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Canadiens Prospect Rankings: Lane Hutson The Phenom

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montreal canadiens lane hutson

With just two players left in our Montreal Canadiens summer prospect rankings, we have finally reached one of the most exciting players to join the organization in the last few decades, defenceman Lane Hutson.



Previously Published 2024 Montreal Canadiens Summer Prospect Rankings

To qualify for our list, Habs prospects must be 23 years old or younger, and have fewer than 100 NHL games under their belt.

Players Who Missed The Cut And Prospects Ranked No.40 to No.31

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.30 to No.26

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.25 to No.21

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.20 to No.16

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.15 to No.11

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.10 to No.6

Canadiens Prospect Rankings – No.5: David Reinbacher’s Complicated Season

Canadiens Prospect Rankings – No.4: Joshua Roy Deserves More Credit

Canadiens Prospect Rankings – No.3: Jacob Fowler The Next Great Hope

2. Lane Hutson, Defenceman, 20, Boston University (NCAA), 5’10”, 161 lb. Picked 62nd overall in 2022.

There’s no doubt the bar was raised following Hutson’s excellent freshman season in the NCAA. It wasn’t a matter of adding unnecessary pressure to the situation, but rather, it was a consequence of Hutson breaking decade-old records with impressive regularity during his first year with the Boston University Terriers.

Some say Hutson had to keep a carpenter on retainer to ensure someone was around to build a trophy case big enough to fit all his awards. This is the part where I usually list some of the accolades he earned in 2022-23, but this time around we’re simply going to use the list generated by Elite Prospects, because there are only so many hours in a day.

lane hutson

His record-setting season was enough to convince most teams they made a mistake by skipping over him at the draft due to his relatively diminutive stature. The criticism Hutson had faced his whole life also faded on social media, though I’d be lying if I said I did not receive at least half a dozen direct messages from scouts suggesting that I shouldn’t exaggerate Hutson’s potential. Such is life for most hockey prospects who don’t have the prototypical frame associated with NHL defencemen.

And while it’s true he doesn’t possess the same size profile as Scott Stevens, we tend to forget that the NHL has evolved by leaps in bounds since the days of defensive cores featuring six hulking blueliners. We should also note that Hutson uses his smaller frame to his advantage on many occasions, goading defending players into thinking they can take him out with a big body check. It’s a smart strategy in theory, but it’s also much harder to pull off in practice.

Lane Hutson Sophomore Season In The NCAA

Even though expectations reached a point where anything short of excellence would be considered a bad year, Hutson delivered yet another spectacular season as a sophomore.

Unlike his rookie year, he did not finish first in defenceman scoring, however, he did lead all blueliners in points per game, an important detail when we consider he missed some games while he was busy helping Team USA capture gold at the World Junior Championship. With 15 goals and 34 assists in 38 games, Hutson finished the season with a 1.29 points per game pace, good enough for 12th in the entire league. To put things into perspective, we must remember the NCAA isn’t a high-scoring league. Reaching one point per game is usually considered a very encouraging sign, even if it takes forwards up to three or four years to do so.

GOTTA SEE IT: Lane Hutson Embarrasses Bully Who Attempted To Attack Him After The Gold Medal Game

Hutson blew those standards out of the water, to the point that his final tally in the NCAA eclipsed the production from many of the NHL’s best defencemen. To put a fine point on how impressive he’s been in the offensive zone, we can compare his two years in the NCAA to the first two seasons of a handful of NHL All-Stars, a few of which happen to also be Norris trophy winners. You’ll note those players aren’t exactly hulking defencemen either, preferring to use brains rather than brawn to control the flow of the game.

lane hutson points per game

This comparison is not meant to suggest Hutson will necessarily win a Norris trophy in the near future, though that’s certainly not out of the question. Rather, it explains why Canadiens fans haven’t shut up about his potential since the moment he was drafted. Their support was vindicated further once Hutson completed his brief, yet successful audition in the NHL. On top of earning two points in two games, Hutson showed flashes of brilliance with the puck, confirming that his ability to walk the line is a skill he’ll be able to translate to the NHL level.

MUST READ: How Lane Hutson’s Chaotic Approach Will Benefit The Canadiens

Regardless of how well Hutson plays in the offensive zone, he has to maintain a respectable level of defensive acumen, or his overall impact will be mitigated significantly. Fortunately, while he was putting together a second excellent season in the NCAA, Hutson also improved his positioning, which, in turn, helped him defend plays off the rush, one of his biggest weaknesses early in his career. We saw multiple instances of Hutson covering for the long list of talented Boston University forwards who were not particularly fond of skating into the defensive zone. I wouldn’t go as far as saying his defensive play should be considered a strength, however, I no longer consider it a weakness.

Understanding Lane Hutson The Player

Hutson is easily one of the most important players in the organization, but due to waiver exemptions, he may not end up starting the year with the Canadiens. As much as I have hyped him, a stretch that would see him play big minutes with the Laval Rocket would not be the worst thing for his development. Besides, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ he makes the NHL, it’s just a matter of ‘when’.

We will have to guard against the temptation of criticizing him when he loses the puck, a situation that’s bound to happen more often than once. A lot like P.K. Subban before him, Hutson is designated as the puck carrier more frequently than most, which will inevitably lead to giveaways, but as long as the good outweighs the bad, and it certainly has at all levels before he played in the NHL, fans should not worry.

Due to his vision, anticipation, and elite puck handling skills, Hutson also profiles as the type of powerplay quarterback the team has lacked since Andrei Markov was unceremoniously shown the door by the former management team. Once he’s given a little extra ice to work with, he immediately starts stretching out defenders to open shooting and passing lanes. Not only will this benefit the team and alleviate the frustration of a million or so Habs fans, it should also help players like Juraj Slafkovsky, among others, improve their powerplay production.

Lane Hutson Going Forward

There’s a lot to like when it comes to Hutson, but we should not expect him to jump into the lineup and immediately become the most trusted player on the team. That will take at least three games, perhaps four.

All jokes aside, it probably won’t be long until head coach Martin St-Louis is discussing Hutson’s importance to the lineup during most post-game press conferences, but he’s also aware throwing him to the wolves would be a mistake. Hutson may need a little leeway to adapt to the lack of time involved in professional hockey, not to mention the impact the intense schedule has on a young body.

A sturdy defensive partner is also in order, as Hutson’s penchant for driving the play can lead to plays in which he’s momentarily out of position. This is perfectly normal for a young defenceman, especially one that was picked very late in the second round. But if history is any indication, and it usually is, Hutson will eventually become one of the busiest players in the lineup due to his ability to quickly absorb and parse information handed down by the coaching staff.

Ask any of his former coaches, and they’ll confirm his elite skill set, as well as his cerebral approach, paved the way for a level of trust normally reserved for a few select veterans.


Do you agree or disagree with our Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings?  Let us know in the comments below!

Lane Hutson statistics via the NCAA.