Zizing ‘Em Up: Hughes brothers molded early on by Toronto’s hockey culture

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, “Zizing 'Em Up,” to preview the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

TORONTO -- For Quinn Hughes, Toronto will always be like a second home.

Except, for those brief blips in time, when it wasn’t.

Such was the case on Feb. 28, 2010, the day of the mens hockey final between Team USA and Team Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010.

Quinn, who returns to these familiar digs when his Minnesota Wild visit the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in front of a national television audience on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, FDSNNO, FDSNWI), was a 10-year-old boy at the time. He and younger brothers Jack and Luke had gathered with dozens of other kids to watch the gold medal game in a restaurant at CWENCH Centre, a multi-pad arena complex near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport that was one of the home bases for the Toronto Marlboros of the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey Association, the organization the Hughes boys played for.

Quinn was born in Orlando, Florida, but moved with his family to Ontario when his dad Jim was hired as an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs affiliate in the American Hockey League, in 2006. He subsequently would serve as the Maple Leafs Director of Player Development and remained with the organization until 2013.

On that memorable day 16 years ago, Quinn and his American-born brothers were in the midst of an overwhelming pro-Canadian crowd in the arena eatery, a gathering of minor hockey players that included future Washington Capitals forward Dylan Strome, whose younger brother Thomas was Quinn’s teammate, along with Ben Jones, now Quinn’s teammate with the Wild, and Ryan McLeod, now with the Buffalo Sabres.

Canada led 2-1 as the clock clicked down, much to the glee of the assembled masses.

Then, with 25 seconds remaining, Team USA’s Zach Parise scored the equalizer. Overtime loomed. Giddiness suddenly morphed into silence.

Except for three kids.

The Hughes brothers.

“I just remember everyone was going crazy up to that point,” Dylan Strome told NHL.com. “And then when Parise scored, they were the only ones cheering.”

Politely, of course.

“They were very cordial about it,” Strome said. “They were very mature for how young they were.

“It was kind of weird they were living in Toronto and cheering for the Americans but, obviously, they were born in the States and their parents are both American.”

Dad Jim says his three boys haven’t forgotten that moment.

“I think our boys jumped up in jubilation and all of a sudden caught themselves like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Jim Hughes said with a chuckle. “They probably looked around the room and there were a lot of people staring at them.

“It was one of those funny moments of, you know, cheering for the red, white and blue, and forgetting about their whereabouts.”

That would be the final time the Hughes cheering section would have the chance to celebrate. Team Canada’s Sidney Crosby would score the winner in OT in what is still called The Golden Goal, giving the hosts a 3-2 win and causing Strome and his buddies to go bonkers.

More than a decade and a half later, Quinn and Jack, a forward with the New Jersey Devils, will be part of Team USA in Italy, thereby playing in the same event as Team Canada’s Crosby. Luke, a defenseman, also plays with the Devils.

In the end, their path from the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke to the worldwide stage of Milano-Cortina has been the stuff of dreams, ones that, frankly put, might not have happened without their exposure to life in this hockey-mad city.

“That was the beautiful thing about living in Toronto,” Jim said. “We were there about 10 years, and there was just so much passion for hockey there. And I think it helped my three kids, in particular, excel.

“When they weren't playing it, they were watching it. It was everywhere. And they loved it.”

Friday Night Lights: Hockey version

The 2004 movie Friday Night Lights documents how high school football in the west Texas town of Odessa dominates the daily ebbs and flows of the entire community. It was based on the book of the same name written by H.G. Kissinger that was based on a real-life story.

Quinn Hughes can relate. Only in his personal story, the players wear skates, not cleats.

“Fridays for us were like hockey’s Friday Night Lights,” Quinn said. “It was crazy. It was chaos. And it was great.

“There were so many skilled kids. It was amazing.”

The schedule was simple. Head to the arena after a day of school, where game after game would be played on the various sheets, from youngest age groups to oldest. Head upstairs to the restaurant to eat after playing. Then watch the older kids.

