Toronto Maple Leafs: 2018 NHL Draft Player Rankings
By Austin Owens
A slight drop
Average Ranking: 4.5
"“Boqvist’s resemblance to Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson is marked. The high skill, brilliant creativity and daring that allow Karlsson to command a game and capture the attention of his audience are present in Boqvist’s game.” (Craig Button, TSN)"
Boqvist has dropped in the draft rankings a tad because of his exclusion from the Swedish World Junior roster. The only underage defender to go was Dahlin.
Despite that, he is still a dynamic offensive defenceman. He has 11 goals and 18 points in 19 games with Brynäs IF J20 this season.
Average Ranking: 6
"“Hughes is a strong playmaker with excellent vision, capable of threading the needle with either hard or saucered cross-ice passes. Additionally, he has a heavy shot with a quick release, and goaltenders have to work hard to control rebounds of his shots. Hughes makes plays on his backhand look effortless, and he’s adept at receiving and settling down pucks while traveling at a high rate of speed.” (Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst)"
Hughes is small for a defender, but in the modern NHL, you look past that and see how good he is and what he brings to the table.
He had a strong World Juniors for the United States, even getting in to play forward when the team was short a body.
Hughes has 13 points in 19 games with the University of Michigan this season.