Minnesota Hockey Journal

do things with that puck and turn on a dime and break away from a defender at any time. We all knew he was good, but until you get to watch him every night like Canucks fans did for years, you just don't realize how much he controls a game and what a magician he is with the puck. He's an assist machine, recording 29 helpers in his first 25 games with a club, a new NHL record. "The way he demands the puck and wants the puck on his stick, it's like some- thing I've never really seen before," defense partner Brock Faber said. "The way he skates, the way he pushes for offense, the aggressive- ness at all times, no matter what the score. Just, you know, those things mentality-wise, there's some- thing that definitely I've never really seen or definitely things that I can learn from for sure. "His offensive ability is great, but all around the ice, everyone talks about his offensive zone and I think he's just as good with his skating ability to break pucks out and in the D-zone." Kirill Kaprizov echoed that, saying he never realized how good Hughes was defensively when playing against him. And he's transformed the Wild offen- sively, with the team leading the league in goals since his arrival and blue liners going from 29th in the NHL in points pre- Hughes to No. 1 in the NHL post-Hughes. "He helps drive offense and helps the tempo of the game continue to pick up," coach John Hynes said. "Obviously, Brock plays with him for the most part, and I think Brock 's playing at a faster pace. I just think from an offensive per- spective, when he should go, when he can move it, his decisions are quick, and he's using his skating as well." From the second the trade was made, Wild players couldn't believe it. Kaprizov texted Guerin, "Wow," the second Marcus Foligno called him and told him of the trade. And the moment he walked into the locker room, teammates felt more confident. The trade's intention was to give the Wild a true No. 1 defenseman to compete with Dallas (Miro Heiskanen) or Colorado (Cale Makar) in the playoffs, and there's no doubt Hughes is a top-2 defenseman in the NHL. Hughes comes from a hockey ped- igree. His dad played at Providence, coached in the NHL and was on Toronto's development staff for years. That's why Hughes was born in the United States but essentially grew up in Canada. His mom played hockey at the University of New Hampshire and was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. She was a member of Team's USA's women's staff in the Olympics and broadcast hockey for years on television. SKY HIGH HOCKEY IQ He's a true hockey nerd. Former Canucks teammate Brock Boeser used to just listen to Hughes and Conor Garland go on and on about hockey. "I'd just sit there and listen," Boeser said. "These guys can just go on and on about dif- ferent players in the league that they think are unreal, or they rank guys—whatever it is. It's impressive. They know their hockey. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're future GMs or something one day 29 M A R C H 2 0 2 6 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M Hughes has quickly etched his name into the Wild record books. GAME point streak before the Olympic break ASSISTS GAMES 10 29 5 in first 25 games (NHL record) with 3+ assists (franchise record)

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