“Friday Night Lights, that’s exactly what it was,” Jim recalled. “You’d have the rinks going on Friday night in Etobicoke, and the younger ones, once they were done, would stick around to watch the older ones.”

Including watching a bunch of kids who, like them, would go on to play in the NHL.

“They all went through that, the Subbans, the Stromes, (Connor) McDavid, Sam Bennett … like, it went on and on and on,” Jim Hughes recalled. “Just really great hockey teams, just really great hockey players.

“There was always a lot of activity. And Quinn, Jack and Luke were always looking up to the older guys. They would stick around for a period or two and watch the older guys like McDavid. That was a treat. It really was. Because they got to watch a lot of really special hockey players at a really young age.”

The experience wasn’t limited to indoor arenas.

On many weekends, in the early morning hours, mom Ellen would drive the boys to Etobicoke’s Wedgewood Park, where they’d put on their gear and play on the ice sheet that doubled as a tennis court in the summer. They referred to the place as the ODR, which stood for the Out Door Rink.

There, they had their own sheet of dreams, free from the shrilling whistles of coaches, no pylons for puck handling drills to be seen anywhere. There weren’t even any boards. It was the game at its rawest form, sometimes in the rawest of temperatures, and they couldn’t get enough of it.

“They knew exactly what days the outdoor rinks would open, and at what times,” Jim said. “And they’d get Zambonied twice a day. And so our kids, along with their friends the Stromes and the McLeods, they’d be out there playing hockey, unregulated, and playing for the love of the game.”

There were days where Quinn’s team would play in a tournament earlier in the day, then head straight to the ODR afterward for several hours of shinny.

“It doesn’t get much better than that,” Jim said.

Career-altering decision

When watching Quinn Hughes quarterback Team USA’s power play in Italy next month, consider how close he came to not being in that role.

Because, in his early days of minor hockey in Toronto, he wasn't even a defenseman.

Hughes, then with the Vancouver Canucks, discussed that very subject during the 2024 NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, not long after he’d been announced as the recipient of the James Norris Award as the League’s top defenseman. He’d just finished leading all defensemen in scoring with 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) and talked about how he might never have been in that position if not for Rich McLeod, one of his coaches during his time with the Marlboros.

“I’d been a forward up to that point,” Quinn said. “I was 12 years old at the time and we were missing a guy on defense.”

McLeod, Ryan’s dad, had approached Jim Hughes first about the idea. The consensus: let’s give it a try and see how it works.

“I think, at the beginning, Quinn was reluctant but understood,” Jim said. “He said ‘Let me play half the games at forward and half on defense, and see where it goes and if I warm up to the idea.’

“We had to almost get it to the point where it was his own idea.”

It was a move that altered the trajectory of his career.

“I went back there and kind of fell in love with it,” Quinn said.

There were a couple of years of growing pains, but those close to him could see his potential as a defenseman, especially when it came to how smoothly he could carry the puck.

Dan Brown, father of New Jersey Devils forward Connor Brown, coached Quinn for the next two years with the Marlboros. In 2014-15, he led the team to the OHL Cup, winning the title at Mattamy Center, the historic building formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens.

Brown says it was earlier that same season where he saw Quinn suddenly explode and become dominant as a defenseman. Specifically, it came at the 2014 Silver Stick minor midget tournament in Whitby, Ontario, about 40 miles east of Toronto, an event attended by plenty of junior hockey and college scouts.

“Quinn’s skill set was great,” Dan Brown said. “He just kept getting better and better. But that tournament was the moment where I saw him take complete control of games from the back end. That’s when I knew this kid would be something special. I just said, ‘Wow.’

“He was so talented, there were times I’d need a forward and ask him if he’d mind going back up there for a game. He’d say yes and then go out and dominate at forward too.

“When all is said and done, when the Hughes family moved up here, I think the incredible hockey environment they found themselves in, well, the kids ate it up.”

Brown, who’d coached his son Connor and Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton since they were 6 years old, recalled a father-son game involving one of Connor’s older brothers that exemplified the high standard the Marlboros had set.

“John Tavares, Sam Gagner, Rick Vaive’s son, they were all on that team,” he said. “We had Rick Vaive, Paul Coffey, and those kids still beat us.

