Jack Hughes was selected first overall by the New Jersey Devils in the NHL draft on Friday night.
The flashy centre put up a record 154 assists and 228 points over two seasons with the under-18 U.S. National Team Development Program.
The Devils had the third-best odds of winning the draft lottery back in April, but jumped two spots for the right to draft Hughes.
The 18-year-old joins a team that already boasts fellow former No. 1 picks Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier up front. New Jersey made the playoffs for the first time in five seasons in 2017-18, but is coming off a last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division at 31-41-10.
The New York Rangers then stepped up to the podium to snag Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko with the second selection. Kakko, also 18, scored 22 goals — a record for a draft-eligible prospect — and added 16 assists in his country’s top division in 2018-19.
Hughes was born in Orlando, Fla., but spent his formative years in the Toronto area when his father, Jim, worked for the Maple Leafs.
The younger Hughes, who registered 112 points in 50 games with the USNTDP in 2018-19, is the eighth American-born player to go No. 1 and the first since Toronto took Auston Matthews in 2016.
He’s also just the second USNTDP player to be drafted No. 1 directly out of the program after the St. Louis Blues took defenceman Erik Johnson first overall in 2006.
The five-foot-10, 170-pound playmaker is the younger brother of Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes, who was selected seventh last June in Dallas.
The 228 points Hughes scored over his two seasons with the USNTDP smashed Clayton Keller’s previous mark of 189 (71 goals, 118 assists).
Kakko, meanwhile, heads to the Big Apple with quite a resume. He’s already won three gold medals internationally, including the 2019 world junior hockey championship in Vancouver and the recent men’s worlds in Slovakia.
The six-foot-two, 194-pound Turku native’s 22 goals this past season was one better than the 21 that Aleksander Barkov scored in 2012-13 before he was picked second overall by the Florida Panthers.
Kakko, who is said to model his game after Matthews, buried the winning goal for Finland at the world juniors before scoring six times to lead his country at the men’s worlds last month.
His selection at No. 2 marks the fourth time in the last four years a Finn has gone in the top three, following on the heels of Patrik Laine (second to Winnipeg in 2016), Miro Heiskanen (third to Dallas in 2017) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (third to Montreal in 2018).
Kirby Dach was the first Canadian off the draft board at Rogers Arena, with Chicago taking the centre at No. 3. The 18-year-old from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., had 25 goals and 48 assists with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades last season.
Next up was Colorado, which picked Bowen Byram fourth. The six-foot, 193-pound defenceman had 26 goals, 45 assists and a plus-33 rating for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants last season.
The selection originally belonged to Ottawa, but was acquired by the Avalanche as part of the blockbuster Matt Duchene trade with the Senators back in November 2017.
Colorado also had the best odds to win the 2017 draft lottery, but again fell to fourth when New Jersey jumped to the front of the line and drafted Hischier. Byram The Avalanche did get defenceman Cale Makar that year, who made his debut in this spring’s playoffs and figures to be a difference-maker moving forward.
The Edmonton Oilers were the first Canadian team to make their pick, and selected defenceman Philip Broberg at No. 8.
Broberg played last season with AIK in Sweden, scoring twice and adding seven assists. The 17-year-old was named the best defenceman at the U18 world championship.
Friday marked a record fourth straight year a Canadian didn’t go No. 1 in the draft, which continues with rounds two through seven on Saturday.
With the ninth pick, the Anaheim Ducks selected Trevor Zegras from Boston University and the U.S. national under-18 team.
Following at 10th, the Vancouver Canucks chose Vasili Podkolzin, a Russian winger.
Podkolzin captained Russia at the under-18 world championships, scoring one goal and four points in seven games.
He also spent part of last season at St. Petersburg in the KHL.
The Montreal Canadiens took Cole Caufield with the 15th pick.
The forward out of the University of Wisconsin stands 5’7″, but he still put up 100 points in 64 games last season.
Here are the remaining picks from the NHL draft:
11. Arizona (from Philadelphia), Victor Soderstrom, D, Brynas (Sweden).
12. Minnesota, Matthew Boldy, LW, U.S. U18 Development Team.
13. Florida, Spencer Knight, G, U.S. U18 Development Team.
14. Philadelphia (from Arizona), Cameron York, D, U.S. U18 Development Team.
15. Montreal, Cole Caufield, RW, U.S. U18 Development Team.
16. Colorado, Alex Newhook, C, Victoria (BCHL)
17. Las Vegas, Peyton Krebs, C/LW, Winnipeg (WHL)
18. Dallas, Thomas Harley, D, Mississauga (OHL)
19. Ottawa, Lassi Thomson, D, Kelowna (WHL)
20. Winnipeg, Ville Heinola, D, Lukko (SM Liiga)
21. Pittsburgh, Samuel Poulin, LW, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
22. Los Angeles, Tobias Bjornfot, D, Djirgardens (Elitserien)
23. New York Islanders, Simon Holmstron, RW, HV 71 Jr. (Superelit)
24. Nashville, Philip Tomasino, RW, Niagara (OHL)
25. Washington, Connor McMichael, C, London (OHL)
26. Calgary, Jakob Pelletier, LW, Moncton (QMJHL)
27. Tampa Bay, Nolan Foote, LW, Kelowna (WHL)
28. Carolina, Ryan Suzuki, C, Barrie (OHL)
29. Anaheim, Brayden Tracey, LW, Moose Jaw (WHL)
30. Boston, John Beecher, C, USA U-18 team (USHL)
31. Buffalo, Ryan Johnson, D, Sioux Falls (USHL)
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