"It's great to hear and I'm just trying to do my thing and be a great teammate and try not to be too loud, be quiet and stick in a corner. They've been great. It's been awesome."
Hughes, who had 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) in 37 games as a freshman at the University of Michigan, hasn't looked out of place on a U.S. team filled with veteran NHL players.
He has two assists and a plus-4 rating while averaging 12:20 of ice time in eight games for the U.S., which plays Sweden in the semifinals Saturday (9 a.m. ET; NHLN, TSN, RDS). The gold-medal and bronze-medal games are Sunday.
"He's a smart player," U.S. teammate and Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "He carries himself really well. You never think he's 18 years old the way he handles himself around the locker room, around the guys, around the team. I've been very impressed with him. I'm sure he's going to have a bright future ahead of him."
Hughes said he was a bit star-struck when he joined the team.
"Maybe the first day when I saw some of the guys like Kane or Gaudreau, or anyone to be honest ... it's kind of like, 'Whoa,'" he said. "But you get around it a little bit and start talking to the guys, and you get a realization that you have to act like you belong here."
Hughes said he's had his head on a swivel, taking mental notes on everything that's going on around him, on and off the ice.
"It's just fun for me watching them every day because I can learn," he said. "If it's how they tape their stick or how they stretch or how they get ready for a game, I'm kind of just taking everything in and trying to watch every movement. It's cool to watch them. It's cool to watch all the guys."
Gaudreau was in Hughes' spot not long ago. In a short span late in the 2013-14 season, he finished his third season at Boston College, signed his first NHL contract, played his first game and then joined the U.S. at the 2014 World Championship at age 20.
"I remember my first tournament over here," Gaudreau said. "It was after my junior year and I was 20 or 21. I was really nervous. To be 18 and playing in this tournament, it's pretty impressive."
U.S. coach Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings said Hughes' confidence has helped him succeed at the tournament.
"He's got pretty good swagger to him, pretty good confidence to him, and not in a demonstrative way outwardly, but an inner confidence," Blashill said. "You can tell that he's got that. He's handled that pretty well. I think he believes he belongs and he does belong. He's done a good job with it."
Hughes said that high level of self-belief has helped push away the pressure of participating with the pros.
"I don't think there's any pressure," he said. "For me it's bonus hockey. I could be home right now sitting on my couch watching it. There's no pressure here. I'm going to do what I'm good at and get better every day."
