Riley Hughes

August 2023 – Hughes’ rights expired last week, and he has now hit the open market. Aaron Itovitch

July 2022 – Hughes is entering his fourth season with the Northeastern Huskies of the NCAA.  Hughes has appeared in 86 games over the course of three seasons with Northeastern, posting a meager 16 points.  While Hughes has not benefited from heavy minutes and Power Play time during his collegiate career, his production has certainly not stood out.  As a former seventh round pick, Hughes had an uphill battle to earn an NHL contract with the Rangers, but barring something unforeseen, he has not done so up to this point.  The Rangers hold his signing rights until August 15, 2023.  Brendan Ferry

February 2020 – A dozen games into his sophomore season, Riley Hughes has worked his way up to Northeastern’s second line. The Huskies right-winger has been significantly more productive than in his rookie season, improving on his timing and awareness of the pressure and speed of playing in HockeyEast. This trajectory is a pleasant surprise for the former seventh-round selection who at this rate could earn himself a pro contract prior to his senior year. Brayden Olafson

August 2020 – In his freshman season at Northeastern, Hughes struggled to solidify himself as an effective power forward at the collegiate Division I hockey level. Despite his large frame, Hughes lacks in the department of speed and agility, which has limited his game offensively. The best chance he has at becoming an effective 4th line pro is in leveraging his size. He certainly has the ability to do so as on several occasions he’s shown indications of being an adaptive and positionally-sound forward, but this development will need to occur at Northeastern before we can expect any possibility of an NHL contract. Brayden Olafson

August 2019 – After being selected by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2018 Entry Draft, Hughes played his D+1 campaign in the BCHL alongside 2019 draft eligible forward, Alex Newhook. The Rangers prospect winger posted relatively cavalier  point totals over the course of the regular season, however, seemed to find another gear once the Victoria Grizzlies entered the BCHL playoffs, and before ultimately being eliminated by the Prince George Spruce Kings. The 19-year-old will finally enter the NCAA ranks this fall with aspirations of playing alongside Vancouver prospect Tyler Madden at Northeastern. The next eight months will likely cast significantly more light on Hughes’ potential than the last several years have. Brayden Olafson

June 2018 – The Ranger’s selected one of the youngest players available in the 2018 Entry draft, in Riley Hughes. The 6’1” right-winger has an NHL capable frame with a questionable offensive trajectory after playing most of his draft year campaign in the USHS-Prep league. He’ll play his senior high school season in the BCHL before attending Northeastern University in the fall of 2019 where he’ll look to fill the void left by several graduating all-stars including 2018 Hobey Baker winner Adam Gaudette, and Dylan Sikura. Brayden Olafson