Daily Brews: Michigan hockey adds one of the top junior hockey players in Canada

The Michigan Wolverines hockey program already announced its deep and talented 2022 recruiting class, and we broke it all down in detail a few weeks ago here. But the Wolverines were not finished and this week officially announced that prolific Canadian scorer TJ Hughes would be enrolling in Ann Arbor this fall.

Hughes is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward who has spent the last three seasons with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). This past year, Hughes averaged an absurd 2.11 points per game and scored 156 points (80 G, 76 A) in 75 games. He also became the first player since 2000-01 to score more than 60 goals in an AJHL season, and did so in spectacular fashion with eight hat tricks on his resume.

But most importantly, Hughes helped his team win.

The Bandits won the 2022 Inter Pipeline Cup for the AJHL and are currently playing the Centennial Cup, which is awarded to the winner of a 10-team tournament for the National Championship of Junior A hockey in Canada.

Currently, the Bandits are in first place of the tournament and are the only team to finish the preliminary round 4-0. Hughes is the second-leading goal scorer in the tournament with five and sits fifth overall in total points.

For the Wolverines, Hughes will be an immediate impact player on the offensive end and on the power play. The Canadian’s ability to score and make others around him better will be an important chemistry piece for next season’s young team.

Plus, the Hughes-to-Hughes connection with returning star defenseman Luke Hughes will be an immediate favorite for the Children of Yost.