Top Canadiens Prospect Lane Hutson Has Gigantic Legs

Top Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson is slowly but surely getting ready to attend his proper NHL training camp, where the expectations as to his overall impact will be difficult to control.

It’s not that Habs fans have an unrealistic view of what Hutson brings to the table, but rather, he’s dominated every single level of hockey despite hearing an endless stream of criticism from those who still have a hard time accepting a smaller player can play an important role in the NHL. If you aren’t among those busy looking for nits to pick, it’s rather easy to project a solid career for Hutson, even if he’s only played two professional hockey games. For the record, Hutson earned a point in both games, a very encouraging sign given that he had already completed a full season in the NCAA before making his way to Montreal for the final two games of the season.

I have a hard time believing this guy will be sent to Laval

🎥: @BauerHockey pic.twitter.com/BSR7NITNBk

— Alex Jodoin (@colegoalfield) August 6, 2024

Of course, in terms of skill, few can match Hutson, however, the current logjam in the defensive situation connotes that defencemen who are exempt from going on waivers, such as Hutson, could be among those who end up starting the season with the Laval Rocket. However, Hutson could force the issue by having a dominant training camp with the Canadiens.

To do so, he will have to outwork much bigger defensive counterparts, a difficult proposition for any defenceman listed at 5’10”. Fortunately, Hutson has clearly worked on his lower-body strength, and now possesses what we can only be described as St-Louiesque quadriceps, as evidenced by the picture embedded below that was pulled from Instagram by Habs Reddit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-TFdApvIys/

Now that he can break a watermelon by squeezing it with his legs, Hutson will have to share notes with his future head coach, Martin St-Louis. He was also among the diminutive players in the league who realized he needed an incredibly strong base if he’s to control ice against much bigger opponents.

If we go back even further, Canadiens legend Yvan Cournoyer was the original Habs player who never skipped leg day. In fact, Cournoyer’s legs were so big that by the time he was 18, he required specially tailored pants to fit over his massive thighs. Cournoyer, known as the Roadrunner during an excellent career that included 10 Stanley Cup wins, stood at just 5’7″, but used his fantastic speed to carve out precious ice in high-danger areas, to the tune of 428 goals and 438 assists in 968 games.