Former Vancouver Canucks forward Brendan Morrison once said that when you’re a hockey player, “you either are a golfer or a fisherman.”
Professional hockey players have the summer off each year, so even with off-season training, they typically have a lot of free time. Golf and fishing are two of the most common hobbies that hockey players pick up, both of which allow them to spend time outdoors and relax, albeit with some intermittent athletic activity along the way.
The Canucks’ star defenceman, Quinn Hughes, is a golfer. Sure, he might not be at the same level as his teammate, J.T. Miller, who is good enough at golf to compete in the qualifiers for the U.S. Open, but he’s not too shabby. He and his brother, New Jersey Devils’ star Jack Hughes, regularly compete with each other on the course throughout the summer, with the winner of their final round of the summer declared “The Champion Golfer” for the rest of the year.
Both Hughes brothers’ golf skills were put to the test during the NHL’s media tour in Las Vegas last September, as the NHL shot some content for the slower summer months. Former NHL defenceman Keith Yandle played the role of caddy as several golfing NHLers attempted to win a longest-drive contest on a golf simulator.
The video was released Tuesday morning, with Jack hitting the ball a respectable 279.4 yards. But Quinn didn’t make an appearance and didn’t make the leaderboard at the end of the video. That’s because Yandle wasn’t exactly playing fair with the young Canuck.
In a video posted on the NHL’s Instagram, Yandle’s ruse was revealed: Hughes was given a gimmicked ball for his turn at the simulator.
When Hughes stepped up to drive the ball, it exploded into a powdery mist from the tee, leaving Hughes flabbergasted.
Yandle’s deadpan delivery of, “Wait, did we get that?” sells the prank better than any excited freakout possibly could have.
“I just broke the golf ball, I won,” says Hughes with an incredulous grin, suggesting they record the drive as 320 yards.
“I’d say 390,” says Yandle, not giving anything away.
That’s because Yandle is a long-time prankster, with plenty of experience selling pranks against his teammates. One of his more well-known pranks was convincing Mackenzie Weegar when they were with the Florida Panthers that incoming free agent signing Noel Acciari was demanding Weegar’s jersey number. Ultimately, that prank helped break the ice for Weegar and Acciari, erasing any of the awkwardness that might have come from them fighting multiple times in previous seasons before becoming teammates.
As for the prank on Hughes, the defenceman clearly bought it completely.
“I love this driver, I’m taking this with me,” says Hughes, then completely sincerely adds, “I’ve legit never seen anyone break a golf ball before.”
The prank sparked a reaction from Hughes’ Canucks teammates — and one former teammate — with Brock Boeser, Tanner Pearson, Thatcher Demko, Tyler Myers, and Bo Horvat all posting the video on their Instagram Stories and they did not spare the laughing emojis.
Meanwhile, Canucks fans replied to the video astonished to see that Hughes, who suffers from resting sadsack face, can smile.
“The first time he feels happiness and it’s all a lie,” said one commenter.
“Maybe the first time he has ever laughed,” said another.
“Don’t tell him!! He seems so happy,” added another fan.
Given how much confidence drives how a player performs on the ice, maybe not telling Hughes would be the right move. Alas, his teammates already tagged Hughes in their Stories, so he’s unlikely to miss the reveal, in case he didn’t already know that he was set up.
