Hughes of Canucks named NHL Rookie of Month for February

NEW YORK - Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, who led all rookies for the month with 15 points (2-13-15 in 13 GP) and shared the overall NHL lead with 13 assists, has been named the NHL's "Rookie of the Month" for February.

Hughes edged New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (6-0-1, 1.27 GAA, .967 SV%, 2 SO), New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin(6-0-0, 2.03 GAA, .948 SV%), Chicago Blackhawks left wing Dominik Kubalik (8-4-12 in 14 GP), Dallas Stars right wing Denis Gurianov (7-3-10 in 15 GP), Montreal Canadiens center Ryan Suzuki (4-6-10 in 15 GP) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (1-9-10 in 15 GP) for the award.
Hughes scored each of his two goals in February in a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders Feb. 1, sealing his first career multi-goal game with the overtime tally. He became the

to record a multi-goal game.
Hughes posted three assists in a 6-2 victory Feb. 10 against the Nashville Predators to become the second rookie defenseman in NHL history to record four three-assist games in a season, joining Ray Bourque who also had four in 1979-80. Hughes notched his 50th point of the season Feb. 25 in Montreal, joining Nicklas Lidstrom (1991-92) as the only defensemen in NHL history to be the first rookie to reach the 50-point mark in a season. On Feb. 27 in Ottawa, Hughes notched his 43rd assist of the season to pass Dale Tallon (42 in 1970-71) for the most in a single campaign by any Canucks rookie.
Hughes' 13 assists in February were the second-most in a calendar month by a Canucks rookie (regardless of position) behind Tallon (15 in March 1971). It was the highest assist total in any calendar month by a Vancouver defenseman in 25 years (Jeff Brown 13 in February 1995).
Hughes, 20, a native of Orlando, Fla., was selected seventh overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. In 2018-19, he had 5-28-33 in 31 games with the University of Michigan prior to joining the Canucks for five contests (0-3-3). He joins Victor Olofsson (October, December), Makar (November) and Kubalik (January) as 2019-20 winners of the "Rookie of the Month" award.