Quinn Hughes meets the Minnesota media for the first time

Quinn Hughes meets the Minnesota media for the first time

[Music] Quinn, can you put into words just what the last 48 hours have been like for you? It’s been a whirlwind for sure and um I’m just looking forward to kind of getting my feet on the ground and um get with the team here and getting a day-to-day lifestyle here. But um definitely the last 48 hours have been a lot, but I was excited to I was able to play today. And the fans certainly gave you a warm welcome. What was that like almost every time you were on the ice? That was pretty special, honestly. Um yeah, I wasn’t expecting that, but um that was very cool. And I know it’s a hockey market, but that was that was exciting. Not to mention getting your first goal in your debut has to be pretty good. Yeah, I mean made a great great pass there to find me. And uh I mean I just it’s impressive this team and um getting some of the pucks that you know the guys are finding me and making really good plays and um as I get going here and feel more comfortable and get my legs under me. This is going to be exciting. How involved were you Quinn just in this process and coming to Minnesota? Jim made it sound like you know he wanted to accommodate you as much as he could. Yeah, honestly, um I mean I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say, but um I have, you know, the ultimate respect for Jim Rutherford and and Franchesco Aalini and the Akalini family. Um I mean, they were first class with everything that was going on and obviously it was a tough situation, but it felt like it was time and I think Jim did too. Um, but Jim was, you know, Jim and Pat Paper saw my agent. He was um, you know, beast. I’m very lucky to have him. But they were kind of talking a lot about um, places I might feel comfortable. And, um, you know, Jim was amazing with that. You want, you know, he cared about the person. He wanted u me to go where he thought, you know, thinks I would be happy. And, um, yeah. So, what was the fight like with Phil yesterday, them coming to get you in the Yeah, he’s a funny guy. I mean, um I mean, obviously a tremendous career and um really appreciate him trading the assets that he did to get me. I mean, some teams they’re in until um they hear what they have to trade, you know, to get me, but Billy was just he was, you know, full in and um I think, you know, that was his first offer. And um so obviously I want to do what I can here and prove him right. and uh you know how he handled me with the four nations last year too gave me a glimpse of what a good person he is and um honestly he was a big reason why you know I wanted to come here. What did you think when you realized your gear wasn’t on that flight? I don’t know what you’re talking about. So it’s it’s on Bill or someone else. No, no, that was definitely on me. But I’m thankful I got um you know some really good people in my corner that were able to make it work for me. What excites you most about this organization right now where it’s at? I mean um the first thing is just the players and the guys in the room just getting a glimpse. I mean obviously I’ve met everyone four hours ago but um just how great the room has been and welcoming and then obviously on the ice today just you know some of the elite talent they have. I mean Carell gave me a pass in a second. I just wasn’t ready for it. Um and you know I would have had an open net but as time goes on here and I start to read off him. He starts to read off me. Um, you know, I think it’s going to take four or five, six games, but once we get rolling, it’s going to be uh I think it’s we’re going to be hard to beat. Obviously, winning is so important to you, like with the guys that they have on this roster, how much you think that this team is ready to kind of take that step. And I mean, I I just got here, but I mean, a big reason why obviously is cuz I thought, you know, they’re, you know, tremendous group just playing them over the years. Um, you know, hard to play against, really hard to play against, but got elite skill as well. And uh obviously um knowing that I was going to be able to play with Faber, Spurgeon, too. Um two, you know, elite players and you know, Broaddin and some other guys that are great back there. Um Bogo, but yeah, to play with those guys I knew would be, you know, pretty good for me, too. Yeah. What was it like playing with Brock? It seemed like you guys were exiting the zone and shutting down offense off the rush. Yeah. Yeah, I mean I just think uh as I get the systems and understanding, you know, what we’re supposed to do, closing guys off the rush, is the D supposed to go as the forward supposed to go. Um but I think the more and more I play, you know, Brock, we’re just going to continue to get better. And I think when um I thought we were really good tonight, but as we continue to read off each other and get to know each other, um you know, I think it’s going to be, you know, pretty special cuz he’s a fantastic player. Um so it’s going to be exciting for me. Where were you when you found out the deal was done? Were you on that flight from Vancouver to New Jersey or how did it come about? I think uh I had a good idea that um you know it’s potentially my last game there in Rogers on Thursday. Um and then uh kind of had a good idea Friday morning. Um wanted to go to New York just obviously you never know. and I was able to see my brothers and get dinner with some of my close friends