Will Devils prospect Luke Hughes play in NHL this season? ‘I would bet my mortgage on that,’ his college coach says

It took him a few seconds, but Michigan ice hockey coach Brandon Naurato came up with the perfect word to describe Devils prospect Luke Hughes’ style of play.

“He’s a unicorn,” Naurato told NJ Advance Media in his office on Tuesday.

Naurato, Michigan’s interim head coach who has helped develop all three Hughes brothers, said Devils fans should be ecstatic if Hughes joins the NHL roster in the 2022-23 season. By this point, as Naurato admits, Hughes moving to New Jersey in the coming months is inevitable.

“I would bet my mortgage on that,” Naurato said. “He could have signed last year, I think he had a plan to come for two years. We don’t talk about it because I expect him to. I think he’s ready to go.”

But what would this look like? Is Hughes, 19, ready to make the NHL jump at such a young age? According to Naurato, Hughes’ glimpses of potential would overshadow any “learning adjustments.”

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“It comes to so many variables, but can he play in the NHL? I think he can play in the NHL for sure … Look at Cole Caufield coming in, what he did in college, he was ultra dominant. It takes time to figure it out, but there will be areas where you watch Luke Game 1 and you’re like, ‘oh my gosh, look at this guy play.’

“Somewhere in New Jersey, there will be a learning adjustment. But he’s a smart kid and he’ll figure it out. The one thing about Luke is he’s extremely confident in what he does and he’s going to do what he does.”

Hughes, the Devils’ fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is currently the captain for Team USA at the 2023 World Juniors Championship and has four points (three goals and one assist) in four games played. He has an excellent frame – 6-foot-2, 190 lbs, according to his player bio on Michigan’s website – and boasts a lethal combination of speed and skill to leave opponents clueless.

When discussing Hughes’ NHL ceiling, Naurato immediately brought up some of the NHL’s best defensemen.

“He’s special in how he skates, what he’s doing for USA right now and I think his best hockey – as good as he is and as dominant as he is right now – will probably come when he’s 22, 23 years old,” Naurato said. “He should be doing what guys like Cale Makar and Quinn (Hughes) are doing.”

For now, Hughes will finish out the 2022-23 NCAA season, which concludes on April 8, 2023, with the National Championship in Tampa, Florida. Michigan is ranked No. 7 and Hughes has 18 points in 20 games. His league projections are high, but many Devils front office members and players – his brother, Jack, especially – can’t wait for the talented defenseman’s call up.

“Everybody in New Jersey has a lot of big expectations for Luke,” Jack said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast in September. “We’ve got him and (Simon) Nemec now, so I think people are pretty certain on who our one-two are going to be for the next bunch of years. So I think we are in good hands with those two.”

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Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ryannovo62.

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