Family Affair I THREE THINGS

Day 1 of the 2021 NHL Draft was Friday night, and the Devils two selections (Nos. 4 and 29) can best be summed up as a family affair. It was a night of brothers, sons and NHL bloodlines.
We cover that and more in our NHL Draft Day 1, presented by Wawa.

1. Oh, Brother!

The highlight of Day 1 for the Devils was without a doubt the selection of defenseman
Luke Hughes with the fourth-overall pick
. General manager Tom Fitzgerald gave the people - Devils fans - what they wanted:
the brotherly reunion
. It's certainly a good story and a heartfelt moment for the Hughes family. And most importantly, Luke is every bit deserving of the fourth pick.
What a moment it was whenever Fitzgerald announced Luke's name in front of the crowd at the
Prudential Center
. The citizenry roared in cacophonous approval and chants. Meanwhile in the Hughes household, Jack leaped into his brother's arms and bounced with joy. Both scenes were a sight to behold.
"(Jack) told (head coach) Lindy (Ruff) that he was more excited about this draft than his own," Fitzgerald smirked. "I texted Jack Luke's jersey that was hanging behind me in the locker room and then he called me. I could tell he was extremely excited."

2. Son of a...NHLer

The Devils went with the brother connection with their first first-round pick (fourth overall) in Luke Hughes. Then they went with bloodlines on their second first-round pick (29th overall) in Chase Stillman, son of former NHL player Cory and brother of Chicago Blackhawks prospect Riley Stillman.
Chase plays a similar game to his father. He'll add some grit and nastiness to the lineup with his crash-and-burn style. He's strong on the forecheck and a physical presence with good size at 6-foot-1, 183 pounds.
"Our scouts were extremely passionate about Chase," Fitzgerald said. "He's got very good skill. The motor just runs and runs and runs. You can't teach that. There are players out there with a lot of skill and ability, but sometimes you have to kick them right in the behind. With Chase, sometimes you have to pull him back a little bit."
When it comes to Day 1 of the draft, the Devils certainly kept it in the family.

3. Needs

In his locker room clean out press conference, Tom Fitzgerald noted two areas of need that the Devils wanted to address in the offseason. One was to improve the organizational depth at defense. The other was to improve the club's grit and tenacity, which took a blow with the loss of Nathan Bastian to Seattle in the Expansion Draft.
The Devils' two first-round picks address both of those needs. Hughes gives the Devils a blue-chip prospect on the blue line as a future power-play QB and possible top-pair defenseman. Stillman's energy, physicality and hard-nosed style will help improve the Devils' toughness and make them harder to play against.
The Devils knew the areas of their organization that they needed to improve and both selections hit their marks.

ONE MORE THING!

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