PRAGUE -- Jack Hughes not only is looking forward to playing his first career hockey game in Czechia but also to getting a fresh start to a season that hopefully results in the New Jersey Devils getting back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Last year was definitely frustrating; people expected us to be much better," the Devils center told NHL.com. "I think it's just another opportunity for our group to grow and really take another stride and get back to where we were and give ourselves a chance to play really good hockey to start the season and carry that on as we go."
The first chance comes Friday when the Devils open the 2024-25 NHL regular season against the Buffalo Sabres at O2 Arena in Prague (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal. The teams will play a second game at O2 Arena on Saturday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) before heading back to North America.
"I think hockey has been huge over here and it's great to see," Hughes said. "There's great players who come out of Czechia and Slovakia every year so maybe some of the kids cheering us on at practice will be good players and they'll be able to say they came to the Global Series games."
Hughes appreciated the fact many of the young hockey players in attendance to watch practice cheered every goal the Devils scored during line-rush sessions. Hughes even was stopped at the conclusion of practice while heading to the locker room to sign autographs and take pictures.
"I remember when I was a kid and got to go to an NHL practice, it's really special," he said. "But when you're at a morning skate it's usually empty, so it's fun to have fans there for practice."
The warm welcome has been great, but Hughes and his teammates know this is a business trip.
After reaching the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23, the Devils took a step back last season, finishing seventh in the Metropolitan Division (38-39-5).
"We were brutal [in 2023-24], but we're into the new year now and we're not really looking back at what happened," Hughes said. "I don't think you can forget about any season and especially when a lot of people expected us to be a playoff team for good after we made the playoffs. But we took a step back. That means we'll be a hungrier group, more focused, going into the season.”
The disappointing record led to a coaching change, with Sheldon Keefe, who led Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander with the Toronto Maple Leafs, being hired as New Jersey coach May 23.
Hughes and rest of the Devils received their first glimpse of what life will be like this season under Keefe when training camp opened Sept. 18.
"He's definitely a guy I can learn from, just with him coaching some really good players that I watch a lot and admire from a distance," Hughes said. "I think he's got a lot of ideas for me, and I'm sure as we go I'll have some ideas for him too. There's been some hard practices to start the year and I think everyone's excited about getting it going."
The 23-year-old center, who will enter his sixth NHL season since being chosen No. 1 by the Devils in the 2019 NHL Draft, had shoulder surgery April 10 and spent most of his summer rehabilitating.
When he opens the season Friday, he’ll be going against Lindy Ruff, who was fired as Devils coach March 4 and hired by the Sabres on April 22.
The 64-year-old had nothing but great memories of his star center.
"I love that kid," Ruff said of Hughes. "He's a very talented young man who, over the years, we've seen dominate games, score all kinds of special goals. I think his development away from the puck was something we just kept on working on and it came a long way. His only setbacks have been the injuries, but there have been times where he took control of the whole game and there's not many players that can do that.
"In Jack's case he wrapped his arms around the challenge of either getting us back in a game or getting us in position to put away a game, so I love what he's done as a player and where he's at in this league."
There's no doubt much of the Devils’ success this season will hinge on Hughes' health and production.
He had 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists) and nine power-play goals in 62 games last season but missed 16 games before it was announced April 9 he would miss the final four games to have shoulder surgery. He has 281 points (114 goals, 167 assists) in 306 regular-season games.
Devils legend Patrik Elias, who is here helping the team in his home country, said it's just a matter of time before Hughes has a 100-point season. He had 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) two seasons ago.
"I see the lightness on his feet and the skills, the quickness that he has, and it's just matter of time before he gets to 100," Elias said. "Obviously he's a smaller guy (5-foot-11, 175 pounds), but at the same time the game is played differently. Maybe sometimes he puts himself in those situations and that's just the nature of it and sometimes it's just bad luck. You go through the ups and downs and hopefully this is going to be a season where everybody's going to stay healthy.
"Honestly, I'd rather have Jack at 85 points and have other guys at 80 to create more of a balance."
Hughes grinned when asked about the Devils’ offseason additions, including goalie Jacob Markstrom, defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, and forwards Stefan Noesen and Tomas Tatar.
"I mean, the moves tell players that ownership will do what it takes to make us a really good hockey team," Hughes said. "It showed that we weren't as good as we thought we were last year. We have the pieces in place in terms of our core and I think we did a really good job of filling out the rest of the team and bringing in winning players from winning teams.
"I think we're excited with the group we have and the opportunity in front of us."
