ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Already perhaps the deepest team in Wild history, the mid-December acquisition of Quinn Hughes made Minnesota a realistic Stanley Cup contender.
Hughes more than proved his worth early in the postseason by leading Minnesota to its first playoff series victory in 11 years. He scored twice in the Wild’s 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 on Thursday night.
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Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates to the bench after scoring during the third period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates with the puck in front of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) while Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) defends during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, second from the left, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates after scoring against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger during the first period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
“I feel like I had some chances throughout the series that I just didn’t capitalize on. Just trying to continue to attack the game and have confidence and whatnot. I think that’s all it is,” said Hughes, who doubled his career playoff goals total to four in 36 games.
At the time of the trade, general manager Bill Guerin said when a player of Hughes caliber is available you need to make an offer knowing what he can add. And giving up three young players and a 2026 first-round draft pick was worth it.
The 26-year-old U.S. Olympian had 48 assists in 48 games with the Wild during the regular season, the most by a defenseman in franchise history. He had six assists in the Dallas series.
“Big-time players step up in big-time games, and that is what he did,” defensive partner Brock Faber said.
He’s a shutdown defender who also creates offense from his own zone with the way he quickly skates through the neutral zone and across an opponent’s blue line, without taking too many risks, all with a quiet swagger and while playing nearly 28 minutes per game in the regular season.
“Ever since he’s come to Minnesota the jump that we made as a team in every aspect of our game has been better with him being on our team,” said Matt Boldy, who had a team-high six goals in the series. “When one player has that much of an impact and leads the way he does and steps up in the biggest moments it’s pretty special to have him on the ice and have him have the puck.”
The Wild won a playoff series for the first time in 10 tries since 2015. They will face Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado in the second round. The Avalanche have not played since sweeping Los Angeles on Sunday.
That also means two of the league’s top blueliners in Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar will face one another.
Hughes looks at the bigger picture.
“They were the best team in the league. It’s going to be a really hard series," Hughes said. "They’ve got some ultra-competitive guys, too. I just think it’s a great challenge for us. We’re going to be looking forward to it.”
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Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates to the bench after scoring during the third period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates with the puck in front of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) while Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) defends during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, second from the left, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates after scoring against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger during the first period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Israeli authorities say they are taking two activists who led an aid flotilla bound for Gaza — and who were captured by Israel in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea — to Israel for questioning.
The activists, Palestinian-Spanish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila, were among dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete. They are members of the Global Sumud Flotilla's steering committee, whose mission was to break Israel's naval blockade and bring some humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
In all, some 20 boats and 175 activists were intercepted by the Israeli navy. Activists said Israeli forces stormed their vessels, smashed engines and detained some of those onboard. The incident occurred hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Gaza and Israel overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
Israeli officials said they needed to take early action against the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved.
On Friday the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X that it was taking the two activists to Israel for questioning, and that Abukeshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and Ávila was “suspected of illegal activity," without providing evidence.
The Global Sumud Flotilla appealed for international support. “We demand that all governments do all they can to pressure the Israeli regime to release all the illegal abductees," the group said Friday.
Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement Friday the Spanish government condemned the detention of Abukeshek, and demanded "his immediate release.”
“The Spanish embassies and consulates in Greece and Israel are mobilized to provide full protection to the Spanish citizen as soon as he arrives in Israeli territory, as well as to all other affected Spaniards,” the Spanish foreign ministry's statement added.
The rest of the flotilla participants of various nationalities were released in Crete. Organizers on Friday said Israeli authorities had denied them food and water and they were "forced to sleep on floors that were deliberately and repeatedly flooded.”
When Israeli forces proceeded to take Abukeshek and Ávila away, the group resisted and were met with “sheer violence,” flotilla organizers said in a statement Friday.
“Participants were punched, kicked and dragged across the deck with their hands bound behind their backs. They suffered broken noses, cracked ribs and bloody beatings. Shots were even fired at them in the chaos,” the statement said.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to the accusations. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had said Thursday that activists “taken off the vessels were taken off unharmed.”
Of the 53 vessels that had been sailing prior to the interception, 31 reached safe waters and would continue their attempts to “break the illegal siege of Gaza,” organizers said.
The flotilla set sail earlier this month from Barcelona, Spain. Organizers have said more than 70 boats and 1,000 people from around the world would be participating, with more vessels joining the original boats as the flotilla sailed east across the Mediterranean.
The Greek foreign ministry said Thursday that it had asked Israel to withdraw its ships from the area and had offered its “good services” for the activists to disembark in Greece and be repatriated.
Protests in solidarity with the flotilla erupted across several capitals including in Rome, Athens and Istanbul.
Brazil has not yet commented on the detention and transfer to Israel of its citizen, Ávila, but in a joint statement with Spain and several other nations late Thursday it said that Israel's interception of the flotilla and detention of the activists in international waters “constitute flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law."
The flotilla’s latest attempt to reach Gaza comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group. That attempt involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several lawmakers.
Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, including Ávila, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.
Demonstrators wave a giant Palestinian flag outside Greece's Foreign Ministry in Athens, Thursday, April 30, 2026, during a rally to protest the interception of Gaza aid ships by Israeli forces near Greek waters. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
People march during a rally to protest against the interception of the Gaza aid ships "Global Sumud Flotilla" by Israeli forces near Greek waters, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza reposition in the port during a symbolic send-off as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
People stage a protest after activists attempting to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza say Israeli forces have intercepted their "Global Sumud Flotilla" near the southern Greek island of Crete, in Rome, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
This grab from black and white CCTV footage shows members on flotilla boat with hands in air as Israeli forces intercepted activists who set sail earlier this month from Barcelona attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, near the southern Greek island of Crete, early Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Global Sumud Flotilla via AP)
