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giganticism · 1 year ago

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There are a few things here that I think miss interesting opportunities re: Jack, so adding my two cents in the name of fun characterization thoughts. I obvs don’t know this man and will never even meet him.

On vulnerability, we have the ESPN feature interview from early 2022 where he openly talks about how much he hated his rookie year, and even though it didn’t shake the foundation of his self-esteem, not being able to live up to his own standards and people doubting him for it did bother him, by his own words. And clearly it became something he was comfortable with admitting after the fact/when he was ready. There are also comments like Quinn saying, “He doesn't really let you guys see it, but he's a really competitive guy and deeply cares about how his team does."

To me, saying Jack has no vulnerability misunderstands that Jack seems to be intentional about maintaining his privacy in many ways, including how much he shares about how he feels. But he will make it clear where he stands when people try to mischaracterize his intentions.

See his immediate correction on how he and Trevor Zegras relate to one another as competitors:

(actual @teex gifs here)

Question: “How do you think Zegras will fair in the breakaway challenge. And part two to that, is that maybe an event you’d want to compete against him in?”

Jack: “Yeah, I mean, I think Z will do something crazy, for sure. Like I think they’re bringing him just to do something crazy, you know? So it’ll be a lot of fun. Like I’m pumped to have him there. It’ll make the weekend a lot more fun for me. But me, I don’t, like I’m more into the obstacle course. That’s something I want to be in, for sure, and try to do well in. But I don’t know. I don’t want it to be like a me versus Z thing ever. I think the media wants it to be, but at the same time, they gotta realize he’s one of my closest friends. I hope he has all the success in the world. Like, I said, I’m really excited he’s going. As a fan of the game, I hope he does something pretty outrageous too.”

See also how Trevor Zegras describes what their phone calls and texts are like:

and

Plus, in the same Athletic article, while they don’t seem to really chirp each other about hockey, they do chirp each other about things like fantasy football. Jack and his buddies do practice some emotional support and vulnerability with each other + seem to have emotional boundaries about their work, even if they’re not speaking to that often publicly.

This quick mention of Jack trying to cheer teammates up after a loss also sticks with me.

Per Luke, the Hughes brothers also "try to FaceTime each other once a week or something like that" (paywalled unfortunately) to check in mostly not about hockey. And they’re watching each other’s games when they’re not playing. Showing up for people appears to be a consistent part of Jack’s relationships. There's something fun in there, to me, for use in fics and headcanons.

There have been mentions this season too of Jack cooking friends and family dinner when they’re in Jersey, which speaks to that being important to him now. We could maybe speculate that some of the motivation for this is his interest in making Luke's rookie season as smooth as possible.

That leads me to another opportunity — Jack is dumb about things Jack doesn’t care about. When he had no interest in cooking, he was happy to know nothing about it. There’s him failing at making dinner the first time he lived alone and then deciding to basically never cook. There’s the broccoli incident during the period when Ty was cooking for Jack most of the time. But now Jack cooks all the time, and it’s reported that it’s really colorful plates he puts effort into by himself while his loved ones sit around and chat.

The Hughes brothers are also book readers (shoutout to the funny "I gotta get smarter somehow" quip from Jack), though they’re not reading a ton of fiction as far as we know publicly, so mileage may vary on how much folks judge them as ~real~ readers, I guess. But their parents (podcast, about 23 mins in) have talked about how it was important to them to establish that habit with their kids and said that academics were important in their household too. Jack was an honor roll student growing up and teachers (if you believe this Redditor, so grain of salt) describe him as a pretty quiet, unproblematic student.

Jack can be an airhead, especially about things he does not find interesting, but he’s not actually stupid. He seems to for suuuuure play up cluelessness to get out of things he doesn’t want to do though. Again, just an opportunity for fans and fic writers.

Thirdly, Jack does value being thought of as having leadership qualities. He’s also been explicit about the aspects of NHL captaincy he’s really happy to not have to do. This is the one thing I can’t remember the source of now, but there was a recent-ish interview where he was basically like “You think we want to have to talk you after losses? But he does it” re: the media. I think he was talking about Nico, but it also could’ve partially been in the context of Quinn. If anyone has a link, please let me know. [EDIT: It was ALSO on a 32 Thoughts ep and he was talking about Quinn. Thank you, @roses4buds]

So I disagree with the framing of his relationship to the captaincy. I think having an A allows Jack to bask in enough of the trust from the Devils brass to be a leader without the full responsibility of the captaincy.

But I do think it creates opportunities to explore how Jack reconciles what being “the best” means to him and how his relationship to getting a letter has prob evolved over the years.