on the team um and see those guys and I mean I had some great memories there and some really good friendships so that was obviously tough but um I could honestly couldn’t be more excited for this chapter. So you packed kind of knowing you might not make it back to them. Uh no not really. obviously want to be respectful and not get on the team plane and uh you know have a bunch of bags I think and also the deal wasn’t done yet but um you know I got you know amazing amazing mom who flew to Vancouver today from Edmonton and uh cleaned me out so um yeah thankful for her. Did Jack and Uni Insight I think him and Baldi know each other fairly well and I think Luca and Faber or is that right? Yeah, I’m h I don’t know. I I’ve met them through Olympic camps and um I’ve you know gotten together with Baldi before, Baldi and Jack and uh don’t know them too well, but obviously everything I hear is amazing and um I mean I’m excited to get to know those guys and play with those guys honestly. with your brothers when you found out you had traded or officially or like do you kind of like No, but I mean they knew it was coming and um I was happy to see them obviously missed that you know I think we were supposed to have 70 or 80 people at that Devils Vancouver game today. Um so missed a bunch of those those people but um yeah it was just nice to see Jack and Luke. I haven’t seen them in three or four months. How open-minded Quinn will you be just to seeing if you could see yourself here beyond your current contract? I mean extremely open-minded. Um they got an you know amazing core just uh you know obviously it’s we’ve only been here 4 hours but getting to know some of the guys and um you know how energetic and positive guys are um and then Minnesota being so close to Michigan and just the state of hockey and the passion here just seeing how the fans um reacted to me as well in warm-ups. Um and then obviously I got a lot of time for Billy for um you know quote unquote you know sacking up and making the deal um like he did and just you know how he valued me and um you know there are other teams that probably could have thrown in you know certain packages like that too but at the end of the day they didn’t you know they didn’t want to do that or they didn’t want to trade two or three assets from their team like Billy did. And uh so I I’ll remember that and that means a lot to me that Billy uh Billy did that. Arriving here last night, what’s your level of winter clothing? Zero honestly. Um doesn’t get that cold in October. No, it rains every day and might snow once a year, but uh yeah, I definitely have some shopping to do. You play a lot of games in your career, but was there any different nerves or emotions that you felt going to this game? I had to feel like something different. Yeah, I mean I think I was just, you know, my body was a little fatigued. um didn’t really have my legs today and just trying to understand the system a little bit, the DZone and um you know, I think a big thing that I’m really good at is just reading off my teammates, you know, paying attention to guys or certain tendencies and whatnot. So, um as I continue to learn about my teammates, just be able to make some reads and especially on the power play. Um a little nerves there on the first and you can see it on that first power play. But like I said, it may take a couple games, but I think, you know, as we get to Christmas and after Christmas, we’ll be rolling. You mentioned you knew it was kind of time in Vancouver to move on. Like, when did you kind of realize that or was it something early in the season or something you kind of just crystallized for you at a certain I mean, I don’t want to I don’t know what’s out there. I don’t have Twitter, but um I mean there was you know some talks a little bit this summer and um you know I love the guys there and you know some of those guys are my best friends and um you want to be successful and uh so I came into the year open-minded and um you know wanted to make it work and obviously wanted to you know have a great year but just think um you know with the injuries and the direction it was going it wasn’t wasn’t happening and Um, I think Jim knew where my head was at a little bit and we got to talking um or Jim and Pat got to talking and um a couple weeks ago and it kind of went from there. Good. Thank you, man. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] John, could you tell a certain different energy in the building tonight just with Quinn here and like the the crowd going a little bit when he was hand? Yeah, I thought it was it was crowd was yeah electric I think just from the I would say warm-ups to the to the introductions and then throughout the game. So it was great to see to have the building, you know, like that and the guys performed the way that they did. So it was great combo. I think we focus on just like your the fact you’re getting him, but I think today’s game was a perfect example of like he makes people around him better and the trickle down effect on the lineup like Brock in particular, but just everyone he has that ability to make everyone elevate everyone around him. Yeah, he does. I mean, when you when you have a player of his capabilities, you know, coming in, it’s just he does so many things in the game that whether it’s, you know, the the plays is able to make and um, you know, he was on with different guys. I thought he and Brock were obviously a really good pair. But, you know, regardless of the