Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes had a stellar debut season this year. However, he was robbed of Canucks records due to a shortened NHL Season. Many of the Vancouver Canucks and some NHL records looked in danger prior to the pause. Hughes will likely smash many Canucks defencemen records in the future. But he was robbed of the rookie ones never the less.
Pandemic Paused Quinn Hughes Record Progress
The All-Star and Calder Trophy nominated rookie defenceman etched his name into many of the NHL and Canucks record books. Quinn Hughes finished the shortened regular season with eight goals, 45 assists, and 53 points. But the Canucks season still had 13 games remaining which could have had Hughes topping most of the Vancouver rookie charts.
When the pandemic halted play in March, Quinn Hughes was not just the best rookie defenceman, but the best NHL defenceman out of the All-Star break with 19 points in 20 games. If he kept that trend up for the last 13 games, many NHL and Canucks rookie defenceman records would have been in jeopardy.
Broken Records
Most Assists and Power-Play Points by a Canucks Rookie Defenceman
Even with a shortened season, Hughes managed to break some records. Firstly, Hughes only took until February to surpass Dale Tallon’s 42 assists from the Canucks inaugural season. A pass to J.T. Miller against the Ottawa Senators would set the record with 43 assists. Hughes would end the shortened regular season with 45.
Hughes quickly found himself bumped up to the first power-play unit this season which helped the second record significantly. Hughes ended the season with 25 power-play points. Eight more than the 17 power-play points both Dennis Kearns and Dale Tallon earned in their debuts. Being able to drive a power-play at such a young age was an integral part for not only him but also the Canucks this season.
Most Post Season Points by a Canucks Rookie in a Single Series
The series win over the Wild wasn’t technically playoffs, however, the NHL statistics contribute toward playoff hockey. Therefore Quinn Hughes’s six points during this series mean he becomes the leader in points scored by a Canucks rookie in a single post-season series.
This one is more of a cheeky one considering the circumstances. However, it is still very impressive considering the usual series is at worst four games. They have potential to go all the way to seven games at times. Hughes set this record in just four games against the Wild.
The One’s That Got Away
Most Assists by a Canucks Defenceman
Hughes’s amazing season saw him get the rookie record for most assists by a Canucks defenceman. But he narrowly missed the all-time most assists by a Canucks defenceman record of 55 set by Dennis Kearns in 1976-77. With the momentum that Hughes had out of the All-Star break, if the final 13 games of the Canucks regular season were finished, Hughes could have got the 11 points required to top this list.
Most Assists by an NHL Rookie Defenceman
Although Hughes got the Canucks record, he fell short of the NHL record held by Larry Murphy of 60 points by a rookie defenceman. It is a bit of a stretch though to suggest Hughes would gain 15 assists in 13 games. But if Hughes tied on the Vancouver assists record mentioned directly above it, he would have tied for second of all-time among rookie defenceman alongside Chris Chelios. That is a greater reward than the ninth-place Hughes has written into the record books. And who knows, maybe he could have gotten hot and made a run for the record itself.
Most Points by a Canucks Rookie
This award is the most recent one to be broken in Vancouver’s rookie record-breaking books. Elias Pettersson surpassed Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka in his rookie season with 66 points. Hughes only needed 13 points in the last 13 games to tie with Pettersson. A remarkable achievement considering the variance of the players’ positions on the ice. It is only a telltale sign of things to come in Vancouver with this talented young group.
Hughes could yet win the Calder Trophy this season and will likely go on to break many NHL records. He was electric against the Minnesota Wild all series long. Looking like he was born to play postseason hockey. It is a shame the rookie defenceman wasn’t given a full season to cement his name in the record books.
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