ESPN.com · Feb 2, 2021
Jack Hughes 2.0: How the young New Jersey Devils star found his swagger
Jack Hughes was the 57th player in NHL history to be selected first overall in his draft year. Many of them made an immediate impact on their teams. Some, like Jack Hughes, did not.
Hughes lugged the baggage of expectations into his rookie season and was crushed under the weight of them. He had seven goals, 14 assists and skated to a minus-26 in his 61 games played in the 2019-20 season. It was the lowest points-per-game average for a first overall pick in more than 20 years.
"He felt like everyone was just looking at him and waiting for him to do everything. He had a hard time getting going," Martin Brodeur, the Devils executive VP of hockey operations, told ESPN.