Jack hughes how to#
Jack hughes pro#
Jack hughes professional#

The discipline it takes, the strength and conditioning, the practices, learning how to travel internationally, learning how to compete on an international stage, how to play at the USHL, where they are 17 year olds paying against 18, 19 and 20 year olds,” says Jim. “It’s been instrumental in all of their growth. Often, players in the program are competing against older opponents. The program has teams at the under-17 and under-18 levels, where teams play a mixed schedule among college, USHL, and international opponents and eventually the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

The family would relocated back to the United States later, as the boys were or were about to be teenagers, and all three have gone through, and excelled, as part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP).

It was just a really good time for all three boys in their lives to get exposed to a sport they love.”

All of these things, all these components, the passion and the love of the game and the playing in big tournaments for reputable organizations, it’s like youth hockey on steroids. “It was readily apparent when we showed up, we couldn’t get over it. “It was evident right when we got there (Toronto), with kids wearing jerseys to school and Hockey Night in Canada and the visibility of hockey in Canada,” says Jim. The boys would enter the competitive world of elite minor hockey in Canada. When Jim was hired by the Leafs as director of player development in 2009, the family moved to Toronto. Luke was born after the family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire and Ellen remembers the boys playing a ton of outdoor hockey together during their time there. Quinn and Jack were born in Orlando when Jim coached in the ECHL. But we’re so proud to see where they’ve been able to get to.” There was never a grandiose plan that we thought they would play in the National Hockey League.

Jack hughes pro#

They had a dad who worked in pro sports and they grew up around the rinks. And I think it just organically happened for them. We both played at the collegiate level and wanted to expose our kids to it. “We more just wanted to share our common passion with the game.

Jack hughes professional#

“I know when Jim and I got into this, we never looked at the big picture, saying we hope our kids are professional athletes one day,” says Ellen. Ellen also competed for USA and won silver at the 1992 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. Mom and dad both have a love of the game – along with Jim’s playing and professional career in the game, mom Ellen played several sports at the University of New Hampshire, later inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in four categories (hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and as a coach). To say the Hughes brothers were destined for greatness on the ice takes away from the hard work and commitment the three have had throughout their lives. Jack and Quinn also played at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Quinn and Jack also teamed up together with the Americans at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship with their team finishing second (Quinn helped USA to bronze a year before at the WJC). Jack competed in the event twice, with Team USA winning silver in 2018 and bronze in 2019. Quinn played in the U18 worlds in 2017, helping the Americans to a gold medal. He’s expected to be a top-5 pick at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Luke, a defenceman, is committed to playing next season at the University of Michigan. The 17-year-old has followed his brother’s skate tracks as a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Jack, the lone forward of the three brothers, was taken first overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2019 and is the team’s Number 1 centreman. Quinn was drafted in 2018, seventh overall and is one of that team’s young stars and core players. The eldest boy, Quinn, who has been eating up minutes on the Canucks blue line this season, is awaiting a return to play along with his Vancouver teammates, who were hit hard by Covid-19. “Get better every day and worry about your next game your next game is the most important game because it’s the next game. “The short term is to get better every day and it’s always been that way,” says dad Jim, who has a long history in the game of hockey, from his playing days at Providence College to coaching the Orlando Solar Bears in the now defunct IHL, assistant coaching the Boston Bruins and holding a front office job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s the same message they deliver to their other two sons, Quinn and Jack. Rather than looking at where their youngest son Luke will end up in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, parents Jim Hughes and Ellen Weinberg-Hughes talk to Luke about daily improvement. It’s simple but the Hughes family has shown that it works.