Luke Warren Hughes (born September 9, 2003) is an American ice hockey

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA). He was selected fourth overall by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the

2021 NHL Entry Draft The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...

Playing career

Hughes committed to play

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for the

during the 2021–22 season. Hughes led the league in goals scored with 13 in conference play, and recorded nine assists for 22 points, the second most points in the league play behind

Matty Beniers Matthew Beniers (; born November 5, 2002) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kraken drafted Beniers second overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with their first-ever select ...

. He led the nation's defensemen in scoring with 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 37 games and is a +25. He set several Michigan program records this season. His 17 goals surpassed Dean Turner's freshman defenseman record of 13 set in 1975–76, and he passed Jack Johnson's 32 points for the most points by a Michigan freshman defenseman. In March, Hughes recorded one goal and six assists in seven games and was subsequently named the Hockey Commissioner's Association Rookie of the Month. Following an outstanding season, he was named to the All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Freshman Team, the All-Big Ten Second Team and was named Co- Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was also named an AHCA West Second Team All-American. During the 2022–23 season he led the league's defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points, averaging 1.27 points per game. In 35 total games, he recorded nine goals and 33 assists, ranking second in the nation in points per game by a defensemen. Following an outstanding season he was named a finalist for the Big Ten Player of the Year and

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confer ...

and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team. He was considered a top prospect for the

. On July 23, 2021, Hughes was drafted fourth overall by the

in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

International play

Hughes represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

2019 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is an ice hockey tournament that was held in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada from November 2 to November 9. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held by Hockey Canada annua ...

where he recorded one goal and three assists in six games and won a silver medal. On May 5, 2022, Hughes was named to the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the ...

to compete at the

2022 IIHF World Championship The 2022 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Finland from 13 to 29 May 2022, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. The host cities of the World Championships were Tampere and Helsinki, ...

. He recorded one goal and three assists in ten games. On December 12, 2022, Hughes was named to the

United States men's national junior ice hockey team The United States men's national junior ice hockey team represents the United States at the IIHF World U20 Championship. The team has won 5 world junior championships (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). Many talented NHL prospects, such as John Car ...

to compete at the

2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships are the 47th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held from December 26, 2022 through January 5, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick. They were origina ...

. During the tournament he served as team captain and recorded four goals and one assist in seven games and won a bronze medal.

Personal life

Hughes comes from an ice hockey-playing family. His father, Jim Hughes, is a former player and team captain for

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

, an assistant coach for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and director of player development for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. His mother,

Ellen Weinberg-Hughes Ellen Weinberg-Hughes (; born July 8, 1969) is an American former ice hockey player. She competed internationally for the US women's national team at the 1992 Women's World Championship, capturing a silver medal while being named to the tourna ...

, played ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

and, in 2012, was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Athletics Hall of Fame. She also played for the

United States women's national ice hockey team The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating ...

, and won a silver medal at the 1992 World Championship. Hughes has two older brothers, Quinn, and Jack. Quinn was drafted seventh overall by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

, while Jack was drafted first overall by the

in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. His mother is Jewish and his father is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Luke 2003 births Living people Ice hockey players from Michigan Jewish American sportspeople Jewish ice hockey players Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils draft picks People from Canton, Michigan USA Hockey National Team Development Program players 21st-century American Jews AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans