How Quinn Hughes has 'exceeded expectations' in first year as Canucks captain

BOSTON – It was impossible to miss the conversation Monday afternoon between Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet and centre Elias Pettersson because it lasted so long – at least half an hour – that they were the last ones standing near centre ice long after everyone else had finished practice and left.

Wedding couples at their reception have been less conspicuous during the first dance.

Harder to see was Tocchet’s conversation the next day, tucked into a corner of the stands at PNC Arena in Carolina before the Canucks’ morning skate, with team captain Quinn Hughes. The conversation wasn’t nearly as long as the Pettersson-Tocchet summit, but neither was it short.

“I just like to spend a little more time with guys once a week or whatever just to talk about the team and get their feedback,” Tocchet explained before the Canucks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Tuesday night. “It had been a little while since I really talked to Huggy. It was good.”

With most things involving Hughes, "good" is an understatement.

The 24-year-old defenceman continued his Norris Trophy-caliber season with a pair of power-play assists in Raleigh and another fairly dominant game. Shots finished 24-19 for the Hurricanes, but they were 11-5 for the Canucks during Hughes’ 20 minutes of five-on-five play.

As the team arrived in Boston for Thursday’s showdown between the teams at the top of the National Hockey League standings, the Canucks look legitimately on even terms with the Bruins for the first time in nearly a decade.

Hughes has 64 points in 50 games, a scoring total greater than what any other Canuck defenceman has amassed over a full season since Vancouver joined the NHL in 1970. Hughes leads Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar by four points in blue-line scoring, and tops the NHL at plus-34. The Canucks have outscored opponents 64-33 at five-on-five with Hughes on the ice, and the American leads his team with a shots-for percentage of 55.6.

Hughes is having the best season by a defenceman in franchise history – and perhaps the best season by any Canuck, period – while navigating the demands and pressure of carrying the ‘C’ on his jersey. He was named captain in September at age 23, eight months after Bo Horvat was traded to the New York Islanders.

“He has exceeded expectations,” veteran defenceman Tyler Myers said late Tuesday. “The way he played last year, it was hard to believe he could take another step on the ice. But you watch him play this year, he's still just getting better and better. 

“I know he wanted to grow into the (captain's) role. And his voice is getting bigger and bigger by each game. He's a special talent but he's also a special person within the room, and he's showing it, too. It's weird to call him a kid because he has been around for so long. But it's great to be a part of, great to be by his side.”

Hughes has a lot of teammates by his side.

His captaincy has worked at least as well inside the dressing room as it has in front of cameras and microphones.

In hockey, Hughes kind of grew up in the shadow of his gregarious younger brother Jack, the New Jersey Devils’ first-overall pick in 2019, and was a quiet, reserved kid when he started with the Canucks at age 19 that same year.

But Quinn grew into a leadership role as he matured and was the natural choice to replace Horvat as captain — the most visible and exposed member of the Canucks.

“It's been great,” Hughes said this week. “I feel like I've had that (leadership) responsibility for a couple years because of who I am. And I think Petey's had that responsibility, too. And of course, Bo had it and Millsy (J.T. Miller). I feel like I talk to the media maybe a little bit more but not an earth-shattering difference.”

Asked if he was the quiet Hughes brother growing up, Quinn said: “I don't think any of us were quiet. We were best buds, always loud with each other. No one was quiet in the house, for sure. Jack was probably a little more outgoing among his teammates growing up. I just kind of loved. . . playing hockey and went about it quietly. But that's not to say I wasn't outgoing. But he is who he is and I am who I am.

“When I went to Michigan (for two years of college hockey), I learned a lot there. I had a lot of fun. As a rookie here, I had fun, too. All the guys were very welcoming and it felt like I was able to be myself. Ever since I've gotten here, I've been myself. I think that's the authentic version, and that's the best a guy can do.”

During those almost daily media scrums, Hughes is patient and thoughtful, if not as elaborative as he might be after some games. But he is accountable and respects the position he has been given, and what it means in a Canadian market. 

His authenticity and respectfulness, as much as his supreme talent, is what has endeared him to teammates.

“I cannot speak enough to how well he has handled the pressure of being a captain here,” 34-year-old defenceman Ian Cole said. “I mean, just the captain stuff (is hard enough) but handling the hockey stuff as well and all the pressure off the ice and what's expected of him media-wise. Yes, we have others who can answer questions, but he's our captain and he is our superstar. The way he's handled it has been unbelievable — a level of maturity that is way beyond his years.”

Cole said Hughes is learning not only from experienced players around him in the dressing room but the people above him: Tocchet and assistant coach Adam Foote, and Canuck development coaches and franchise icons Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

“He's not afraid, when a situation arises, to ask: ‘What would you do?’ Tocchet said. “Or he asks somebody else. I kind of like that about him. I mean, I love that about him because. . . he wants to learn to be a captain. But the sweet spot for me — I guess the conversation I have with him a lot — is you can't worry about everything about the team all the time because it affects his play. I know when his mind is free, that's when he's on his game. So he's got to find that balance: How do I be a captain but also how do I worry about my game? And I think he's dealing with that really well.”

After shattering Canuck defence records the last two years, and tying for second in scoring among all NHL blue-liners last season behind only Norris winner Erik Karlsson, Hughes made it clear before training camp that the only numbers that really matter to him now are wins.

The Canucks lead the NHL at 34-11-5, two points ahead of the Bruins. They are 10-0-2 since Jan. 4 and have lost only twice in regulation time in 24 games the last two months. Hughes is on a seven-game points streak: one goal and 12 assists.

“I think my last two seasons were excellent,” Hughes said. “But I was on a losing team, and so I kind of put all my focus into trying to be successful this year. All my goals are team-oriented goals for the most part, and we've been successful so far. 

“I think everything has helped me grow, between the COVID year and my third and fourth years, even the different coaching changes. I mean, you're always just learning and growing and gaining mental toughness and fortitude and working through those things.”

Although the Canucks continue to be one of the surprises of the NHL season, Hughes said the core players always believed the team was a lot better than it showed the last three years and was ready to break through this season after several lineup upgrades last summer. Then the Canucks started 10-2-1 and have barely slowed since.

“The great thing about us is. . . we've been so bad the last couple years that this group is always trying to prove itself every night,” Hughes said. “I think that's why we've been really good. It's not like we hang our hat on what we've done so far. It's just the next game and the next game and the next game.”

Cole said Hughes came to him recently for advice about a certain situation.

“It shows maturity when. . . you don't think you know everything,” he said. “You’re taking input from other guys. But not just taking input and regurgitating it blindly, but taking it in and processing it and making your own decisions. I can't say enough great things about his mentality and how he's been able to continue to produce and play at an elite, elite level while still handling all of this. It's very remarkable.”