Whether it involves New Jersey rookie center Jack Hughes or any other prospect, Devils general manager Ray Shero says the most important aspects of a prospect’s development must be in place before first stepping into the locker room.

Simply put, the key is culture, and how it rubs off on an impressionable 18-year-old.

“If you have a bad group of guys, if you’re not in a good environment in terms of work ethic, you’re like, ‘OK, that’s how it’s done here, great. I’m not going to work, I’m going to stay out ‘til 4 o’clock,’” Shero told The Associated Press.

“If there’s accountability, and that’s really a big thing in terms with anything whether it’s business, sports, whatever … when you walk into that it’s ‘Oh, that’s how it’s done,’” he added. “There’s learning curves for everything on and off the ice. I think the better you support those guys as young kids and teenagers, the better off they’re going to be.”