Canucks: 3 takeaways from Quinn Hughes’ rookie season

Quinn Hughes has become one of the NHL’s best blueliners. Here are three takeaways from his astonishing rookie campaign with the Vancouver Canucks.

Quinn Hughes revolutionized the blueline for the Vancouver Canucks this season. That is a fact. The 20-year-old American from Orlando, Florida is the greatest thing to happen to the Canucks since pretty much ever, and his consistently impressive rookie campaign was just the beginning of his reign of dominance as one of the NHL’s best young defensemen.

In 50 years, the Canucks have never had a blueliner that can wheel and deal with the puck as well as Hughes. His 53 points (eight goals, 45 assists) were the most of any rookie in the NHL this season, and more impressively, he finished tied for fourth in scoring amongst all blueliners in the league. He effortlessly outperformed and outscored big-name defenders including Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Rasmus Dahlin.

Hughes’ maturity in the defensive end proved to be miles beyond his years, and quickly without skipping a beat he became responsible for shutting down the best players in the world. At the other end of the ice, Quinn was an absolute magician quarterbacking the man-advantage and racking up points.

In a season filled with Rookie of the Month awards, All-Star Game appearances, and comparisons to the great defenders of the past, it’s difficult to narrow down his list of great accomplishments to just three. Without further ado, here are my three most important takeaways from his remarkable rookie campaign.

He was MVP of the Canucks this year

Honestly, there were three players on the Canucks this year that could be considered the MVP. Jacob Markstrom, Elias Pettersson, and Hughes were all phenomenal in their own way and it’s really difficult to pick just one. But for argument’s sake, let’s dive into why Hughes deserves the honor.

As a rookie, Hughes walked into Vancouver and instantly took over the blueline. In fact, in 50 years of existence in the NHL, the Canucks blueline has never possessed someone as insanely gifted as the shifty defender. His possession numbers were off the chart impressive, and Vancouver really benefitted each and every time he was on the ice. He was the team’s best option on defense at both ends of the ice and he was excellent at controlling play at five-on-five.

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Point production would have taken a dip this year if it weren’t for the helping hand lent by Hughes. And to be quite frank, it wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining of a season. The kid was born with a natural God-given ability to walk the line and create scoring chances. Every time he touched the puck you’d be caught wide-eyed and jaw-dropped just waiting for him to pull off something special from the blade of his stick.

Not once did he shy away from carrying the puck this year. He loved having that puck on his tape. Retrieving and maintaining possession is one of his stronger assets, we’re talking about one of the greatest possession defenders to ever wear a blue and green jersey in Vancouver. That’s how good he is. Despite his smaller size, you might be surprised at first but there’s no getting it back once he’s got ahold of it.

Size and stature was a big question mark for Hughes coming into this season as nobody knew how his college experience would translate to the long schedule of the NHL. However, he proved the doubters wrong and surprisingly cranked up his production stepping up to be the man to help carry the defense down the stretch. He only grew more confident are more productive as the year went on.

He’s a magician on the power play

Canucks fans never knew what it was like to have a true power play quarterback until this year. And now, Vancouver possesses arguably one of the best man-advantage specialists from across the entire 31-team league. Seriously, Hughes was nothing short of spectacular on the power play.

Nobody can deny the impact that Hughes has had on the Canucks’ power play, which becomes apparent when you look at the league leaders in power play points. He tallied 25 points this year while the Canucks were up a man. That’s enough for first place amongst all Vancouver players, third place in all NHL defenders, and tied for 12th across the league. Let that sink in for a minute.

He was the best player on the ice when Vancouver had a power play, but that didn’t stop him from also making sure he improved the game of each and every player around him. His chemistry with J.T. Miller tied the two teammates for most power play points, he often received the primary assist of a Pettersson one-timer, and his loose rebounds often helped Bo Horvat score and lead the man-advantage in goals.

He took an inconsistent power play and turned it into a very consistent top-five threat that held onto the fourth-best position for the majority of the year. He’s impossible to knock off the puck, and he’s the only Canuck capable of a proper double shift. He’s Vancouver’s power play king.