Jack Hughes: We Want to Be in the Mix | PODCAST

Jack Hughes knows the best is yet to come, but the 20-year-old is also aware of where his team has finished in his first two NHL seasons, and where the team currently sits with 32 games remaining in his third year.
"It's frustrating, like, we want to be in the mix. And we're not in the mix," Hughes told the Speak of the Devils Podcast in an interview recorded prior to the Devils game against the Lightning last week. "If you look at it individually and you look at certain players, and then they had successful seasons, but as a whole, you know, we're not where we want to be."
Those successful seasons Hughes refers to, leaving himself out of the discussion, are the members of the budding core for the franchise.
Of Dawson Mercer, Hughes says "I don't think anyone expected him to be where he is right now." He calls Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier's performances this season 'humongous'. He refers to Hischier as 'the cornerstone piece' and Bratt as 'a real special player for us.'
Those are the areas, in a season that has not transpired as the team would have hoped to this point, that Hughes hopes the New Jersey Devils fanbase is excited for. "So I think we just got to continue to stick with it and keep working on our game," he continued, "And then just learn to win. Like I said, there's tons of time left to be played, so the season's not a write-off. So we still have a ton of games, and we can still climb, but I think the fans should, should remain positive with what we're building in our pieces, and they should be excited."

Fans should be excited too, about Hughes himself, who is having a career season with 30 points in 30 games, tied for the team lead in goals (14) with Bratt. In just his first 147 NHL games, he's gone from a rookie to an alternate captain to an All-Star, taking leaps and bounds every time he sets foot on the ice. It's a love for the game that was instilled into him and his brothers by his parents Ellen and Jim Hughes.
"They wanted us to be good people first, and then they want us to be passionate about the game and love the game of hockey. And, you know, that puts a purpose in our life. And, you know, we ended up here, so I think we're just really thankful and blessed to be, you know, in this position, but, I mean, it took a lot of hard work for sure."
Here are a couple more topics Hughes expands on in the latest Speak of the Devils Podcast...
New Jersey Devils Official Podcast
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Jack Hughes | Speak of the Devils