Dougie Hamilton\u2019s scratch Sunday night<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe Wild, on the other hand, are tied for the second-most points in the NHL (61) and are 8-2-4 with Quinn, who leads the league with 15 assists and 390 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time (27:52 a game, first by more than a minute) since his arrival.<\/p>\n
Brock Boeser, Quinn\u2019s former Canucks teammate, finds it hilarious how so many people get a kick out of the way Quinn sits on the bench and just stares ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get a camera on him, that\u2019s actually the 30 minutes of the game when he\u2019s not on the ice,\u201d Boeser said. \u201cSo he\u2019s exhausted. That dude\u2019s working as hard as anybody NHL with what he\u2019s got on his plate. The level of stress that he\u2019s got on him, I wouldn\u2019t wish on anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really happy for Quinn,\u201d said Columbus Blue Jackets captain Zach Werenski, who next month will be Quinn and Jack\u2019s USA Olympic teammate. \u201cProbably a difficult situation in Vancouver, but he loved it there and was a captain. Probably hard to leave there, but I bet he\u2019s thrilled to be in Minnesota. Why wouldn\u2019t you be with that hockey team, in that hockey market? They\u2019ve got a good thing going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn, 26, Jack, 24, and Luke, 22, are the best of friends. They live together in the offseason in a house on a Michigan lake, where they love to be out on the water. They\u2019re members of the same country club, train together and skate together in a star-studded session that Jim runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI plan on making it out to their place next summer because boy, does Quinn like to hype that place up,\u201d Boeser cracked.<\/p>\n
Beside the Hugheses, those summer skates include Zach Werenski, Dylan Larkin, Kyle Connor, Connor Hellebuyck, Cole Caufield, Jake Sanderson, Josh Norris and Alex DeBrincat, among many, many others.<\/p>\n
Jim, the director of player development for CAA Hockey, calls it his \u201cfree job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey pay for the ice, and I just blow the whistle,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose skates, we\u2019re talking really high-end players, so it\u2019s a great tune-up for the season,\u201d Werenski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just fun with him,\u201d Quinn said of his dad. \u201cHe trains us and we tell him what drills we want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Wroblewski, the U.S. women\u2019s national team coach in the upcoming Olympics, coached Quinn and Jack at the National Team Development Program. The first time he remembers watching Quinn was when the NTDP\u2019s U17 team was playing in a North American Hockey League showcase in Plymouth, Mich. Quinn had just turned 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could tell he was just playing a different sport at that age compared to the others,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cThe escapability and the calm yet urgent play that I think that he displays in the NHL now, you could see it then.\u201d<\/p>\n
As coach of the \u201999 birth year, Wroblewski remembers a weekend in Duluth, Minn., when they played UMD. The Bulldogs were No. 2 in the country, but the Under-18 team beat the Bulldogs by a goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Quinn put on a show,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cThese are all like 24-year-old men that we were playing and Quinn just turned 17. And Quinn put on one of the best defensive performances I\u2019ve ever seen. He was blanketing. He was knocking guys off the puck. His stick was unbelievable. His poke checks would end up outside the blue line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I realized that there was something about this Quinn Hughes kid. You knew that this kid had offensive prowess, but when it came to his defensive play, he never really got to put it on full display until the second half of the year. That team lost three games after New Year\u2019s and won their last 17.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wroblewski added, \u201cHis partner, (current Wilkes-Barre captain) Phil Kemp, Quinn used him a lot like he uses Brock Faber right now. They worked perfectly together, but all the things we tried to implement in the offensive zone, it all stemmed from watching Quinn use his habits and instincts. You basically let him run the show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wroblewski says Quinn\u2019s passing is worth the price of admission itself. And then there\u2019s his skating and ability to turn on a dime with the puck on his stick and leave a defender in his dust. According to NHL Edge, Quinn leads the league by skating 4.76 miles a game and ranks fourth this season in total miles with 163.43.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuinn\u2019s elite edge work on top of the ice is like 1 percent of 1 percent,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t understand how unbelievable NHL skaters are, but he\u2019s just at a whole other level. His grip on the ice and his command of his edges allows him to play a different game than everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wroblewski got Jack right after Quinn at the program. They may be different positions, with Jack being a star forward, but Wroblewski says the beauty in their skating and the way they process is awfully similar.<\/p>\n
