Future looks bright for Dach and Hughes
From now until their careers end - possibly around 2035 or even 2040 - the Blackhawks' Kirby Dach, the Devils' Jack Hughes and everyone else in the 2019 NHL draft class will be compared to one another.
Who will turn into superstars? Who will disappoint? Which teams made the right decisions … and the wrong ones?
Those questions and plenty of others will be answered in the next five, 10 and 15 years.
As for Dach and Hughes, who clashed for the second time this season at the United Center on Monday, the two 18-year-olds are trying to stay positive despite rough starts to their careers.
"On a personal note I'm happy with my game," said the soft-spoken Hughes, who snapped a 17-game goal drought by tying the game at 1-1 in the first period. The Devils went on to win 7-1.
"Playing well. I'm pretty comfortable. It's more that our team isn't winning. It's been like that the whole year. Obviously it gets frustrating."
Things are slightly better for Dach, who has 6 goals and 5 assists and ended a 15-game pointless drought with a goal Saturday at Colorado.
"I've got to figure out a way to be consistent, and as a young guy that's something that's huge," Dach said.
Nobody doubts the Devils (12-19-5) took the correct player with the No. 1 pick. Hughes, just 5-feet-10, 170 pounds, has elite speed and hands, a sensational shot and a hockey IQ that - according to former Hawks forward John Hayden - is off the charts.
But it's been a rough ride so far for the native of Orlando, Florida, who jumped into the best league in the world after just three seasons in the USHL.
"Jack Hughes is going to be a premier player, a superstar in this league for a long time," said Devils defenseman P.K. Subban. "No one's worried about him here. ...
"The reality is we're in second-to-last place in the league. We all have to be better in here. I've been through tough seasons as well and these are great opportunities to learn.
"He's got probably 18, 20 years to figure everything out. It's not going to happen all in one season."
For sure.
But Hughes (5 goals) is off to a much slower start than recent No. 1 picks Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Andrei Svechnikov. Those three had 14, 16 and 10 goals, respectively, after 33 games.
"I get the (concern about lack of) point production," said Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine. "But we've talked a lot about using our speed. He's doing that. We've talked a lot about getting to the inside. Our team didn't do that (last game), but he did.
"So there are a lot of things that are positive for Jack right now."
As for Dach, who went third overall, his confidence seems to be growing every game. He's weaving through traffic with more authority, digging pucks out of corners more often and finding himself in better positions to score.
The rookie's third-period goal against Colorado was a thing of beauty as he extended every inch of his 6-4 frame to grab a pass from Erik Gustafsson. A split second later he slung the puck into the net from a tough angle, and the game was tied at 3-3 with 8:10 remaining.
Said Hawks GM Stan Bowman: "I don't think people realize how hard that was - to just corral that pass and then with a guy on you (while you're) off balance, slide it into the small little sliver of the net that he had. Didn't look that spectacular, but it would be a really hard one to duplicate.
"Those are the types of plays that not a lot of guys can pull off."
Hughes and Dach, who became friends during the NHL's draft weekend in June, check in regularly with each other and went to Michael Jordan's Steakhouse on Sunday.
They didn't discuss each other's troubles, however, because both believe things will turn around eventually.
"Jack and Kirby are both super creative, talented guys with great hands, great creativity, vision," Bowman said. "They haven't put it all together yet like they will. If we're sitting down here in three years and talking about both these players, we'd both say they've built on their first year and they've learned what it's like to be an NHL player.
"And then their true talent will come through."
By the numbers
How the first 3 picks of the 2019 draft are faring:
Player, team GP G A Pts.
1. Jack Hughes, NJ 33 5 9 14
2. Kaapo Kakko, NYR 32 6 8 14
3. Kirby Dach, Chi. 32 6 5 11