Son of Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes, drafted in the second round by the LA Kings

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If Jack Hughes ends up playing for the Los Angeles Kings in a game against the Canadiens, he has no doubt who his mom, Deena, will root for.

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“The Kings, for sure,” Hughes said after the Kings selected him in the second round (51st overall) of the NHL draft Friday at the Bell Center. “Definitely.”

Jack’s father is Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes, who gave him a big hug in the draft room after the Kings made their pick.

“He taught me everything I know about hockey and I think my hockey sense is a strong point of my game,” said Jack, who posted totals of 7-9-16 in 39 games this season as a freshman at Northeastern University. It wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for him. So I have to give him a lot of credit, even though when he was a little bit younger he didn’t really want to hear it. But he was always my coach, dad and agent at the same time. So it was hard to get along 24/7.”

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Like any parent-child relationship.

When asked if there was ever a hockey overload, Jack said: “If you ask my mom, she might say yes. But I do not think so. I think she did it the right way and he convinced me and my brother that we should listen to him and what he’s talking about.”

Jack’s brother Riley was selected by the New York Rangers in the seventh round (216th overall) of the 2016 NHL draft and just completed his third season at Northeastern University going 2-10-12. in 31 games. Jack is a center and Riley is a right wing.

Jack was ranked seventh among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the midterm standings, but dropped to 26th in the final standings. At 6-foot-1, 169 pounds, he said the main thing he needs to work on is getting bigger and stronger.

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Kent told his son not to worry about when or where he was recruited and just enjoy the event and see what happens. He also told her not to expect the Canadians to recruit him.

“He made it pretty clear to me beforehand that he was going to avoid it at all costs,” Jack said.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, who Kent says is like a second father to him, also gave him advice after he went undrafted in the first round.

“He didn’t get picked and he became the player that he was,” Kent said of the Hall of Famer. “So he gave me some good advice last night, just to keep enjoying it, not to worry. He is not going to change me as a person or as a player when they pick me up.”

Now, Jack is off to Los Angeles, where former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has a new job as a senior adviser to Kings GM Rob Blake.

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“Crazy coincidence,” said Jack with a smile.

Jack’s parents grew up on Montreal’s West Island, but he was born and raised in Westwood, Massachusetts.

“Boston is my home,” he said. “But my mom and dad’s parents grew up within a five-minute walk of each other (on West Island). So growing up I came to Montreal every Christmas, every summer, but I never really went downtown. I don’t really know the city very well, but I know West Island and outside of the city a little better.”

Kent worked as a player agent for more than 20 years before taking over as the Canadiens’ general manager in January.

When asked what his reaction was when his father accepted the job, Jack said: “It was like it was building up a bit. We saw him with French textbooks in the house, so we had an idea that he might have gotten the job. We were surprised, but we were really excited for him because we all felt that he was going to do a great job. I think he has so far. I think he has done a good job today and yesterday as well. We were very, very excited for him and still excited to see what he can do.”

As for Jack, he is now looking forward to visiting Los Angeles for the first time.

“I just know it’s hot,” he said. “So I’m excited to get there.”

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