from Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet,

Superstars, almost without fail, have lofty standards for themselves. But sometimes Jack Hughes’ bar for when it’s time to break into a grin is a little too high for New Jersey Devils teammate Erik Haula.

“Game days he’s really quiet,” Haula says of the guy he’s played a fair bit beside this year. “He’s in his own bubble. Playing with him quite a few games, it almost pissed me off because he doesn’t give you much until he gets hat trick. Then I might get a smile from him.”

Haula, naturally, had a little smirk himself as he relayed that tid-bit about Hughes. The first-year Devil did stress, though, that it didn’t take long to realize how New Jersey’s most dynamic player carries himself.

“He’s dialled in, he’s focused on his game,” Haula said. “I learned that pretty quick. I can respect that.”

How could anybody not respect what the 21-year-old Hughes has done this year, building on a breakout second half last season to become one of the most feared scoring and playmaking threats in the league?

Hughes sits 12th in NHL scoring with 76 points in 58 outings and when you start going through the names above him, the thought of him breaking into the Hart Trophy conversation isn’t farfetched.

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