VANCOUVER — Whatever noise eventually surrounds Quinn Hughes this season, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman is determined that his play and on-ice focus won’t be part of it.
Entering a season when there will be conjecture everywhere the Canucks travel in the National Hockey League about Hughes’ future and whether he will want to play with his American brothers in New Jersey rather than re-sign in Vancouver next summer, the 26-year-old defenceman has looked in training camp fiercely focussed on playing for — and leading — his current team.
Whatever happens, no one is going to be able to accuse the captain of not giving everything he has to the Canucks and trying to help them win.
“Yeah, that’s probably my biggest stress,” Hughes said Tuesday, “where I put so much pressure on myself — making sure that I do everything that I’m supposed to do for the team. And not having a year where I’m not doing the things that I want to do. That’s like my biggest fear, anyone’s biggest fear. But that’s what always keeps me pushing and keeps me hungry. You know, I never think I’m good enough, so that’s always driving me.”
As with many of the most skilled and dynamic players in the game, Hughes’ competitiveness is often underrated. But it has been overt since the Canucks training camp opened in Penticton on Thursday.
It was evident in the only scrimmage of camp, on Saturday, when Hughes actually waved away a line change to stay on the ice after one dominant offensive shift ended with a scoring chance and a faceoff. And it was obvious again Tuesday, after a team day off, in the way Hughes competed physically in small-area battle drills that ended both split-squad practices at the University of B.C.
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Taking almost every shift since camp opened with his regular blue-line partner, Hughes and Filip Hronek have been leading by example, helping set the tone for intensity.
“I don’t even know if I was trying to set a tone,” Hughes said of his scrimmage doubleshift. “I just want to make sure that I’m ready to go. And if I’m ready to go, then that helps the team. Just like, you know, if Brock (Boeser) is ready to go, that helps the team. I didn’t do any scrimmaging during the summer because I was working on some other things, so that’s where I just wanted to make sure I’m getting reps and my energy felt good. I’m trying to push myself.
“I mean, I think we have a lot of competitive guys that want to have good years. We have some really good players here as well, and I think that helps just driving the skates. And then we have young guys competing (for a spot) — a guy like Linus Karlsson that’s been right there for a couple years. We have lots of guys like that. And I just think that makes a competitive camp.”
Head coach Adam Foote and general manager Patrik Allvin have spoken in general terms about how pleased they’ve been with players’ summer preparation and their readiness to work and compete at camp and in the pre-season.
Not many were saying that a year ago when off-season (or pre-season) injuries affected several key players and undermined preparation for a regular season that became one of the most fractured and disappointing in franchise history — even as the team under departed head coach Rick Tocchet finished with 90 points and stayed in the playoff race until the second-to-last week of the regular season.
Foote, who was Tocchet’s top assistant, stressed in summer Zoom meetings with his leadership group that players needed to take responsibility for team culture and hold each other accountable.
In an interview three weeks ago with Sportsnet, Hughes said Foote “can teach us and bring us closer. We can have a team. I mean, you look at Florida and they have a ton of talent, but they’re a team. And that’s something we can be.”
On Tuesday, after five days of official practices, Hughes said the Canucks are moving towards that key goal.
“Obviously, we’re not as talented as some teams, but we do have good talent,” he said. “And, I mean, we can make guys better within the group, and Footy can make guys better. We really don’t know what we are until we see. But as far as us being a team, I think that that’s definitely something we can control. It’s early, but it’s been a good start to that.
“I just think that we have probably more of a connected group now. Everyone’s on the same page, and I think that we’re excited to get going. Everyone knew it was a long summer and wanted to be ready to go. I mean, I’m looking forward to playing some exhibition games and kind of getting back that (competitive) feeling and getting my mind right. And I know other guys are as well.”
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And what about that “noise” that Hughes warned us about earlier this month, when he vowed not to be distracted by conjecture about his future?
Actually, he said Tuesday, the only real noise so far was caused by his younger brother, Jack, who said during the NHL media summit in Las Vegas two weeks ago that, of course, he’d love to play with Quinn.
“We didn’t even talk after he said that,” Hughes smiled. “The noise hasn’t been much. I don’t really think that that will be the noise (around the team). I think the noise will be if we lose three in a row, or we lose the first two games of the season. We’re going to have to remain mentally strong. For myself, I’m going to have to remain mentally strong. I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself and putting a lot of pressure on this team to have the year I think we can have.”
ICE CHIPS – Vancouver plays its second of six pre-season games Wednesday in Abbotsford, B.C., against the Calgary Flames, icing another young lineup that will include three centres trying to push their way up the NHL from the Canucks’ AHL championship team, as well as the organization’s three best defence prospects: Elias Pettersson (Junior), Victor Mancini and Tom Willander. Defencemen Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson are the key veterans, but the playing group that practised Tuesday also included starting goalie Thatcher Demko. . . Winger Conor Garland sat out Tuesday’s practices. Foote called it precautionary, part of planning for an Olympic season that has condensed the NHL schedule, and said Garland would be playing if it was the season-opener. . . The Canucks’ second practice group Tuesday featured what could be the first-unit power play: Hughes at the point, with Boeser in the bumper and Jake DeBrusk at the netfront, centre Elias Pettersson making plays on from his off-wing and newcomer Evander Kane skating downhill from the left flank. This practice group is expected to provide the bulk of the lineup for Friday’s game against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena.
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