Casey was drafted (on July 8 2022) at 5’10” and 173. He’s 19 years and 6 months old.
Lane Hutson was drafted at 5’8” and 158.
Despite having the most discussed growth plates in hockey, at 19 years and 5 months old Hutson is…
At the IIHF U20 Championship in December Hutson was listed as 5’9”/1.75 and 154lbs/70kg.
I doubted the IIHF numbers then, and I usually don’t, because his weight was so low (and there was so much hullabaloo over his alleged growth) but these seem realistic now as his mid-season measurements.
It’s going to be fascinating to watch this little waterbug go at it in the NHL lol.
I'm a big fan of Hutson, but I would rate Casey as the better overall prospect. Hutson is an offensive wizard, but even his bigger fans must realize this is a player whose minutes will have to be monitored -- he's just not an effective defender in the D-zone without the puck, despite an impressive compete level and a whole lot of hockey smarts. I think he'll score a ton on the Montreal PP and generate offense effectively on the Canadiens' 3rd pairing if deployed correctly. Hutson was certainly an excellent pick where the Canadiens got him -- if you're down one goal with under 5 minutes in the game, you should probably have this little offensive whiz on the ice the entire time.
Casey however is a more complete defenseman. His offensive ceiling is *technically* below Hutson, but I see him scoring more points over his NHL career because he's a kid who can be deployed in any situation. Casey's gaps and positioning are tremendous, his stick always active, and his problem-solving in the defensive zone is near-flawless. He's never going to be a dominant net-front presence or win 99% of puck battles like prime-Zeno Chara of course, but this is a kid who can very capably defend. His ability to attain the puck clearly plays up his extraordinary abilities once he has the puck.
My personal bias towards more defense-first defenders may have caused me to undervalue Casey initially in my draft rankings, but this is a kid who has clearly proved all my concerns to be foolhardy. Though my 2022 rankings had Casey just outside the 1st round, I'd now feel confident ranking him among the top 10 RD prospects outside the NHL.