The Winter Olympics feature many incredible tales of families, but none quite like the Hughes family. Brothers Jack and Quinn are playing for Team USA men’s ice hockey and their mom Ellen Weinberg-Hughes is a development coach on the Team USA women’s ice hockey team. Their third brother, Luke, plays in the NFL, and their dad, Jim Hughes, is a former hockey player himself—and was previously the director of player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Quinn Hughes, center, of the Minnesota Wild poses for a photo with his brothers Luke Hughes #43 and Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils.
The Hughes family attends the 2024 NHL Awards.
They’ve already made history in many ways—the first American family to have three siblings picked in the first round of the NHL draft, the first Jewish player (Jack) to be picked no. 1 overall—but all eyes are on them in Milan as they look to bring home not just one gold medal, but three. “I think all three of us have come to try to win the gold medal. That’s the most important thing: coming here and trying to do well,” Jack told Vogue. “Doing this with Quinn, though…it is super special, and it’s something that I’ve really been looking forward to.”
Here, get to know the Hughes family:
Ellen was a three-sport college athlete, playing soccer, lacrosse, and hockey at the University of New Hampshire. After, she played for Team USA at the IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship in 1992, helping lead the team to silver. She was named to the All-Star team of the tournament.
After her athletic career ended, she worked for ESPN as a reporter. She now works as a player development consultant for Team USA women’s hockey.
She is the reason all three of her sons play hockey. “We didn’t know what sport it would be, but I guess we thought our kids would be in athletics, some sort of competitive sports,” Jim said in 2018. “And my wife got them involved in skating when they were very young. That’s what we did. We were a hockey family.”
Jim played hockey in college at Providence College, and then became a coach. He worked in the minor leagues in Orlando, as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins, and other roles, before becoming director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “The things he was telling 20-year-old prospects, he was telling to us when we were 12,” Jack says. “Whenever we got the chance to watch a game with my dad, it was like watching video with an NHL coach.” Jim is now the director of player development for CAA.
Quinn Hughes during the Olympics.
The eldest Hughes brother, 26, played college hockey at the University of Michigan from 2017 to 2019, and was drafted seventh overall by the Canucks in 2018. He finished out his season at Michigan, and then joined the NHL. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild this past season.
Jack Hughes, first overall pick by the New Jersey Devils.
The middle Hughes brother, now 24, was picked first overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He plays for the New Jersey Devils. “It’s in my blood to be an athlete, to be a hockey player,” Hughes told The Michael Kay Show. “My parents are having a ball with it.”
Luke Hughes this January.
The youngest Hughes brother, 22, is not on Team USA but he was a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He was drafted fourth overall to the Devils, where he plays with his brother. He is currently on long-term injured reserve due to a shoulder injury.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
Source link
Please share by clicking this button!
Visit our site and see all other available articles!