The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames on Thursday night in a blowout, 7-3. Following the game, head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media and T.J. Hughes’ name came up, as it really should.
"Hughes has fit in all kinds of ways for us, including on the top power play. Smart guy, doesn’t throw the puck away. Really good passer."Jared Bednar on T.J. Hughes
When word got out that Bednar had placed Hughes on the top power play unit, it really excited me. While some could take it as a desperation move, I don’t really believe that we were at that point this early on in the season. I am sure that Bednar and Nolan Pratt have discussed several different ways of attacking opposing penalty kills with their star players—ways that they perhaps didn’t think of last year.
The main takeaway from last season is that the power play just was not up to anyone’s standards. Something had to change. With his high hockey IQ, Hughes could be the answer for the Avalanche going from a bottom-of-the-league power play team to a top-10 unit in all of the NHL.
Hughes has 11 shots on goal four games into the season. That to me seems like his confidence is pretty high right now, as it should be. He’s a bottom-six player right now, so the pressure of performing isn’t that high, but he is taking all of his opportunities, learning from them, and improving each day, which is what the Avalanche and Bednar want to see.
Hughes is fourth on the team in terms of time on ice on the power play (3:20 per game). While that’s no surprise given his status as a PP1 player, it’s just a really good thing that he has picked up the system so fast. With more opportunities on the power play, the more likely he is to finally get some power play goals or assists, and potentially keeping up the trend of a dangerous power play.
Hughes also recorded his first NHL point on Thursday against the Flames, with an assist. Getting that out of the way has got to feel great for Hughes. The next step will be to continue working hard and hopefully he will get his first goal in the NHL in the near future.
The 24-year-old Hughes was a highly-coveted player coming out of Michigan last year. Colorado was one of many teams to swoop in and try and snatch him up before other opponents were able to, and they were the ones who succeeded. It is going to be fun to see his progression throughout the 2026-27 season and beyond. Maybe the fact that he is rising to the occasion so fast will provide some answers throughout the years in terms of roster decisions.
That idea would not shock me at all. It is tough to make it in the NHL, but Hughes just continues to get praise from his head coach as well as his teammates. To me, all of that seems like it could lead to him having a long and successful career with the Colorado Avalanche. Hopefully that is true and hopefully he will one day lift the Stanley Cup over his head.
At the end of the day, it is still early in Hughes’ career, but Bednar would not be saying these great things about him if they weren’t true. Hughes should take these comments and continue to build his career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google