How about personality?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you know that Jack is in the room and you don\u2019t necessarily know that Quinn\u2019s in the room,\u201d Wroblewski said, smiling wide. \u201cThere\u2019s usually a little bit of noise and some hoopla coming around Jack and with Quinn, he\u2019ll blend in. Quinn\u2019s energy is internal, and it\u2019s burning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funny enough, Werenski echoed that sentiment: \u201cYou know when Jack\u2019s there. You kind of know when Luke\u2019s there. Quinn will just sneak up on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luke is on the rise with 91 points in his first two full seasons in the league and 24 in 45 games this season.<\/p>\n
The one common denominator in each brother, Kemp says, is they love to compete, whether it\u2019s \u201cpool, ping-pong, basketball. Whatever it is, they want to win, man, and it\u2019s awesome to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn\u2019s best memories growing up with his brothers are those mornings, afternoons and nights on the outdoor rink, mini sticks in the basement and going to Leafs games.<\/p>\n
Quinn, like Jack, was born in Orlando when Jim was working for the Solar Bears. They essentially grew up in Canada when Jim worked for the Leafs and spent their summers in New Hampshire on the water, tubing and water skiing.<\/p>\n
Their parents had the hockey background and pedigree, but they were never overbearing, Quinn says. In fact, Ellen and Jim had their three boys play everything. Lacrosse was a big passion for Jim because of his Long Island roots, so the brothers played field and box lacrosse. And Quinn remembers his dad getting such joy from watching the boys run cross country.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved that more than probably watching us play hockey,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n
And what Ellen and Jim always impressed upon their boys was, \u201cwork hard, have fun and be great teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir parents are great people,\u201d Werenski said.<\/p>\n
Pat Brisson, agent for all three Hugheses, has known Quinn, Jack and Luke since they were 12, 10 and 8, respectively, because his two boys Jordan and Brendan played with and against them. They became close family friends and eventually, after Jim left the Leafs, Brisson hired Jim with CAA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were an exceptionally connected hockey family,\u201d Brisson said. \u201cEllen was an encyclopedia of hockey. She knew the game. She played the game. She was teaching power skating lessons. Jim was a hockey guy and they were very committed to their kids\u2019 development. Their kids were good players. Jack was very, very good. He was probably one of the best in his age group at the time. But I remember sitting on the couch and talking to Jim and Ellen at one point and we were just hoping that Quinn would be good enough to play college hockey. Jack may have a chance to maybe push the needle and we didn\u2019t know what Luke was going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow? Look at all three.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brisson said all three brothers are extremely curious hockey players. They want to know about everything. And they could sit around the table and talk hockey forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sat with Quinn for a half hour (last week) and we talked Wild, Team USA, Team Canada, World Juniors, the NHL. It\u2019s hockey 24\/7,\u201d Brisson said.<\/p>\n
Said Quinn, \u201cI just love picking his brain. I\u2019ve known him for so long. I remember I used to be 13 and I\u2019d sit and watch Jack and Brendan play in youth rinks, and I\u2019d be asking Pat about playing and all these guys. He\u2019s like a mentor to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wild have tried their hardest to make Quinn feel at home.<\/p>\n
Guerin, the Wild\u2019s president of hockey operations, and assistant GM Chris Kelleher personally flew to New Jersey, where the Canucks had landed the night of the blockbuster, to pick Quinn up in owner Craig Leipold\u2019s private plane. They sent an Escalade to brother Jack\u2019s house to pick him up. They had Quinn\u2019s favorite meal waiting on the plane and a table of his favorite food at the hotel waiting for him in his room.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0817-scaled-e1768067095856.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n The Wild used their connections to make Quinn Hughes feel at home as quickly as possible. (Courtesy of the Wild)<\/p>\n
