Vancouver Canucks: Quinn Hughes has already earned his coach’s trust
Vancouver Canucks’ rookie defenceman Quinn Hughes has already earned the trust of his head coach, Travis Green, and that’s a surprise to many people.
It’s rare to see a 19-year-old defenceman earn his coach’s trust this early into an NHL season, and it’s even more rare to see a Vancouver Canucks rookie defenceman do it. Somehow, Quinn Hughes has managed to earn that trust.
Hughes had hype surrounding him, but people, admittedly, myself included, worried that his lack of size would translate into a lack of defensive abilities. Don’t get me wrong, there have been times where opponents have dumped Hughes to the ice while protecting the puck from him — but Hughes has actually defended better than many had expected.
Whether or not that includes Canucks head coach Travis Green, is unknown, but one thing is clear: Hughes has earned the trust of his coach to play in all situations.
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In his five games played at the end of last season, 84.4% of Hughes zone starts at even strength were in the offensive zone, which means that just 15.6% of the time, Hughes was on the ice for a defensive zone draw. Rightfully so, as Green was clearly looking to put his young defenceman in the best situations that he could exceed in, building his confidence levels in preparation for his first full NHL season.
That confidence seems to be there to start this season both with and without the puck, and Green has taken notice. Through his first four games of the season, Hughes has seen a drop in offensive zone starts, at just 30% to begin the new season.
This obviously has a lot to do with playing alongside Chris Tanev, who is always one of the Canucks’ most reliable defencemen in the defensive zone. Hughes and Tanev have been a great pairing for the Canucks, and coach Green has put a lot of trust into the duo.
As the Vancouver Courier’s Daniel Wagner points out, Hughes has played big minutes against the opposition’s top lines through the Canucks’ first three games. In the Canucks’ first game of the season against the Edmonton Oilers, Hughes logged more ice time than any Canuck defencemen, except for Alex Edler, who logged a tad over two minutes more than Hughes.
When asked about what he’s seen from Hughes that has allowed him to trust the young defender in terms of his defensive play, Green said the following:
“He’s a good skater, he’s smart, he angles well. Takes away time and space with his skating, especially through the neutral zone and on the rush. Originally, you’re probably worried that he’d lose some puck battles in our zone, but a lot of times when you’re playing against top lines, they’re necessarily the heaviest lines but some of them are. But he’s also showed that he can adapt to things, but I think he’s been fine in that area through the first three games.”
Hughes and Tanev have been one of the Canucks’ best pairings, but really, the Canucks haven’t had a “bad” defence pairing per se. It’s just that Hughes and Tanev have been one of the best at keeping the puck out of the Canucks end of the ice, and more importantly, keeping the puck out of the Canucks’ net.
It may come as a surprise to many that Green already trusts this young defender so much, but I think that’s a testament to not only how good Hughes has been, but also to how long it’s been since Canucks fans have seen a young defenceman with Hughes’ abilities. If Hughes can earn the trust of his coach, then that should be enough to silence the critics of his defensive abilities, and there sure isn’t anyone complaining about what he can do with the puck, that’s for sure.