T.J. Hughes' NHL Debut Wasn't Perfect, But There Were Plenty of Promising Signs

DENVER — For T.J. Hughes, Wednesday night was about more than the Colorado Avalanche opening their season at Ball Arena.

It was the night he finally made his NHL debut.

The former University of Michigan standout showed flashes of why Colorado believes he belongs at hockey's highest level, while also looking like a player experiencing his first NHL game. Hughes was good at times and less so at others — an understandable combination for someone taking his first steps in the league.

Not every rookie walks into the NHL and immediately looks like Wayne Gretzky. Even Auston Matthews, now the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, set an almost impossible standard when he scored four goals in his NHL debut.

Hughes didn't find the back of the net Wednesday.

But he came close — several times.

The opportunities started early. In the opening period, Hughes nearly converted on a rebound that narrowly missed the net.

A short time later, he found himself with another chance at his first career NHL goal, jamming away at a loose puck in front of Los Angeles Kings goaltender and former Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper as he tried to poke it across the goal line.

Hughes kept battling for the puck before taking a hard cross-check from Kings captain Drew Doughty. The hit ultimately helped turn a 5-on-4 power play into a 5-on-3, and Nathan MacKinnon made Los Angeles pay, finding the back of the net for Colorado's second power-play goal of the night.

The Avalanche scored four times with the man advantage, but Hughes' first goal would have to wait.

MacKinnon wasn't concerned.

“He played well,” MacKinnon said. “He had a couple good looks. It’s really hard to play your first game, especially sometimes getting a hat trick early. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of hype, so I think he’ll continue to settle in.”

MacKinnon also pointed to Hughes' maturity and commitment away from the ice.

“He’s a mature guy and a great guy, and such a committed player on and off the ice,” MacKinnon said. “So, you know, chemistry hopefully will develop here.”

That chemistry will come with time, as will Hughes' adjustment to the speed of the NHL.

You could see that adjustment taking place early Wednesday.

At times, Hughes looked just a fraction behind the play. In the first period, he found himself in position for a one-timer but was a step too slow getting his body fully into the shot, resulting in an awkward deflection.

At Michigan and later with the Colorado Eagles, Hughes routinely stood out as one of the more dynamic players on the ice. He produced 14 points in 17 games during the Eagles' Calder Cup playoff run last season.

The NHL, though, is another level. The time and space Hughes was accustomed to finding simply aren't there as often.

That's the biggest adjustment head coach Jared Bednar expects him to make.

“What he’s going to work on is getting used to the pace of play and the size and the strength of guys,” he stated following the game. “That was a whole different level of intensity tonight.”

Bednar isn't asking Hughes to reinvent his game. Instead, he expects the young forward to learn how to make the same decisions he has always made, only faster.

“I like the habits he plays with,” he continued. “But just getting used to the pace, the intensity, the size and strength of the guys, how quickly time and space disappears. So the decision-making and thinking, yeah, it’s going to be that.”

Hughes also got an immediate lesson in what can happen when those decisions don't come quickly enough.

Colorado scored four power-play goals Wednesday, but the Avalanche also surrendered two shorthanded markers. One came after Hughes had his stick lifted by Joel Armia while trying to exit the defensive zone.

Armia turned the turnover into a break the other way and beat Mackenzie Blackwood, giving Los Angeles a free score and Hughes a costly lesson about the consequences of a mistake at this level. 

Still, Bednar saw plenty to like.

“He’s a really intelligent player,” Bednar said. “I have full confidence he can do that. I thought his game was good. It was good. You could tell he’s learning and thinking, and it’ll become more instinctual for him as it goes on.”

That was perhaps the best way to describe Hughes' debut.

There were mistakes, and there were moments when the game appeared to move a little faster than he wanted it to. But there were also plenty of flashes — the scoring chances around the net, the willingness to battle for loose pucks and the offensive instincts that repeatedly put him in position to make something happen.

“He makes a poor play tonight,” Bednar said, “and it’s just a matter of time before we get that out of his game.”

The first NHL goal will have to wait.

For Hughes, though, the more important milestone was already accomplished.

He made it to the NHL.

Now comes the process of figuring out how to stay there.