Anyway, that’s my thought on that, but — using this as a tangential jump point to talk about Jack and Nico for a minute, for my own entertainment.

I just find their dynamic so fascinating, and I personally would bet them beginning to forge a friendship before being given permanent letters really has helped them navigate being two recent first overall talents drafted to the same struggling team. Never forget, they roomed together on the road during Jack’s rookie year and the last year of Nico’s ELC.

“I’m not very superstitious… but my one constant thing is I need like a three-hour nap. That’s my one thing. And sometimes on the road, like my first year, man, Nico was my roommate. This guy loves to sleep. And we would literally shut it down after pregame meal at like 12:45 and wake up at like 3:45-4 and then go to the game. That’s my one thing, I need a three hour nap. And Smitty doesn’t sleep much but he waits for me.” - Jack on 32 Thoughts

They’re both competitive professionals who want to be the best at what they do, but building a relationship early + the fact that they’ve been able to carve out separate identities — Nico as the uber-compassionate leader and defensive magician, Jack as the pace and play-pushing wonder that provides a quieter support — seems to allow them to both be top dogs and gain accolades without encroaching on each other’s stardom.

(actual @jonasiegenthaler gifs here)

And to call back to Jack’s comments on Zegras and how the brothers talk about their relationship as adults — Jack loves attention and praise but not to the exclusion of others.

In the words of Roman Pearce from the Fast & Furious franchise:

I tend to think that’s more Jack’s vibe. Even going back to something like setting individual NTDP records with Cole Caufied on the same play and calling out in his interview afterward that he couldn’t do it without Cole.

Or his interview at the 2023 ASG and the way he immediately was like “Quinnie deserves to be here” when given the opportunity to brag about being the only Hughes brother picked, then conceding that he’d take the bragging rights.

Wow, I’ve gone on way too long. In conclusion, I agree Jack is insecure about his height (“first of all, I’m 5’11”) and should rediscover conditioner and is capable of boneheaded brain disease like any early 20-something (“It’s about heart — not your boobs, your heart”), but I also think there’s more to mine there for characterization than we allow. Good night!

i’m in desperate need for a scholar to undertake the jhughes thesis

Jack Hughes has all the arrogance of a true American superstar, but none of the vulnerability. Jack Hughes has all the grace of an undersized, injury-prone forward, but none of the caution. Jack Hughes has all of the social status of a chosen one, but none of the leadership.

jack hughes is a middle child and despite my own lack of siblings i can Definitely tell -- the vicious competitive drive that made him become that good. quinn takes his stick and pulls out jack's braces. as much as the endless hughes brothers fascination can totally grate and i Get That you HAVE to look at each of these three as once part of a unit (especially Luke because he was drafted after Jack, and to his team -- he will only ever be in Jack's shadow, unless one day one of them leaves).

the hugheses are not a huge family -- that is, not a family of very large people -- and they've made a name for themselves as smooth-skating, agile skill players in spite of that, or perhaps to make up for it. jack as a result is notably smaller than a lot of other players both on the devils and in the league and you can Just Tell he's insecure about it. the skill his hughesness afforded him has made him better than other players his age when they were All small and size was less of an issue. when he wasn't so much of a boy among men. it was for this reason he was picked first overall, you see. when he made the NHL he was suddenly confronted by a faster game, of players who could and did just knock him to his ass, and he was suddenly thrust into a world where he wasn't the biggest fish in the usntdp pond and it threw him.

you see, that's another thing. skill in hockey means social status. they like to tell you that it doesn't, but there's a reason that the captain's most likely to be one of the best players on the team, if not outright the best. and in the usntdp jack was The Best. so he was made captain. so his teammates flocked to him. so it was allowed to all go to his head, so caufield and zegras -- the cady and gretchen to his regina george, and i don't mean that in a fun way -- congregated to him.

and now on the devils he might be the star but he's not the captain and because hockey players are Supposed to love their teammates he loves nico but nico's bigger than him and nicer than him and can grow real body hair. and jack's the darling of every teenage-girl devils fan, a fact which i understand and have minimal opinion on but fifty-fifty he either soaks up attention from or resents, or possibly both.

so yeah he's a greasy insecure uncharismatic controlling arrogant frat boy, and because he has a cute perfect smile and scores PPG people love him, and because he is not the archetype of the ubermasculine hockey superstar he believes that he is barely clinging to this thread. and i love him too don't get that mixed up

#jack hughes #a bunch of word vomit omg #i tried to include as many sources as i could #so at least maybe that will be fun for some folks #ceej

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