How did they know his favorite food? Team services manager Dominic Hennig reached out to his compatriot with the Canucks. He got word from the Canucks\u2019 team chef that Quinn loves chickpea pasta, ground chorizo sausage and premium olive oil and will sometimes mix in grass-fed Bolognese for his pregame pasta. He\u2019s big on grass-fed and organic meats and vegetables, and prefers food that\u2019s gluten-free with no corn products.<\/p>\n
So, the Wild had chickpea noodle pasta and a Bolognese waiting in his hotel room, a charcuterie platter, a fresh fruit bowl and the scrumptious hummus appetizer from Mara, renowned chef Gavin Kaysen\u2019s restaurant.<\/p>\n
On his bed were both types of Wild No. 43 HUGHES home sweaters for him to gift his parents. The Wild made sure to rent him a brand new BMW SUV that was delivered to the hotel the next morning after arriving.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazing,\u201d Quinn said when asked about the way he has been treated. \u201cI mean, starts with Billy, everything he did, and coming up, picking me up, obviously. And then just the trainers and my teammates, Dom here, and just all the guys have been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5023-scaled-e1768067064805.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n The Wild provided two sets of jerseys for Quinn Hughes to gift to his parents. (Courtesy of the Wild)<\/p>\n
Brisson, who lives in southern California, met up with Hughes in Newport Beach last week and says he\u2019s loving his time with the Wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very happy. Very happy with the team and excited about the opportunity to hopefully make a difference,\u201d Brisson said.<\/p>\n
Quinn knows the Wild plan to come at him with a lucrative extension offer next summer. While it\u2019s still premature, he remains open-minded about re-signing with Minnesota and has said the amount the Wild gave up to get him \u2014 Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam \u00d6ghren and a 2026 first-round pick \u2014 will remain a big part of his thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire family is happy,\u201d Brisson said. \u201cThe brothers are happy for Quinn that he\u2019s happy, that he\u2019s in a good spot. Minnesota\u2019s got a good team going in the right direction. It\u2019s an exciting platform right now, but again, we\u2019ll see how it goes. It\u2019s been a good experience so far because no matter what, when you get traded, you see the difference from the old to the new. You adjust, you adapt, you learn. You grow. I know he loves how he\u2019s been treated by the organization and his teammates. Like, he went on and on about Kaprizov and Boldy and Faber and all these guys. He really thinks they can do damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn\u2019s dad echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom 18 years old to when he got traded, he had incredible experiences with incredible people in Vancouver,\u201d Jim Hughes said. \u201cHe\u2019s got incredible friendships there, guys that he probably misses. And quite frankly, I don\u2019t know if he knew anybody on the team. (Ben) Jones, Brock a little bit, Boldy a little. So this 14-day trip they just had was so important. It couldn\u2019t have been better timing, because it gave him the opportunity to build all these new relationships. And you\u2019ve got to work at these relationships. You\u2019re meeting 50 new people between players and coaches and medical and equipment and media people.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this 14-day trip, I think, allowed him to sort of decompress off of the trade, and to get on the road with the guys, and go have dinner and go walk the beach, and have a couple of roommates when they were out in California, and really just let guys get to know him and vice versa. And so I think he\u2019s really enjoying it. It\u2019s a hockey market. It\u2019s a hockey state. And you have an exceptionally good team with a lot of talented players.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an older team. It\u2019s a team that\u2019s built to win. And so I think he\u2019s really appreciating the group in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 What are the chances? When Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes square off Monday night when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4828,4822,385,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-403999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-minnesota-wild","9":"tag-new-jersey-devils","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Luke,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1825459920-scaled.jpg\")
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