Jack Hughes Reacts to Making Olympic Hockey Team With Brother Quinn

“It's not just me and Quinn that are going over there,” the 24-year-old explained. “We got a bunch of cousins going over, friends, my parents—everyone that's helped us get to this point can now share with us and experience what we're gonna be doing, too. So, we're just lucky that we have great people behind this.” 

After all, Jack has long been imagining this moment, and to face it with Quinn, 26, makes the moment even sweeter. 

“I never really get to play with him. I only see him like two times during the whole hockey season,” he said. “So just to be able to spend the time with him over the two, three weeks and be able to compete with him and play with him—it's a dream for us to play with each with each other, and to be able to do in the Olympics is extremely special.”

Plus, Jack has experience playing with family: His younger brother Luke Hughes, 22, is one of his teammates on the Devils. 

As for whether it’s more fun to play against or with his siblings, “100 percent you’d rather play with your brothers,” Jack said, before quipping, “I don't know who you ask, if they tell you they want to play against they're probably lying to you.”

But while the Olympics kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6, Jack still has a lot of NHL hockey to play—and he’s got many ways of making sure he keeps his head in the game. His secret weapon? Mucinex Kickstart.

“I use Mucinex, that's the first thing,” he shared. “When you're a hockey player, or any athlete, you want to be feeling good, and you can't let a cold or not feeling well drag you down. So Mucinex for me, that's the number one thing.”

Plus, Mucinex's $20,000 donation to the USA Hockey Foundation—an organization close to Jack's heart—to support youth hockey only made the product even more of a go-to.

Otherwise, the truncated NHL season leaves little extra time for ruminating on the pending Games. 

“You're playing so many games,” he said. “You don't even think of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays—it's game day, not a game day, back to game day. For me, it's just going through my routine.”

The routine in question involves a habitual pre-game meal of chicken and sweet potatoes, Jack revealed, plus, “Getting a big nap before the game—I’m locked in.”

And in the rare moments he lets himself imagine how the Olympics might unfold for Team USA, he’s just excited for his parents Jim Hughes and Ellen Weinberg-Hughes to be there. 

“My whole childhood—they had three boys, they were sacrificing so much for us,” he said. Now I hope they can sit back and enjoy all the things that are coming for us now. With me and Luke playing together, and the Olympics coming up, it's just an unbelievable time. Hopefully they can sit back and be proud of what they've given us.”