For just the second time in National Hockey League history, two brothers will dress in the same outdoor game when the New Jersey Devils battle the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night.
Devils' Jack and Luke Hughes are well-prepared for their first taste of the ODR in New York; they're the first set of siblings participating in an outdoor game since Daniel and Henrik Sedin did so with the Vancouver Canucks at the 2014 Heritage Classic, per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale.
“I mean, it's really special,” Luke said after the Devils' outdoor practice on Friday. “We were talking about it on the way here … how we never really thought both of us would play an outdoor game together, let alone play together. So, it's really special to have him in this experience and really cool for our family.”
“I spent a lot of hours outdoors and that was kind of where I enjoyed the game the most and where I spent most of my hours as a kid,” Jack echoed. “So, to be out here with my teammates and especially my brother, for our first organized game, is pretty special.”
Hughes brothers turning heads with Devils in 2023-24
Ahead of what figures to be a thrilling matchup between two teams battling for the postseason in the Metropolitan Division, both Flyers general manager Danny Briere and Devils head coach Lindy Ruff had a ton of praise to heap on the Hughes brothers.
“I think as brothers they have a special relationship. I think sometimes brothers can interact differently, but these two guys really get along well, but with different personalities when it comes to coaching them,” asserted Ruff.
“In Luke's case, he's doing a lot more defending and defending against some of the best players in the League. Jack is high-end offense and a tremendous skater. They're both tremendous skaters. It's been great working with Jack over these number of years and now Luke, same thing. They're guys that want to continue to get better, they want to win. They want the team to win and, in all cases, put the team first.”
Briere shared a similar sentiment regarding Jack, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
“He's clearly an elite player in my mind. The way he controls the puck, the way he controls the play. You give him any kind of space and he's going to take advantage of you. If he's not a superstar in this league, he's the next one coming.”
Luke Hughes was drafted No. 4 overall two years after his brother, and the brothers have been manning the powerplay together for most of the 2023-24 campaign.
They'll get a chance to do it again — in front of probably the biggest crowd either of the young stars has ever played for — when another chapter gets written between the Devils and Flyers on Saturday night.
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