Hughes Not The Man For Devils 2022 All-Star Representative
Honor Should Have Been Bestowed On Bratt
Jack Hughes is unquestionably the most talented player on the Devils and one of the only reasons to watch this team play out the string over the second half of the season. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft became the face of the franchise before he ever accomplished anything on a pro rink but now, at 20, he is deserving of all the high praise he has been receiving from the national media for his huge leap this season as New Jersey’s primary play driver, averaging a point per game.
However, when the announcement of the selection of the Devils’ representative for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game came down on Thursday, I’m of the opinion that the committee from NHL Hockey Operations committed an oversight when they reflexively went with Hughes. The honor should have gone to wing Jesper Bratt.
Due to a dislocated shoulder from a hit in Game 2 versus Seattle, Hughes has only played in 20 of New Jersey’s 37 games. A handful have been dominant performances like multi-point games or his two overtime goals plus his magnificent assist on Nico Hischier’s game-winner in the extra session in Washington on January 2.
Unfortunately, the Devils are just 7-12-1 in Hughes’ appearances, including losses in all eight games where he was held off the scoresheet, which translates into a lower point percentage than the 7-6-4 mark they achieved during his absence.
On the other hand, the Devils have lost all three games, including Thursday night’s 3-2 defeat at the Islanders, that Bratt has missed due to illnesses (he is currently in the NHL’s health and safety protocols and also sat out a 5-2 loss in Detroit on December 18 due to a non-COVID-19 malady).
You could argue that other injuries/COVOD-19 infections also played a major role in those defeats, but overall, Bratt has been more consistent than Hughes after an awful start that saw him go pointless in the first five games of the season. In his next 29 games, though, Bratt has racked up 10 goals and 22 assists. Those 32 points has him placed 13th in the league in scoring over that time frame.
For those who dismiss plus/minus (Bratt: plus-5, Hughes: minus-4) as a useful stat, all the five-on-five advanced metrics favor Bratt over Hughes as well. Bratt leads the team in categories like expected goals for percentage and high danger scoring chance percentage.
It wasn’t a coincidence that rookie Dawson Mercer got off to a scorching start with 14 points in his first 19 games—nearly 60% of Mercer’s five-on-five ice time to that point came with Bratt on his wing, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Since then, Devils coach Lindy Ruff has moved Bratt around, with Mercer only getting to share the ice with him on about one-third of his five-on-five minutes. The result: Mercer has produced all of 3 goals and 3 assists in the following 18 games. Again, the Corsi numbers suggest that no matter where Ruff has been placing Bratt, that line has generally been tilting the ice in the Devils’ favor.
Bratt, a sixth-round find in the 2016 Draft out of Sweden, has had an up-and-down career in his first four NHL seasons. The skillset, especially the incredible stickhandling and edge work, was obvious from his first experience at the Devils Prospect Challenge prior to the 2017-18 season. It led to him not only making the big club, but also soon finding himself on New Jersey’s top line next to fellow rookie Hischier and Taylor Hall, who won the league’s Hart Trophy as the most valuable player that season.
Still, Bratt’s game wasn’t all that well-rounded. Through the years, his perceived lack of diligence and effort often got him demoted or watching some games from above as a healthy scratch.
Among Devils wings this season, though, only Pavel Zacha, who sometimes plays center, has earned more five-on-five ice time per game than Bratt, a sign that he has Ruff’s full faith and credit.
I’m not sure why the All-Star committee failed to concur, other than the fact that Hughes is the more attractive name for a purely entertainment vehicle. It’s not like the Metropolitan Division desperately needed another center, with Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux and Carolina’s Sebastian Aho anchoring the two three-on-three forward lines.
Bratt is listed on the Division’s “Last Man In” ballot for fans to vote on, but it would be an upset of epic proportions if he beat out all the more established names on the list like the Islanders’ Mat Barzal, who netted the game winner late in the third period on Thursday, and a more deserving candidate like Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel. Devils fans are rabid, but not all that numerous.
I have no doubt that Hughes’ ticket to All-Star weekend will be punched multiple times over the course of his career. This year, though, it wasn’t warranted. The committee missed the mark.