Quinn Hughes is a defenseman who said he models his game after Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played Bantam and Midget hockey in Toronto while his father worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2015. He excelled with the NTDP's Under-17 and Under-18 teams, then played at the University of Michigan, where he scored 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) as a freshman. After helping the U.S. finish at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, Hughes was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (No. 7) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Hughes played one more season at Michigan, scoring 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 32 games before signing with the Canucks on March 10, 2019. After recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the Big Ten playoffs, Hughes made his NHL debut with the Canucks 18 days later, had an assist and was named Third Star of the Game in a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings.
Quinn Hughes is a defenseman who said he models his game after Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played Bantam and Midget hockey in Toronto while his father worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2015. He excelled with the NTDP's Under-17 and Under-18 teams, then played at the University of Michigan, where he scored 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) as a freshman. After helping the U.S. finish at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, Hughes was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (No. 7) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Hughes played one more season at Michigan, scoring 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 32 games before signing with the Canucks on March 10, 2019. After recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the Big Ten playoffs, Hughes made his NHL debut with the Canucks 18 days later, had an assist and was named Third Star of the Game in a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings.
He was impressive enough in his first full NHL season to earn a spot on the Pacific Division roster for the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game. His assist on J.T. Miller's power-play goal against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 27 was his 43rd of the season and 24th point on the man-advantage to set new Canucks records by a rookie. He scored 53 points before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, second in Canucks history by a rookie defenseman behind Dale Tallon's 56 in 1970-71.
The native of Orlando, Florida, is the son of Jim Hughes, who was a captain at Providence College and has been an assistant with the Boston Bruins and director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hughes' mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, played hockey at the University of New Hampshire and finished second for the United States at the 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship. His younger brothers, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes, were each selected by the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Draft, with Jack the No. 1 pick in 2019 and Luke No. 4 in 2021.
Hughes signed a six-year, $47.1 million contract (average annual value $7.85 million) with the Canucks on Oct. 3, 2021, the same day teammate Elias Pettersson received a three-year, $22 million contract (average annual value $7.35 million). He became the fastest defenseman in NHL history to get 200 assists by reaching the milestone in 263 games, one fewer than Brian Leetch, in a 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at Rogers Arena on March 4, 2023.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Big Ten All-Rookie Team (2018)
- Big Ten Second All-Star Team (2018)
- Big Ten First All-Star Team (2019)
- NCAA (West) First All-American Team (2019)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2020)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2020)
