Improving as a player often means evolving.
New Jersey Devils superstar Jack Hughes is evolving before our eyes. In the Devils' last game against the Florida Panthers, Hughes threw a hit on Panthers forward Anton Lundell after the whistle was blown.
He was assessed a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Earlier in the play, Hughes had the puck in the offensive zone when Lundell cross-checked him in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ice. Hughes caught up with him going the other direction, and when both were skating beside the boards, he checked him into the boards. I guess that Hughes took exception to being cross-checked on the shoulder.
Jack Hughes hit Anton Lundell after the whistle and earns himself an unsportsmanlike penalty 👀 pic.twitter.com/wfCEedS3HE
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 15, 2024
Regardless of why, insider Elliotte Friedman talked about the penalty on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts.
"I love that Jack Hughes got that penalty," Friedman reveals. "Jack Hughes has been playing great; if he keeps going like this, we're going to start talking about him in the MVP conversation."
"I don't think it's a bad thing once in a while for him to do something like that," Friedman continues. "He can't do it a lot; they need him on the ice, but not bad once in a while to run over somebody."
32 Thoughts Friday news, information & analysis podcast.
Terrific answers to terrible questions with CHL President Dan MacKenzie. Perfect time to have him on.
Links to your preferred platform, here: https://t.co/io7Mr1QEpm
Enjoy!
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 15, 2024
"I kinda liked it."
It's good for hockey if its stars show some character and dimension. Hughes took exception and let the opposing player know he didn't like that.
If this is how Hughes is evolving, it will only make him a better player.
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