The Hughes family looks to be the next big family in the world of hockey. The three boys Quinn, Jack, and Luke were born and raised by Ellen and Jim Hughes. Jim and Ellen both played hockey and Jim worked within the hockey community too. He coached in the ECHL when Quinn and Jack were babies which is why the family lived in Florida and he then worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs which caused them to move in 2009. The family moved from New Hampshire to Toronto when the kids were 10, 8, and 6, and living in Canada showed the boys how amazing of a sport hockey truly was. The family moved back to the states when Quinn was selected to play for the USA National Team Development Program (NTDP), all three brothers ended up playing for the USA NTDP. This team was located in Plymouth, Michigan and had a U17’s and U18’s team, the top prospects in America were picked to be on this roster after tryouts were run for that year. The Hughes family is the first American family to have all three brothers drafted in the first round.
Quinn Hughes is the oldest Hughes brother being 22 years old and born October 14th, 1999. He is the shortest of the brothers coming in at 5’10 and he weighs 170 pounds. Quinn is a defenseman and was drafted 7th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft to the Vancouver Canucks. He played two years of NCAA Ice Hockey with University of Michigan. In his two seasons with UMich he recorded 62 points. He was named on the NCAA All Rookie Team in the 2017-2018 season and the NCAA All Star Team in the 2018-2019 season. Hughes was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award during his sophomore season there. After his second season with the Wolverines he signed an entry level with his NHL team, The Vancouver Canucks. During his first full season with The Canucks he was named on the NHL All Rookie Team. He was also voted into the NHL All Star Game in the 2019-2020 season. Quinn seems to be having a great start to his career in Vancouver and hockey fans are excited to see how this offensive defenseman will continue to develop.
The middle child of the family, Jack Hughes, is a 20 year old who is playing for the New Jersey Devils currently. He is injured right now due to dislocating his shoulder in just the second game of the season. He is in physical therapy and is said to be able to play in about four to five weeks. Jack is 5’11 and weighs about 176 pounds. He was drafted first overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, going straight to the league and not playing at all in the NCAA. The forward played two years with the USA NTDP before getting drafted and he set many records with that team. He set the record for most assists with 154 assists within his two years there and also recorded the most points at 228 points in 110 games. Jack was also named USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year during the 2017-2018 season. This Hughes brother was also awarded with U18 WJC MVP during the 2017-2018 under-18 World Junior Championships. Jack is hoping to heal quickly and be back on the ice with his team.
The youngest of the Hughes, Luke Hughes, is an 18 year old who is actually the tallest of the Hughes’ being 6’2 and weighing 185 pounds. Luke is a draftee of his older brother, Jack’s team. The New Jersey Devils selected Luke fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. The defenseman is currently in his freshman season at University of Michigan and seems to be doing amazing. He has put up 10 points in 10 games with the Wolverines along with being +13. Luke struggled with an injured tendon in his foot causing him to miss a large amount of his last season at the USA NTDP. COVID-19 also majorly affected the way his stats seem to line up because his U17 year with NTDP was cut short due to COVID. Luke said he does not see himself at UMich for more than two years and could actually only be there for one year depending on his development. Luke’s career is just starting up and as he begins to learn more from experience along with advice from his brothers, people want to see how much this kid can accomplish in his future.
As the Hughes kids continue to accomplish more and more throughout all of their careers it is exciting for the hockey community to watch this history the family is making.