Chicago Blackhawks: Analyzing every No. 1 pick since Patrick Kane

The New Jersey Devils pulled an Oilers when they won the lottery for the second time in three years. Oddly enough, they made the playoffs in the one year in between. Either way, winning this lottery allowed New Jersey to select Jack Hughes with the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Hughes was a superstar for the United States National Development Program. He has the offensive skills to turn into a superstar but he is still a small player.

Oddly enough, his NHL comparable was Patrick Kane in the draft. Well, year one went only okay for him. In his first year, his coach was fired, the general manager who selected him was fired, and they traded away Taylor Hall who was really helping Hughes along. With all of that, Hughes still has a good attitude so a summer of strength and conditioning should do well for him.

He needs to get a bit more muscular but once he starts to develop his man muscle he will be elite. He showed some of those offensive skills at different times in 2019-20. He had seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 61 games played. Those aren’t great numbers as his major strength was offense, but it was just his 18-year-old season. In two games against Chicago, he had a really sweet goal and no assists. He won’t play them more than twice a year but he is the type of player they will need to keep an eye on when they do meet.