Canadiens Prospects Receive High Praise With NCAA Awards

The Montreal Canadiens have quite a few interesting prospects in the NCAA this season, but two seemingly stood above the rest.

As the NCAA regular season has now come to a close, the nomination process for divisional honours has concluded and a few Canadiens prospects received some good news.

It comes as no surprise that Lane Hutson and Sean Farrell received some high praise from around the league, as they’ve been two of the best player in college hockey this season.

That didn’t stop the Hockey East and ECAC divisions of the NCAA from showering them with honours.

The Silent Assassin

Sean Farrell was an absolute wagon for the Harvard Crimson.

The 21-year-old registered 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points in just 29 games this season, a point total that ranks him at 4th overall in the entire NCAA scoring race.

Unlike his peers, however, Farrell only played 29 games this season due to Harvard’s shorter schedule. Farrell’s 1.62 points-per-game ratio actually ranks him as the second most productive player in the NCAA, behind 2023 NHL Draft prospect, Adam Fantilli.

Sean Farrell with great shot to get Harvard on the board #GoHabsGo

CC: @HarvardMHockey pic.twitter.com/awmvsXb1nm

— Costa Rontzocos (@Rontzeeez) January 22, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens’ 4th-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has spoken at lengths about the progress he made both from a physical and maturity standpoint, emerging as a true leader for the Crimson and taking his game up a notch in crucial situations.

Farrell was the go-to guy for the Crimson in their push up the standings and are now ranked much more favourably due to their important performances against key opponents.

The Montreal Canadiens’ silent assassin was just named Ivy League Player of the Year for his efforts and is also in line for a potential nomination for the Hobey Baker award in the coming weeks.

The 2022-23 Ivy League Player of the Year is @HarvardMHockey's Sean Farrell. 🌿🏒

📰» https://t.co/OiFQ3XqVZf pic.twitter.com/HGC0Vhf9XU

— The Ivy League (@IvyLeague) March 8, 2023

Short King

Lane Hutson had a historic year, there’s no other way to put it.

The 18-year-old topped the entire NCAA in scoring for defencemen and finished 10th amongst all skaters in the NCAA with 12 goals and 31 assists for 43 points in 33 games.

His rookie season has outpaced those of NHL stars like Adam Fox or Cale Makar, which has garnered him significant praise.

When it came time for the Hockey East division to hand out its end-of-year awards, Boston University’s Hutson cleaned up quite nicely.

A few clips from Lane Hutson's last four games. pic.twitter.com/dnzPOcU6xJ

— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) January 18, 2023

Not only was Hutson the conference scoring champion in Hockey East, but he was also named to the All-Rookie team and won the PNC Bank Three Stars Award.

The Canadiens prospect was not only the first defenceman in history to league the conference in scoring, but was also the first rookie to do so since Jack Eichel.

That’s some pretty elite and exclusive company to have

Hutson is the first defender in the history of #HockeyEast to lead the league in conference scoring, and the first freshman to do so since Jack Eichel in 2014-15. https://t.co/nb61DIAbWM

— Hockey East (@hockey_east) March 8, 2023

The 62nd overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft is now laser-focused on the upcoming divisional championships and eventually getting Boston University to the NCAA Frozen Four in April.

It will be interesting to see if this historic season is enough to vault the Montreal Canadiens prospect into contention for the three Hobey Baker finalist slots.

The Winner of the 2022-2023 @PNCBank Three Stars Award:
Lane Hutson | @TerrierHockey #HockeyEastAwards | #WhereChampionsPlay pic.twitter.com/amhPt0WfjL

— Hockey East (@hockey_east) March 8, 2023