As Quinn Hughes gears up for his first face-off against his former team, the Minnesota Wild defenseman and ex-Vancouver Canucks captain is navigating a whirlwind of emotions. It's a game that promises to be anything but ordinary.
Reflecting on the upcoming matchup, Hughes shared his thoughts with the media in Minnesota. "I don’t know, I just feel like you’re so day-to-day and the season’s flown by," he said.
"So much has happened that you don’t even really think about it until it’s here. Probably won’t feel real till, not even warmups, probably the game."
Hughes anticipates an emotional return to Vancouver next season, suggesting that the familiarity of the city and its fans will bring a different level of sentiment. "It’s just been such a long year," Hughes noted.
"You don’t even process everything that’s going on, and you’re just playing. At the end of the summer, you can kind of reflect and look back on what the year was like."
Comparing this experience to playing against his brothers, Jack and Luke, Hughes finds some common ground. "You get so close to these guys, and you play them in practice every day," he explained. "Playing my brothers, that’s weird too, and I feel like I’m kind of used to scenarios like this."
The trade that sent Hughes to the Wild back in December was a significant one, bringing the Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, plus Minnesota’s first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
As anticipation builds for this highly-anticipated matchup, dubbed "Hughes Week," fans are eager to see how Quinn Hughes will perform against his old teammates. It’s more than just a game; it’s a reunion on ice, filled with nostalgia and competitive spirit.