Canucks’ Quinn Hughes’ takes it personal ‘on defense in developing a complete game

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New Years Resolutions can fade as quickly as dipping into an extra large pizza with extra cheese.

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For Quinn Hughes, it was a new season’s resolution to improve defense that has helped the dynamic Vancouver Canucks defense take his game to another, more complete level.

After all, the offense has always been there. There is enough evidence of that excellence in highlights.

The fast-thinking, laser-like, speedy passing defender ranked fifth among the National Hockey League Blueliners with 28 points (2-26) after his first 33 games. He was also third in assists (26), second in power play points (12) and assists (12) and his points per game (0.83) are up from last season.

That is the country of consideration for the Norris Trophy ballot.

For Hughes, it’s his quick read and reaction to retrieving a record. He will quickly turn on a frustrated forechecker to regroup and trigger the transition. However, he knew that defending had to be more than using speed and stick position to lean forward.

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Hughes had to get more courageous. Not gritty on your face. Putting a shoulder on a striker during an even force corner board battle for puck possession would disrupt balance and prevent goals. It would also eliminate that fading bump that Hughes is a one-dimensional gamer.

“Most of it is just a mindset, not wanting people to score you, defending hard and not making it easy for yourself,” Hughes said Tuesday. “I worked on a lot of different things like skating backwards and practicing against (brother) Jack, Kyle Connor, (Andrew) Copp and (Trevor) Zegras and a lot of really good players. Those guys made me better.

“When we were 3v3, he defended the full 20 minutes and did nothing on offense. I tried to focus on that to improve my hit control and pickpocketing. “

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Regardless of his opinion on the plus-minus statistics, a player can get a negative rating on an even force goal against while having little to do with the error, it got Hughes’s attention.

Last season, he was 24 short as the Canucks struggled with a slow start, a plethora of injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak in what turned into a lost season before finishing last in the North Division.

Now Hughes has the best team rating plus 10 and has also been deployed on the death penalty.

“I never looked (plus-minus) too deeply until last year and this year,” he said. “I take it personally when I score. And I am grateful for the opportunity to kill penalties because I can add value. The more I get out, the more comfortable I will feel.

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“There are a lot of misconceptions about PK. When they throw it (puck), I can get it out, and it’s not like I’m in net battles with big guys. I’m going to the side wall and if I have to eat the shot if it’s the guy over there, I’m prepared to do it. “

The willingness to play that way and improve every day caught the attention of new head coach Bruce Boudreau.

“It certainly tells me a lot,” he said. “He wants to be the most complete player that he can be. When he goes home and talks to his father (Jim), who was a defender and my assistant coach (AHL) in Manchester, he knows the defensive side of the game as well as anyone. You have it good at home.

“Wanting to be the best is something not all people strive for, but Quinn does. His defensive game has justified putting him on the penalty, or in the last minutes when you are winning with a goal ”.

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Hughes has primarily paired with Luke Schenn, Travis Hamonic and Chris Tanev on his rise to the NHL, and Schenn is now proving to be a good fit.

“He’s solid, strong and competitive,” Hughes said. “He knows what he is and brings a lot of value as an older man with presence and is a great leader. It’s very sharp in zone D and we have to keep going. “

Part of the maturing process is understanding that it will be a target to get you out of your game.

At a Feb. 25, 2020, reunion in Montreal, Hughes was treated as an early piñata and often by then-Canadiens winger Max Domi. He did a no penalty cross check that threw Hughes into the corner boards and then leveled Hughes again.

“At this point, it doesn’t affect me too much and it’s just one part of the game that everyone has to deal with,” Hughes said. “It’s become more about me than who am I playing (against) or what the other team is doing.”

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NEXT GAME

Saturday

Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks

7 pm, Rogers Arena. TV: CBC, Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650.

Canucks captain Bo Horvat appreciates the way Hughes has developed a 200-foot game that players talk about but often find difficult to execute.

“It’s been great for us,” Horvat said. “He takes a lot of pride in his defensive game, and when he does, his skill just takes over and that’s a mark of a true professional.”

OVERTIME – Brock Boeser and Phil Di Guiseppe tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, Justin Dowling on Thursday, and Jason Dickinson on Saturday. All four flew to Vancouver on Monday night via a private medivac flight and have different quarantine terms. Winger Sheldon Rempal, 26, who has 20 points (8-12) in 22 games with the club’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford and is on the Canucks’ taxi squad, practiced on the fourth row Tuesday.

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