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A Legendary NHL Head Coach & Hockey Hall of Famer recently compared Quinn Hughes to one of the greatest defenseman in the history of the game.
Since entering the National Hockey League at the tail end of the 2018-19 season, Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has established himself as one of the best defenseman in the National Hockey League.
As Hughes gets set to embark on his seventh full season in the National Hockey League, the Canucks captain is drawing some very high praise from one of the greatest coaches in league history – Scotty Bowman.
Scotty Bowman compares Quinn Hughes to one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history
On Thursday, the legendary Scotty Bowman – a 2002 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, a nine-time Stanley Cup champion as a coach and the NHL’s all-time coaching wins leader – was a guest on Donnie & Dhali where he spoke about Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who is heading into a big season after a summer filled with rumors about his future with the club.
When asked by Rick Dhaliwal on who Quinn Hughes reminds him of, Scotty Bowman mentions a couple of names, one of whom is Duncan Keith, although he was a bit more of a two-way guy when compared to the Canucks captain.
The other player Bowman says Quinn Hughes reminds him of is long-time Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who he coached to three Stanley Cups.
“When Hughes is rolling along, he sees the ice…he reminds me, if I had to pick one but he has a little bit more puck carrying ability, we had a defenseman in Detroit – Nick Lidstrom that when he would get the puck, the next play we still had the puck. We kept the puck. I keep going back and I think of a player like Hughes and when he does get the puck, very seldom does the other team get it that you have to go back and get it off of them. So that’s the way I describe him.” the 91-year-old Bowman said.
For those who are new to hockey or have gotten more into the game in the last ten years, they might not be familiar with how dominant Nicklas Lidstrom was in his career, especially from an offensive standpoint as he finished his career with a whopping 1,142 points in 1,564 games to go along with his seven Norris Trophies.
To be compared to Nicklas Lidstrom by one of, if not the greatest coach in NHL history is an unbelievable honor for Quinn Hughes and while he may not end his career with as many points or Norris Trophies as the Swede did, if he’s able to take that next step as a leader and carry his team to a Stanley Cup or two, he could certainly leave a similar legacy.
Previously on CanucksDaily