OffThePost.org

https://twitter.com/ThomasDrance/status ... 6919345152

Has one of these not been posted yet?

Anyway, good article from Drance who makes the case that Hughes should at least tighten the race, or perhaps even take the lead, in the quest for the Calder. In case you don't have access, the summary is this: Makar is obviously producing at an insane clip, but Hughes has the better underlying numbers. Makar is aided by an insanely high shooting percentage which should normalize over time, as Quinn's should summarily rise. There's also the fact that being on the currently-frontrunning Avs may slightly hurt Makar's chances in the eyes of the voters whereas Vancouver, a bubble team, may help Quinn's.

Doesn't bother me either way. Both are frickin' amazing and fun as hell to watch. Quinn was regarded as the higher-end defensive prospect anyway so the fact that Makar has roared out to such a lead to begin with is mindblowing.

I like both. Makar has the great fortune to be on a stacked team; I think Hughes is right there, but on a lesser team. What he's done to transform the Canucks' PP has been revelatory. With Hughes, the PP is top ten; without him, they'd be bottom ten once more. There's been a lot of criticism here about Green's early choice to put Edler ahead of Hughes on PP1 to start the season; but I think in hindsight it was probable the right choice to take the pressure off the rookie.

Right now, Hughes is on pace to smash all scoring records for the Canucks, not just for rookie defencemen, but all defencemen. And I think that he may even break Petterson's record for points by a rookie! That's nuts... And to top it off, he doesn't look out of place on d either. He's no defensive specialist but he definitely holds his own.

Hughes has been great to watch and I think he's benefited from playing with Dekey Pete; defenses tend to lock down Petterson that they give Hughes just a little too much room, and with his skating, seems to gain the offensive zone with ease. And I don't know if they've ever had any defenseman who can walk the line and open up shooting lanes for himself like this...

_________________
Shoresy, "It's called a sweater"

With his goal last night, Huggy Bear cashes in with some Schedule B bonuses from the league, per P. Johnson.

Easily deserves this but didn't think it would actually happen.

https://canucksarmy.com/2020/01/11/vanc ... star-game/

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Shoresy, "It's called a sweater"

Man 'dem booster clubs are organized.

It's a treat to watch Huggy pick apart good defenses when he takes the puck down the left wing. The patience, vision, mobility, and hockey IQ is nothing I've ever seen in a Nucks uniform.

Update: This season, Hughes looks small and prone to stick check and flail in his own zone. Help wanted.

That is all.

He's being forced to play more defense without Tanev and less-than-stellar goaltending behind him, and it's taking an early toll on some of his numbers. It's all the more remarkable that his production has been stellar despite these limitations, including Pettersson's somewhat rough start.