Vancouver Canucks: Quinn Hughes is the most impactful player of 2020
Most players take several years to have a breakout season. Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes had his breakout season in his first season.
The Vancouver Canucks have had a surprisingly good season to this point. They’ve gone from being out of the playoff picture last season to being firmly in it this season. And they’ve done it despite most of their young players not taking a significant step forward. Yes, the addition of J.T. Miller has helped. But no player has had a bigger impact on the Canucks this season than rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Hughes has immediately emerged as the Canucks best overall defenseman. While he’s not playing shutdown minutes yet, he has quickly earned the trust of head coach Travis Green, and rightfully so.
According to Puck IQ, Hughes played about 32% of his 5v5 minutes against “elite” competition. That ranks third among Canucks defensemen, trailing only Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev. As far as pure raw minutes, he also finished third.
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What makes a player impactful? Having an impact all across the ice and having it show up in the results. You could make a very strong argument that Hughes is already the Canucks best overall defenseman. Despite getting pretty tough minutes for a rookie, Hughes led all Canucks defensemen in just about every underlying stat.
Hughes had a good chance of winning the Calder Trophy, though Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche is certainly deserving as well. But if I had a vote (and I don’t), I’d give Hughes the ever so slight nod for several reasons.
First of all, while Makar had an incredible season production wise, Hughes did as well. He finished 15th among defensemen in 5v5 points per hour (minimum 600 5v5 minutes). Hughes also helped ignite the Canucks power play, helping them improve immensely there.
Secondly, Hughes had a larger relative impact than Makar. Yes, Makar was productive. But his underlying stats, while good, weren’t great. Hughes’ impact on the Canucks was off the charts good.
Among defensemen with at least 600 5v5 minutes, he ranked in the top 10 in relative CorsiFor%, relative FenwickFor%, relative expected goals for percentage, and relative scoring chances for percentage.
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Hughes made a huge impact on the Canucks in just his first season. His future is extremely bright, which is a great thing for the Canucks.