# @draftinghockey on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLdYJlgPt4
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/57202385-draftinghockey-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/88e1761b87.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-08-30T00:50:18.000+00:00

## Caption

At fourth overall the #Devils selected defenseman Luke Hughes. Hughes is one of the most intriguing prospects in the class. Offensively Hughes is a fantastic skater with tremendous lateral ability, straight line speed and vision, that paired with his quick hands and you have a very shifty 6’2 defenseman at your disposal. The main critique we have with Hughes, is his decision making and problem solving ability in certain areas on the ice. A trend we noticed is that when he does become under pressure along the boards he doesn’t have the problem solving ability or escapability other defenseman in this class possess. There were flashes where he would use his edges and hands to avoid forecheckers, but there were also moments he would shy away from pressure and send the puck to nobody in particular. We could see these inconsistencies resolve themselves as he continues to mature physically and gain confidence using his bigger frame to welcome contact instead of shy away from it. In transition Hughes is elite, it is hard to come by defenseman who are as automatic at exiting and entering all three zones as Luke Hughes, however there were too many times Hughes would force himself into pressure with seemingly no backup plan. An example of this would be his elite transition ability leading to nothing more than a zone entry that resulted in a very low percentage shot, you’d like to see a bit more patience or better teammate utilization on the rush. Defensively Hughes also leaves a bit to be desired, outside of his transition ability there’s a lot to be improved in the defensive zone. His play anticipation, defensive coverage and especially board play are things Hughes can look to improve on. His gap control stands out, with his long reach and skating he’s good at keeping players to the outside. While Hughes is a gifted and exciting prospect with one of the highest ceilings among his peers, especially considering his early birthday, there are a lot of improvements to be made before he can solidify himself as the high end defenseman he has the potential to be.
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#NHL #Hockey #nhldraft

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 3,032
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## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aaron | @aircreates | https://gondola.cc/aircreates | Creator |

## Tags

hockey, devils, nhldraft, nhl

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