Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has helped lead Vancouver's unexpected march to the top of the Pacific Division
Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has helped lead Vancouver's unexpected march to the top of the Pacific Division
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes is a spectacular skater.
Hughes might not be the fastest skater in the NHL in a straight line, nor its quickest accelerator, but the grace of his edge work affords him the luxury of turning the NHL into a twirl around the pond in a game of shinny. He never appears in a rush, but he always appears in command.
To quantify this with help from NHL.com/EDGE, Hughes' top speed this season is 22.4 miles-per-hour, grading out to the 64th percentile amongst NHL skaters. He's topped 20 MPH 60 times, placing him in the 67th percentile. However, his 176.16 miles skated puts him in the 98th percentile, which is to say the ease with which he dips and dodges past opposing checkers belies the simple fact that he is a workhorse, playing 24:28 a night with his trademark grace.
Hughes has 12 goals and 52 assists in 51 games played this season, and those 64 points are the top mark among NHL defensemen. His +32 is tied for the best in the NHL with his defense partner and former Red Wing Filip Hronek.
Hronek offers a valuable insight into Hughes' impact. In 2021-22, his final full season in Detroit, Hronek scored 38 points in 78 games, good for a per-game average of 0.49. In 2022-23, split between the Red Wings and Vancouver, that number climbed to 39 points in 64 games (0.61 points-per-game). Now playing full time with Hughes, that number has grown to 32 points in 51 games or 0.63 points-per-game.
And, for Hronek, those numbers have come without the benefit of playing with Hughes on the Canucks' top power play unit, where he is a maestro. Vancouver has the eighth best power play in the NHL, converting at 25.3%, and no Canuck plays more than Hughes with the man advantage, where he has put up a goal and 24 assists this season.
Per Micah Blake McCurdy of HockeyViz.com, the Vancouver PP puts up 8.90 expected goals per 60 minutes with Hughes on the ice, 21% above NHL average. When Hughes isn't on the ice (which isn't often, as he's played over 75% of the team's power play minutes), that figure drops to 6.94 xG/60, 5% below league average.
Simply put, Hughes is in the midst of a dominant, Norris-worthy season in Vancouver—dominating at even strength and on the power play, scoring at will, and skating opponents into the ground while hardly seeming to break a sweat. With the Canucks in town this afternoon, the Red Wings will have their hands full as they attempt to wrangle him.
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