The Montreal Canadiens, in all likelihood, have a genuine star in the making on their hands. When we look at defenceman Lane Hutson, he has many of the qualities that lead to stardom. His skating is exceptional, and he’s confident, especially with the puck, plus according to Lane Hutson’s stats, he is already getting it done in these early days of his NHL journey. So, what are we even talking about? Despite Hutson’s obvious upside, he is still a young defender in the league. A defenceman’s main priority is always to keep the puck out of your net. Hutson needs to realize, that in order to be a top-flite defenceman in the NHL, you need a complete game. Until he rounds out his game, he will struggle to hit his true potential.
Lane Hutson is Another Star in the Waiting in Montreal
Hutson is a fast, very dynamic skater with extremely good edge work. In addition, his abilities to walk the line, to set up plays, will continue to be a strength throughout his NHL career. He always has his head up and has a very good awareness of where everybody is, as he scans the net front. Moreover, he is able to make plays at top speed. On the other hand, skating hard all the time can make shooting difficult to find your range. That will be something he can continue to work on offensively, even if the offensive side of his game overall is very refined.
For a smaller player, when he is thinking attack, he does seem strong on the puck. However, his size does work against him, as he is currently susceptible to turnovers. So, on those close one-on-one battles that develop quickly when turnovers happen in transition, he’s prone to being easily caught off balance. Therefore, his size will continue to be a potential for an issue. Conversely, if we think about a former member of the Canadiens blueline, Francis Bouillon, or his current head coach Martin St. Louis, and also, teammate Cole Caufield, you need to find a way to make it work. And having a coach to help you progress at your own pace is extremely beneficial.
Now, we will explore some potential reasons why it is difficult to deny his potential for stardom. If we go back to Lane Hutson’s college career stats with the Terriers of Boston University, his offensive production puts him in very select company. Yes, his career-high of 49 points did fall a little short of Matt Carle‘s record of 53 from the 2005-06 season. In contrast, the fact that he put up 48 as an 18-year-old freshman really put him on the map. Here, we shall show each players college freshman point total, their college and NHL career-high, as well as their point totals from their NHL rookie campaign.
Most Points in Single NCAA Season by Defenceman Since 2005-06 (below, in bold, are those point totals)
| Team | Name | Pts – Season |
| University of Denver | Matt Carle | 33 – Freshman 53 – Junior 42 – NHL Rookie 42 – Career-High |
| University of Wisconsin | Brendan Smith | 12 – Freshman 52 – Junior 8 – NHL Rookie 19 – Career-High |
| University of Denver | Zeev Buium | 50 – Freshman |
| UMASS – Amherst | Cale Makar | 21 – Freshman 49 – Sophomore 50 – NHL Rookie 90 – Career-High |
| Boston University | Lane Hutson | 48 – Freshman 49 – Sophomore |
| Harvard University | Adam Fox | 40 – Freshman 48 – Junior 42 – NHL Rookie 74 – Career-High |
| University of Michigan | Luke Hughes | 39 – Freshman 48 – Sophomore 47 – NHL Rookie |
If we go by recent history, being so dominant in college is a winning formula for success in the NHL. Of course, it is not a perfect mathematical model for prediction. However, looking at the NHL career trajectories of Makar, Fox, and Hughes, it might just be a great indicator for future favourable outcomes at the NHL level. A strong rookie season for Hutson will help to confirm that idea.
Studying Lane Hutson’s Stats Early On
Another positive of being in Montreal is the opportunity to develop within his own timeframe. In seven games this year for Montreal, he has four assists. Most impressively is Hutson’s average ice time at 23:16. However, with him being the Habs most used defender, it would be nice for them to be better than 2-4-1 on the year thus far. Hutson has eight giveaways on the season, five of which of the defensive zone variety. Also, despite the decent offensive productivity, the fact he is a -0.4 goals above expected, shows he needs to be better. Even if you are playing well, if you aren’t getting the results in a results-based business, it will force a player to overcompensate. This is likely exactly where Hutson finds himself right now at this stage of his NHL career.
Any Player is Only as Effective as the Team Around Him
The other side of this, is that hockey is a team game after all. That ends up as an advantage for the Canadiens and Hutson in the long run. There’s a couple of young defencemen in Montreal’s system that could easily grow into a top-pairing defensive partner for Hutson in Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher. As a note, Reinbacher continues to heal from surgery on his knee, and isn’t expected back until later on this winter.
Moreover, Guhle has missed a couple games injury, but the early results from the pairing of Hutson and Guhle are very strong indeed. This is a great sign for coach St. Louis and crew. In nearly 35 minutes played as a pairing, their expected goal percentage is at 55.6. They have even outscored their opponents 3-0 in that time. So, even though it is early, it seems St. Louis has a potential recipe for success.
On Action Packed Evening Canadiens Lose Defenceman to Injury
So, whether we study his raw talent or analyze Lane Hutson’s stats, it is hard to argue that the Canadiens have a star in the making on their backend. His dynamic abilities make him hard for defenders to contain. Also, his speed allows him excellent recovery when needed. If the Habs continue to be patient, as has been the reputation with coach St. Louis, sooner, rather than later, Hutson will be knocking on the door for top point getters in the NHL from the blueline.
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte – USA TODAY Sports
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