THREE THINGS: Hughes' Rookie Season

The moment his name was called (and, let's be real, well before that as well), Jack Hughes became a household name to New Jersey Devils fans. A second first-overall pick in three years, Hughes has the talent and making of an NHL star. The 2019-20 NHL season was just the first building block in his career. A year filled with many firsts, plenty of learning lessons and moments the Hughes family will never forget.

Here are Three Things presented by Wawa:

MAKING THE JUMP

As Jack took to the ice for the start of the 2019-20 NHL season, he set an NHL first. Fresh out of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Jack made his NHL debut with the Devils on October 4th. It marked the first time in history that a player went directly from the US program into the National Hockey League.

There have been many highly talented players to emerge out of the program, with most players playing at a least a year of junior, college or even overseas hockey, as Auston Matthews did, before making the jump to the NHL. Hughes was the first to make the jump straight from the program, only turning 19 on May 3rd, after the 2019-20 season had concluded.

BROTHERLY LOVE

There were a lot of firsts for Jack this season, but nothing will quite compare to his first goal. Not just because we watched as a young player scored his first NHL goal, but because of the unique fashion in which it was scored.

A game prior, Jack recorded his first NHL point, an assist against the New York Rangers. Then, on October 19th against the Vancouver Canucks, Jack scored the only goal of the game. A significant moment, with the goal coming against his brother Quinn who is just 18-months older than Jack.

"It was such a thrill," Hughes said after the game. "I was really happy to do that today. [Wayne] Simmonds said it to me on the bench, 'There's nothing else like it.' It was such an unreal feeling; hopefully I can get a few more."

The entire Hughes family were sitting in a suite at Prudential Center to take in the moment, where two of Jim and Ellen Hughes' three sons were on an NHL ice surface together for the first time. You couldn't have possibly written it up any better.

"They're just as happy as I am," Hughes said. "I saw the video of my mom and dad celebrating [the goal]. I think they were pretty pumped up. We'll go out to dinner here and celebrate a little bit."

WINNER WINNER

The goal against Vancouver was the only goal scored of the game, giving Jack his first game-winner of his career.

A few months later, on December 29, 2019, Hughes once again had a big moment, scoring the second of his two game-winners this season. Against the Ottawa Senators, and the game tied 3-3, Hughes was sprung on a breakaway by Kyle Palmieri in the first minute of the overtime period where he finished off the play chipping the puck past Craig Anderson for the win.

"Pretty nice. I'm not gonna lie," he said to MSG Networks after the game. "Nice goal. It was a nice pass by Palms. Good to help the team win."

It was the first OT winner of Hughes' career and capped off his second game-winning goal of the season.

Tweet from @NJDevils: We'll be watching this beauty all night long. #WeAreTheOnes | #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/68ZrWyIx9d

AND ONE MORE THING...

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Video: VAN@NJD: Jack Hughes on facing brother, Quinn