“That’s the type of hockey culture the Hughes boys were introduced to. And they just ran with it. I mean, look at them now.”

Italy calling

Quinn Hughes calls any chance to play at Scotiabank Arena, like this week, “special.”

It’s where he and his brothers would watch NHL games as kids. It’s where the three boys would get to spend time in the Maple Leafs dressing room when his dad was part of the organization. And it’s where he always has the chance to reconnect with great friends that he grew up with.

Now, more than a decade after Jim and the Maple Leafs parted ways, he and Jack will represent their country -- their native land, not their adopted one -- as part of Team USA at the Olympics.

For those from the Toronto area that shared that journey with them, they couldn’t be happier for the brothers.

“They’re great players and it’s definitely deserved,” Dylan Strome said. “They’re a hockey family from top to bottom.

“When you’re from Canada and, specifically, Toronto, a lot of your close friends go and play in the Ontario Hockey League. Quinn went to the U.S. development team and then Michigan … so you don’t hear about them for a couple of years. (But) I’m not surprised by how well he did. I’m impressed with him.”

“To think that he gets to play in the Olympics with his brother, no less, I couldn’t be happier for him,” Dan Brown added.

As for dad, Jim was in Buffalo on Saturday to see Quinn get two points (one goal, one assist) in Minnesota’s 5-4 overtime victory against the host Sabres. Quinn now has 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in 17 games since being acquired in a blockbuster trade by Minnesota from the Canucks on Dec. 12.

“He’s loving Minnesota,” Jim said.

Just like he did growing up in Toronto.

OLYMPIC STOCK WATCH

A look at who's hot heading into Milan next month:

Jack Eichel, United States (Vegas Golden Knights)

The game between the host Golden Knights and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday was billed as the first time Vegas forward Mitch Marner would face his former team since being traded last summer. Three hours later, Eichel had changed the narrative and stolen the show, exploding for four points (one goal, three assists) including the spectacular overtime winner in the Golden Knights’ 6-5 victory against Auston Matthews, his Team USA teammate, and the Maple Leafs. The 29-year-old is currently on an eight-game point streak in which he’s had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists), bringing him up to 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his past 14 outings. One of the first six players named to Team USA back in June, he had four assists in four games at the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February and was one of the Americans’ top players. Given the form he’s in right now, the veteran center is peaking at just the right time heading into Italy next month.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“They always travel well, especially to Vegas. I think the great question was what my expectations were (for Jan. 23), but now I think I kind of know going in. They’ve got a passionate fan base. They’ve got a lot of love for their team.” -- Team Canada’s Marner re what kind of reaction he expects when he returns to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for his first appearance with the Golden Knights in his hometown since being traded. The 28-year-old was booed by visiting Maple Leafs fans at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

THE LAST WORD

In the months leading up to the Olympic roster deadlines, there was no shortage of speculation as to who would fill the spots on the respective teams participating in the tournament next month.

Now that that’s over with, the intrigue now focuses on which banged-up players will be healthy enough in time to perform.

Of note are two specific forwards who suffered recent injuries and will be monitored right up until the cusp of the event, at which time decisions will be made as to whether replacements will be required to be brought in.

First off is Team Canada’s Brayden Point, who was one of the first six players named to the roster in June. The 29-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning forward suffered a lower-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and is considered week to week, according to coach Jon Cooper.

With players like the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett, the Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard waiting in the wings, Cooper, who’ll serve as Team Canada’s coach in Italy, said Hockey Canada still has plenty of time to determine if Point will be fit to participate.

Meanwhile, Team Sweden has been particularly hit hard. The latest: Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson will be sidelined for 3-5 weeks after undergoing a procedure last week to treat a left thigh injury, leaving his Olympic participation in doubt.

Forwards William Nylander of the Maple Leafs (lower body) and Gabriel Landeskog (upper body) of the Colorado Avalanche have missed time recently as well.

With the tournament starting Feb. 11, attrition will be a key issue in the next three weeks. Stay tuned.

NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report