Fans of the Montreal Canadiens have had a roller coaster of an early season. They’ve watched multiple players deal with injuries, a winning streak, a losing streak, and wins over two of their traditional rivals. This new era for the franchise, led by general manager (GM) Kent Hughes is all about development, and fans are watching that plan put into practice while the team develops two prospects in enemy territory.
Related: Canadiens Prospect Pyramid – Summer of 2023
The Boston University Terriers have had a strong start to the season, and one of the biggest reasons for that strong start is Lane Hutson. Even after a weekend where he and his club swept their rival Lowell Mass River Hawks, the young player remained humble, and let his play on the ice do all the talking for him.
Canadiens Prospect Steps Up
For the second time this season, sophomore defenseman, Hutson, was named the Hockey East (ECAC) Player of the Week.
The 20-year-old defender has been collecting awards and accolades as easily as most people roll out of bed after sleeping in on a weekend. He has earned nominations as the player of the week, rookie of the year in the ECAC and was even a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in NCAA hockey.
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Lane Hutson was supposed to see a regression to the mean after having a historic freshman season, besting a points record for NCAA defensemen held for over 30 years by Brian Leetch. On top of that impressive achievement, he is also the first defenseman in Hockey East history to win the league-scoring title. Despite the expectations of a backward slide offensively, he has continued producing offense at an incredible pace. Hutson was terrific in a weekend split with the third-ranked program, North Dakota, highlighted by his first NCAA hat trick, followed by scoring a key goal in the Boston University win in the second game, leaving that series with four goals.
He followed that with a weekend of dominating play against the University of Lowell Mass River Hawks. Basically, whenever he steps on the ice, he is often the most visible player.
Hutson’s Defensive Game
Hutson isn’t ready for the NHL, yet, and went back to Boston University for a second season, hoping he can grow a bit more and add more weight much to the delight of the student body. He’s just a fun player to watch. There isn’t a shift this season where he hasn’t impressed those in attendance with a juke or jive or slick no-look pass. He plays loose, but not careless. He is fearless and takes chances without concern of making mistakes because even the greatest players of all time had those. Mistakes happen regardless, instead of playing it safe he pushes the pace. He does have impressive moves, but it’s the consistency in his approach, executing the simple plays routinely that sets him apart.
Hutson’s skating ability is making his life easy at the college level. He knows he can take risks because he can leg it back to defend if he makes a mistake. This makes him a strong defender in his current league. Outside of his size, the perceived weakness stems from the difficulty he had making pivots at speed and his transition from forward to backward.
While fans want to see him in Montreal as soon as possible, he can’t be forced to skip any steps in his development. His defensive approach isn’t built on strength but on using his brain. He allows forecheckers to get to the puck first in one-on-one as he then places himself in position to force a battle along the boards. His size limits his defensive effectiveness, but his use of gap control and stick positioning in the passing lanes allows him to be a pest in his own end. There will always be deficiencies in his defensive game, but those can be overlooked because of his biggest skill, generating offense.
Canadiens Future Offensive Weapon
Hutson is proving to be an elite power play (PP) weapon thanks to his jaw-dropping footwork along the blue line, which he uses to create space and open multiple shooting or passing options. He oozes confidence while in control of the puck, directing play with his movement and shot selection. Add that to his great accuracy when shooting. That makes up for any perceived lack of velocity, his release makes him dangerous. It is sneaky and while the shot is not particularly quick, it is the deceptive nature of the shot based on angle and timing of release that makes it hard for goalies to square up positionally and rarely anticipate where the puck will end up.
If he makes the jump to the NHL this season, he will be capable of providing quality play for Montreal. On his French Language podcast, Marc-Antoine Godin spoke of the approach the Canadiens are taking with their top defensive prospect. He compared it to the one taken with Cole Caufield where the team wanted to see another season of growth even after a strong freshman year. Allowing for more time to add strength and refine his game.
Unlike what Caufield had in his final season with Wisconsin University, where he had to generate nearly all of his offensive opportunities on his own, Hutson will benefit from a stronger core group to play with at Boston University. That core includes fellow Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch, but also Macklin Celebrini and Tom Willander.
Like Caufield, Hutson has a clear path to the top job for his position in Montréal when he finally comes out of school because the team lacks the type of skill set they provide. He’s undersized, sure, but his ability to take over a game offensively sets him apart from the other prospects in the system. While his Boston University club had a slow start to the season compared to expectations, it wasn’t for a lack of trying from Hutson who has eight goals and 11 points in his first nine games.
In the end, Hutson will benefit from a season where he can dominate his peers. The key to his development is to build confidence, and more importantly, have the Canadiens show patience and not force him to skip any steps on his path to the NHL.