I wasn't expecting another Canucks news hit when I woke up on Saturday morning, but here we are.
The Quinn Hughes decision is official. He's going back to Michigan for his sophomore season.
If you read the article from the Tweet above, you'll see that Hughes wrestled to make a final decision on Friday, spending 90 minutes with his NCAA coach Mel Pearson before a four-hour sitdown with his family and his family advisor, superagent Pat Brisson.
In the end, a desire to wrap up unfinished business won out.
"My heart's obviously still at Michigan," Hughes told MGoBlue.com. "I was heartbroken when we lost to Notre Dame in the Frozen Four last year. I've never really been on a team that cares so much about each other, and I think that's a big reason why I'm coming back, because I love my teammates.
"I think we have a good team this upcoming year, and I believe in the group. So, for me, I have a lot of goals in my mind. I want to be the best player in college hockey, and I want to win the national championship. I think we can do it with the group and the coaching staff we have, and we believe in each other.
"So, it was unfinished business, of course. I want to win. When I look back at my season last year, I had a great year. But I didn't win a national championship. So, that's my goal next year, and anything less than that would be disappointing."
He didn't stop there:
'"My legacy at Michigan's important to me,'" Hughes said. '"I want to do something special at Michigan -- something that nobody's ever done.'"
The Wolverines have never had a Hobey Baker Award winner on a national championship team. Brendan Morrison won it in 1997, between a pair of national titles, and Kevin Porter won the Hobey in 2008.
Hughes wants that winning double-punch to be his legacy.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Hughes, "and hopefully I can accomplish what I want to."
Hard to argue with that type of drive—and commitment. And the NHL will still be there—there's only one window in a lifetime to go after a national championship.
For all his loyalty to Michigan, Hughes also has nothing but good things to say about the Canucks and how his situation has been handled.
"They are thinking big picture and really want what's best for me," said Hughes. "I think they handled the situation great, and there was always communication there. They were thinking four, six, 10 years down road: 'What's best for Quinn Hughes?' They're happy with the decision, and I am, too. My family advisor, Pat Brisson, has been talking to Jim Benning for probably three, four weeks. I talked to Jim and the coach, Travis Green, as well."
If that's not enough, here's a reassuring comparison from author Steve Kornacki:
Hughes scored five goals with 24 assists -- the most ever by a Michigan freshman defenseman -- for 29 points. For comparison, Zach Werenski, a rising star with the Columbus Blue Jackets, had 25 points with nine goals and 16 assists as a Wolverine freshman in 2014-15. He also was a high first-round pick after his freshman year, returned for his sophomore season, and went straight to Columbus the next season.
Zach Werenski's a much bigger player than Hughes—he's 6'2" and 209 pounds—but his development has certainly been impressive. Drafted one spot lower than Hughes at eighth overall in 2015, Werenski signed with the Blue Jackets organization after his sophomore season ended on March 29, 2016, then joined the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters, where he had 14 points in 17 games and on a team that won the Calder Cup.
Staying at Michigan will give Quinn the opportunity to remain in close proximity to his brother Jack, who will be based in Plymouth, Michigan with U.S. National Team Development Program.
The brothers are also expected to play together at the 2019 World Junior Championship in Vancouver this Christmas—and at the tournament's Summer Showcase camp next week in Kamloops.
After spending a week in Vancouver at the Canucks' development camp earlier this month, Quinn and Jack are now headed back to B.C. and will both skate for the USA's Team White against Finland on Monday evening in Kamloops.
Click here to check out the rest of the Team White roster. The Hughes' teammates up front will include the talented Oliver Wahlstrom and 2018 World Junior standout Grant Mismash and in net, Adam Gaudette's Northeastern teammate, Cayden Primeau.
Brady Tkachuk and Ryan Poehling are among the prominent names on USA's Team Blue.
I'm heading up to Kamloops on Monday, so I'll see both groups on Day 1 before Canada's split squads play their first games on Tuesday. And some good news: TSN is televising the last three days of the tournament—a six-game round-robin of the four participating countries that will run from Thursday through Saturday.
This is also an interesting tidbit:
I wonder if Hughes would have been more inclined to sign if he'd felt that there was a definite spot for him on the Canucks' opening-night roster? Either way, I think this is the right move for all parties.
As things stand now, the Canucks are looking at starting the season with the same eight defensemen they finished with last year—the eight defensemen that were part of a group whose 264 goals against were sixth-highest in the NHL in 2017-18—and a 21-goal increase from each of the previous two seasons under Willie Desjardins.
I think Operation Beagle-Roussel-Schaller is intended to try to help bring that number down under the heading of Team Defense. But it also wouldn't surprise me to see Benning try to make a move to change up the blue line before the season begins.
With Hughes out of the mix for the moment, this also gives Olli Juolevi a golden opportunity to try to step up and claim a spot on the big club for himself this fall.
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