Vancouver Canucks’s Quinn Hughes has been known for being a player who breaks records. He has been an essential player for the Canucks since he was drafted. The defencemen has 39 points (nine goals and 30 assists), so far. The Vancouver Canucks season named Hughes captain, a day before the training camp. In his fifth season on the team, will he break any more records?
Before the Captainship
USA National Team Development Program Era (2015-2017):
Quinn Hughes holds the eighth-place for most USA National Team Development Program career points by defencemen, with 77 points. He also holds fifth place for points in a season, with 53.
Michigan Wolverines (2017-2019):
In his freshman year at the University of Michigan, he had 24 assists. Those would become the most assists by a freshman in program history. His 29 points during that season, also rank him third rookie defencemen with most points.
Vancouver Canucks (2019-Present):
During his rookie year, Quinn Hughes already set his name on the NHL and franchise history. Hughes was the first-ever rookie defenceman in the history of the league to record the power play assists in multiple games in a season. With 24 points, Hughes became the record holder for most power play points by a rookie. He also holds the record of most assists (14) in playoffs by a rookie defencemen.
Through the franchise’s records, Hughes also holds a few. He’s the defenceman with the most points (76) in a single season. The previous record was held by Doug Lidster with 66 points.
Besides those, Quinn is the sixth youngest defenceman to record a three-assist playoff game and youngest in Canucks history. He’s also the sixth fastest defenceman in NHL history to reach 30 assists in 49 games or less. The fastest defencemen to reach 100 points. First defenceman in franchise history to record three games where he posted at least four points.
During a game against the Leafs in March 2023, Hughes became the fastest defenceman to reach 200 assists. He only needed 263 games. One less than the previous holder of the record, New York Rangers’ Brian Leetch.
While Captain
After the Bo Horvat trade, Canucks remained without a captain for the final of the 22-23 season. Quinn Hughes was named the 15th captain in franchise history, the third defencemen to hold the title.
November 22nd, he broke the record for first defencemen to be the first player to reach 30 points in a season. This hadn’t happened since Boston Bruins’ Bobby Orr had done it in 1974-75.
This season he also became the 3rd all-time in assists by a defencemen in franchise history. With his 243 assists during the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, December 13th. He’s only 47 assists away from 2nd place held by Dennis Kearns, and 57 from first-place Alexander Edler.
What Other Records Could Hughes Break?
Currently, Hughes is set to have 134 points. The defencemen, apart from keeping his great defensive plays and assists, worked on his shooting skills during the summer. He now has nine goals, two more than the whole 2022-23 season. His personal record of goals are nine in a season, which he has already tied it. He could also be on his way to break Adrian Aucoin‘s franchise record set in 1998-99. He holds the record for most goals scored by a Canucks defencemen, with 23 goals.
The 2018 7th pick could also break the franchise record of points by defencemen. This record was actually set by him in the 2022-23 season with 76 points. He’s 37 points away from succeeding. If he happens to get past the 100-point mark, he could become the seventh defenceman to reach it.
Another franchise he could break is of the points of all time by a defencemen. Quinn Hughes currently holds the sixth position. He currently has 277 points and needs 30 more points to reach the fifth place. Even though it might seem that he’s far from the first place, Alexander Edler has 409 points. It’s also important to keep in mind that he played 15 years for the team. Hughes has more than half of then Edler’s points in five seasons.
We can always expect more historical moments coming from Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks team as a whole.
Main Photo: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
