Hughes has all the attributes to be a great captain for Canucks

VANCOUVER – The first time he spoke as the Vancouver Canucks’ captain, Quinn Hughes noted the day, Sept. 11, and said that for 31 years his grandfather, Martin, worked as a firefighter in New York City, where the World Trade Center towers collapsed and the world changed a month before Quinn’s second birthday.

Hughes, who turns 24 next month, told reporters gathered Monday at Rogers Arena: “We will never forget.”

Clearly, the American who grew up in Toronto has an awareness beyond hockey, which is good because as the 15th captain of the Canucks he will face questions and issues that are beyond hockey, too.

Being the face and spokesman for a National Hockey League franchise in Canada is as difficult as it is vital. And, yet, the captain’s impact is often overstated – simply because for any team to win, its leadership must go far deeper than one player. Which is why it was important during Monday’s press conference that teammates Thatcher Demko, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller were inside the room as Hughes handled questions as smoothly as he handles pucks.

Thoughtful and smart, calm but driven, respected and liked by teammates – and one of the NHL’s best defencemen – Hughes has all the necessary attributes and ideals to develop into an excellent captain.

But he’s going to need help leading and help playing. A lot of other players will need to pitch in for the Canucks to develop the culture general manager Patrik Allvin and coach Rick Tocchet desperately seek, and actually change the narrative surrounding a team that has mostly disappointed since Hughes, Pettersson and Demko arrived as cornerstones.

“As time goes on, I'll learn more and more about myself and being a leader,” Hughes said. “I feel real confident walking into this because of the coaching staff and the management I have with me, the people behind me -- as you see with Millsy and Petey and Demmer here -- it just means more than they can know to have them here with me. For me, I think this isn't just the end of learning, this is just the beginning. I'm going to keep learning.”

It was surprising two years ago when Hughes told us, at the age of 21, that he needed to have a great summer of training because he wanted to hold teammates accountable but would lack the moral authority to do so unless he was in the best condition possible.

He surprised us again last spring, when amid the needlessly caustic debate within the NHL about Pride Nights and inclusiveness, Hughes said: “We preach hockey is for everyone and I certainly believe that it is. And if you say you believe in that, then you should be able to put the (rainbow) jersey on.”

The things he said Monday don’t surprise us anymore. The quiet, little kid from Michigan with the dazzling agility has grown up, confident and aware.

“There's definitely been a lot of growth,” Hughes said. “Like I've always said to you guys: I want to be a different player from 19 to 21 to 23 to 25. I think that goes for me as a person as well. I'm going to keep learning and growing and developing. That's what I'm going to try to do.”

He will lead by example, he said, which is what virtually all great leaders in sports do. Leading isn’t making a speech before the championship game or breaking sticks at the bench, it’s staying positive and practising your butt off on a rainy Tuesday in February when you’ve lost three straight road games and everyone is tired and down. 

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve lost five in a row or won five in a row, you’ve got to come in and be the same (emotionally),” Henrik Sedin, possibly the best captain in Canucks history, told Sportsnet on Monday afternoon. “You can’t be on a high just because you scored or be down if you’re not playing well. But it’s also the team around you, the coaches. You have to come in every day with the same mindset. And that’s just the start.

“I think the hardest thing (as a captain) is to stick to what you believe in. There's going to be games or periods when you stink and you play really poorly. But when you talk to the media, it can never be about your game or how you performed. You always have to have the team's performance in your head; those are people you need to answer for. That's your team.”

Development coaches for the Canucks, Henrik and Daniel Sedin are part of an impressive leadership resource group available to Hughes. Potential mentors include Stanley Cup winners Tocchet and assistant coaches Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar.

“I'm excited to have 'Huggy' as our captain,” Tocchet said. “He's got all the qualities. He's still learning, which is great. He's going to need the support from all of us. And like I said, the leadership group is excited that he's here and that really made me happy.”

“From Day 1 when I met him, he’s a very easy guy to like,” Henrik Sedin said of Hughes. “He wants to win and do everything he can to win. I can see him becoming a good captain and a good leader with the steadiness of his demeanour and how he comes into the rink. I see a lot of good things. (But) the leadership group is really important.”

Although the oldest of the three Hughes brothers now in the NHL, Quinn grew up in the shadow of Jack, who was drafted first overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2019, one year after the Canucks stole Quinn with the seventh pick.

As their development-coach dad, Jim Hughes, once said: “Everyone always knew when Jack was in the building.”

The senior Hughes still runs a summer camp in Michigan for his sons and several other five-star NHL players. A member of Canucks management recently relayed a story that Jack is still the centre of attention at these skates. But when Quinn speaks, everyone listens, including Jack.

“I think I will try to do my best to lead by example and also be a little bit more vocal and just grow into the role,” Hughes said. “For me, my perspective on being a good leader, I think that's just being ready to play every single game, which I think I already am. Every practice and being here early and having a will to win and driving guys up the mountain. That's what I'm trying to do.”