situations he was in, he has the he has that ability where he can he can make plays and he puts people, you know, the the thing with a puck moving guy like him is he puts people in good spots. You know, if they’re there, he’s going to hit them, but also he can make some plays when he’s got puck support around him that, you know, allows things to be able to develop. That excite you just knowing what it could look like after a few practices and a little bit more time together, right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I think it’s, you know, it’s it’s kind of been a world wh world win for him obviously with the trade and then coming here and and not skating, just coming into an early game, not even getting a pregame skate at least with the guys. So, I talked with Quinn after the game. I thought he felt, you know, he felt good and was happy with uh I think the way he played, but obviously when you transition teams, there’s a couple little things uh just probably from defensive zone and rush coverage, not so much with the puck, but some things without the puck. Um, but overall, I thought it was, you know, excited to have him and obviously you see the type of player that he is. I think he fits in well with with our group and the the way that we want to play. So, so far so good. Understand on those talks like moving forward like just like the crash course that he might have got in your systems today. Like is that something you have to revisit as you move? Yeah. Yeah. And he talked about, you know, it’s probably going to take a couple games, you know, to get going. And obviously with the game schedule right now the way it is, there’s really not a lot of time to practice. It’s probably mostly going to be pregame skates. But I just think each once you settle in, you know, even a day like today when you come in, it’s his first time meeting the team and meeting everyone and then you’re going into play. So, um, it’ll be fine. But when you have a when you have a guy that has that type of hockey sense and the experience that he has, it’ll be it’ll be quick. Johansson and uh possibly. But Johansson and Uric, any update on the two of them? They both look uh no, not I don’t have any yet on uh on either guy. How much do you value a guy like Quinn, especially when it comes to like puck possession and exiting in the zone? I think he leads the league in both of those. Just how much value do you put that in to a guy like him? Well, it’s a huge value because I think it’s, you know, as we always talk about, you want to be able to get up and out of your zone. And I think he’s a guy that can play like the thing that’s dynamic about him is that he he can play within structure, but also even within that structure, there’s a A, B, and a C play. And a lot of times he hits the a play which then I think allows you know the secondary attack. And I think um in in that situation getting out of your zone is really important but I think also what occurs in the offensive zone or coming up even through the neutral zone where there’s you know plays to be made he can execute those plays at a high level. And then I think also in the offensive zone just the movement and the possession uh that that he creates in those situations as well. adding him is obviously different than some of the other turnover you’ve had lately due to injuries, but it just seems like no matter what, it’s just been kind of steady and um how admirable is that from the team? Yeah, you know, I think the team’s really um focused and you know, committed committed to do what’s necessary to win each night. But I would say that overall I think our game is strong. I think from a defensive standpoint, regardless of who’s in or out of the lineup, I think there’s a there’s a commitment to play to the structure that we need to play with defensively, which has been strong. And I think offensively, we’ve been, you know, more threatening. I think as of late, the guys are getting to the interior of the ice. I think we have more of a shot mentality. I think we’re competing hard uh in the offensive zone to give us opportunities to be able to to create offense in multiple ways. Any update on like Felino or Middleton or Zukell? like could any of them be back this week at some point or uh that’s a good question. I think it’s um I probably won’t know more until tomorrow whether it’s the guys from the game tonight or kind of what the what this week’s progression is going to be. Uh Moose has been Feno’s been skating I think is going to try to skate on Tuesday. Zuki and Midsy I don’t have an update on where their progress is going to be at which I probably will tomorrow. Um, and then I still have to find out about about Johansson and your a check tonight. The paper played to to Hartman on that end rush there. Like to show how much confidence he’s playing with right now. Yeah, Fabes I thought’s playing he’s playing really well and uh I think that’s another you know you know he’s been he’s been really solid for us for a while. But I think you know a play like that is is something that you you can make when you’re when you’re feeling good and playing well and getting multiple looks and opportunities in those situations. and he did a good job and hit it tonight. Anything else for coach? Thanks,

Newly acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes meets with reporters following Sunday night’s game vs Boston–his first with the Minnesota Wild.

Stream will begin after the conclusion of Minnesota vs Boston.