Can’t stop him: London goalie’s amazing road to NHL deal with Montreal

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Connor Hughes’ incredible path to an NHL contract included six junior teams, seven Swiss stops and a short stint living in a converted lighthouse.

“I was 18, bouncing around and trying to get into the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League,” said the 27-year-old London native, who signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens this week. “My agent at the time told me to go play Junior A in the Maritime league to get some eyes on me for the Q. I went to Campbellton, N.B. They didn’t have billets so they put me up in this lighthouse that was used as a hostel.

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“It had no Internet and no kitchen. I was there for training camp and ended up getting cut, which I didn’t know if it was a blessing or not. That was part of my journey.”

The undrafted 6-foot-4, 231-pound goaltender caught the eye of the Habs with great net numbers for Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League this past season. He continued that heater in backstopping the club to the final with a 1.91 goals against average and .933 save percentage with two shutouts in 18 playoff games.

“We waited a bit, but Montreal showed the most interest,” Hughes said. “It’s an Original Six team. It’s back in Canada and closer to home than where I was. It’s a storied franchise and there isn’t much to complain about.

“It’s a great place to play.”

As a kid, Hughes didn’t make the Jr. Knights until he played ‘AA’ at age 15. He made London’s second-tier 16U ‘AAA’ team and was picked in the 11th round of the OHL draft by the Knights 12 years ago.

He was subsequently cut from the Jr. Knights U18 ‘AAA’ team and played instead with Huron-Perth. His junior career started with the Dorchester Dolphins but included a Junior B stint in St. Marys and then the Nationals before a surprise OHL shot with the Ottawa 67’s.

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“Ottawa came to scout (Knights first-round goalie) Liam Herbst but I was playing in that game (for the Nats),” Hughes recalled. “I must have been OK, because they traded for my rights from London. So I went basically from Junior C to the OHL at age 17 and I wasn’t ready. The 67’s ended up trading for Liam Herbst at the (2014) deadline. I got sent down and never got back up.”

He made stops in Trenton and Pembroke before returning home to London. He played the entire 2015-16 Junior B season with the Nationals, was named the Western conference playoff MVP and helped the Nats get to the Sutherland Cup final against a stacked Caledonia team.

That season – and his mother’s Swiss heritage – helped open the door to playing overseas.

“Michael Lawrence, a (former OHL) goaltending coach, had seen me at a camp before,” Hughes recalled, “and asked if I wanted to come over on a tryout during Christmas to showcase for the Swiss team he was working for (Ambri-Piotti). I played my final year of junior with Carleton Place (and won the league title), then signed with the Swiss club in 2017.

“I had no idea what to expect. I had blown my NCAA eligibility so it was either this or play (Canadian) university hockey. There was nothing else right away so I decided to go there and it worked out.”

Well, not at first.

He spent his first two Swiss seasons working his way up with a bad Ticino Rockets team that hardly ever won. His big break came two years ago in the first division with Fribourg after starting goalie Reto Berra, a former NHLer, got hurt.

“I had no choice,” Hughes said. “It was my one shot to show I could play at that level and ran with it. I played well, went to the Spengler Cup and signed a deal with Lausanne.

“It’s been climbing since.”

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Hughes was never pencilled in as a starter, even as a kid. He had to earn every minute he played.

“When I was with the Nationals, I thought it would be a dream to play in the top Swiss league one day,” he said. “But I was still so far away from that. When I got to Switzerland, I wanted to just stick as a backup. When that happened, I thought I would love to be a starter in this league. After that, I felt maybe there’s a chance I can go back to North America for a shot at the NHL and now, it’s kind of happening.

“It’s funny how things played out.”

It shows the value of perseverance, hard work and pursuing your passion.

“It’s very impressive what Connor has done,” said Londoner Dave Rook, who worked with Hughes for several summers and just finished his first season as the Anaheim Ducks goaltending coach. “He followed his dream, travelled around and never gave up his belief in himself. He found ways to adapt and got rewarded for it.

“A lot of guys would’ve packed it in and gone back to school. Now, it’s a new challenge he has to overcome and you can almost see him succeeding again.”

Hughes has a personal and local connection to the Canadiens roster.

His younger brother Aidan, also a goalie, grew up playing Jr. Knights with current Montreal captain Nick Suzuki. Nick also suited up for one Junior B game as a 15-year-old callup with the Nationals while Connor was there.

Wouldn’t it be something if they could be teammates again?

rpyette@postmedia.com

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