished last in the Smythe Division with a 29-43-8-0 record under Tom Watt. But they did have the fifth-ranked power play, and when Rick Lanz was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs, there was more man-advantage time. Lidster lapped it up and finished with a team high 33 special-team points (3-30). But he tried do too much and admitted that he wasn’t at his best. 

 

Lidster forgot the lessons learned from coach Dave King in the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo — especially playing without the puck — which were crucial to lasting 16 seasons with the Canucks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars. He won Stanley Cups with the Rangers (1994) and Stars (1999).

 

“I wasn’t a top defenceman or anything like that, I just tried to do the best with the role I was given and just carried on,” reasoned Lidster. “I was able to be a puzzle piece, do my job and keep my job.”

 

Hughes has 31 power-play points (0-31) this season, second to J.T. Miller’s 37 (8-29), but the biggest point he wanted to make was improving his all-around game.

 

“I usually have goals and I want to be up there with the best defencemen, but with how last year went (minus-24), I was motivated and focused on trying to have a good overall game,” Hughes said earlier this season in sporting a plus-7 rating.

 

“I was just taking it 10 games at a time and never really looked at a number — I just played on and that’s just how the year has been.”

 

Maybe Bruce Boudreau put it best, not that the Canucks bench boss wanted to put the accomplishment to rest. When asked what it meant for Hughes to reach a franchise standard, he wasn’t sure what the level of celebration should be.

 

“He’s a special player, but he’s going to break that record five times from now,” predicted Boudreau. “Every year he’s going to be better. For now it’s cool, but he knows he’s going to do a lot better in the future.”

 

In other words, the best is yet to come.

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-doug-lidster-knew-quinn-hughes-would-reach-his-points-record

[-AJ-]

Hughes has thirteen points in his last seven games. 

[Mackcanuck]

Highest points per game seasons by Canucks defencemen (minimum 50 games).

Quinn Hughes is neck-and-neck with Paul Reinhart, who had two of the best seasons by a defenceman in franchise history.

Hughes also appears in the top 7 three times P/GP. He's only played three NHL seasons.

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Mackcanuck

[-AJ-]

Hughes is 3rd in the NHL among defensemen in assists-per-game at .784. Only Josi and Fox are higher.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[Alflives]

1 hour ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

Adam Fox 24 years old, and fully physically developed.

Quinn Hughes 22 years old, and still filling out physically.

 

Quinn will be better than Fox.  

[-AJ-]

39 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Adam Fox 24 years old, and fully physically developed.

Quinn Hughes 22 years old, and still filling out physically.

 

Quinn will be better than Fox.  

Possibly, but Fox has an extremely well-rounded game. Not to say that Hughes doesn't, but Fox didn't win a Norris purely due to his offense. His defense is superb.

[Alflives]

7 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Possibly, but Fox has an extremely well-rounded game. Not to say that Hughes doesn't, but Fox didn't win a Norris purely due to his offense. His defense is superb.

Fox is 24.  He’s a fully matured man.  Hughes is still maturing into his man body.  Hughes is better now and will be way better at 24 than Fox.  Screw the Rags, their players, their fans, and their city.  

#Canucks are our team!  

#Own our home board.