Quinn Hughes

His 29 points ranked tied for 12th in the NCAA and third in the Big Ten among freshmen, while his 24 assists ranked third in the NCAA and first overall in the Big Ten among freshman.

Hughes' 24 assists is the most in Michigan program history by a freshman defenseman.

Following an outstanding freshman season, Hughes was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and the All-Big Ten Second Team.

He was also selected as a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, with the award eventually going to Mitchell Lewandowski.

Quintin Hughes (born October 14, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Hughes’ family moved to Toronto in 2006, as his father found work with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As he had begun skating at a young age, while in elementary school he was given permission to skate during lunch period after he consistently became distracted during class watching his younger brother and father skate on a frozen baseball diamond.

On March 12, Hughes was named to the AHCA First-Team All-America, becoming the 95th All-American in Michigan's history.

Hughes' hockey career began when he played Bantam AAA and Minor Midget AAA hockey for the Toronto Marlboros, before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in 2015.

He also had the option of joining the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), as the Sarnia Sting drafted him in the third round of the 2015 OHL Draft, but Hughes chose to continue developing in America.

However, before joining the USNTDP, he made a verbal commitment in January 2015 to play NCAA hockey at the University of Michigan for their 2017–18 season.

Hughes played in the USNTDP alongside fellow top prospect Brady Tkachuk, with whom he also shared a room.

In his first year with the U.S. National Under-17 Team, Hughes scored 7 goals and recorded 17 assists in 57 games.

During the 2016–17 season, he scored four goals and 22 assists in 26 games, making him the first defenseman in USHL history to post such high points-per-game ratio two seasons before his NHL draft eligibility.

For his efforts, he was named to the All-USHL Second Team.

, he sits in fifth place for the USNTDP record for most points by a defenseman with 77.

Following success with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, Hughes joined the University of Michigan for the 2017–18 season.

There he set a new record for most assists by a Michigan freshman defenseman and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Hughes played for the Michigan Wolverines at the University of Michigan from 2017 to 2019.

There, he enrolled in the School of Kinesiology and majored in Sport Management.

During his rookie season, in which he was the youngest NCAA male ice hockey player, Hughes recorded five goals and 24 assists in 37 games.

Hughes was drafted seventh overall by the Canucks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Prior to the draft, he was considered a top prospect player.

Internationally, Hughes has represented the United States at the 2018 and 2019 World Junior Championships.

He made his senior national team debut at the 2018 IIHF World Championship where he helped them win bronze.

Leading up to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Hughes was considered a top prospect player due to his skating and puck moving ability.

The final ranking from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in April placed Hughes in sixth place amongst North American skaters.

He was eventually drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, seventh overall.

He attended the Canucks development camp that summer but ultimately decided to return to Michigan for his sophomore year, citing a goal to win an NCAA championship and furthering his development as his reasons.

In spite of speculation Hughes would leave Michigan early to join the Canucks, he finished the 2018–19 season with the Wolverines.

Hughes is from a family of ice hockey players; his younger brother Jack was drafted first overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, while his youngest brother Luke was drafted fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, also by the Devils.

His mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes played for the United States women's national ice hockey team and his father was the director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Born in Orlando, Florida, Hughes began playing hockey while his family was living in Boston due to his father, Jim Hughes’ work.

He began playing as a forward before transitioning to defense at the age of 13.

During the 2019 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, he suffered a foot injury in a 3–2 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on March 8, 2019.

After an x-ray showed limited damage to his foot, Hughes played the following night in a 4–1 loss to the Golden Gophers, which thus eliminated the Wolverines from the playoff series.

During his sophomore season, Hughes recorded five goals and 28 assists in 32 games, ranking first on the Wolverines in scoring.

Following an outstanding season, he was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award.

He was also named a finalist for Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

On March 10, 2019, Hughes ended his collegiate career following his sophomore season, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks.