Lane Hutson Burgeoning Star Watch

[dgibb10]

Whatever weird statistics that suggested that Hutson wasn’t good at creating team offense at the beginning of the year also suggested that xhejac and struble were montreals best at it

Id look at that for one second and then discard it

By "weird statistic" do you mean keeping track of how much offense was generated with them on the ice?

 

[Frank Drebin]

By "weird statistic" do you mean keeping track of how much offense was generated with them on the ice?

Sure
However it was tracked or the sample size that it was taken from was used incorrectly

 

[General Fanager]

He is 20 and has 43 games played and he is 1st in rookie pts and 6th in pts and for assists among all dmen in the league. I can't believe there is still guys in here hating on the kid.

 

[dgibb10]

Sure
However it was tracked or the sample size that it was taken from was used incorrectly

Yes it was a 10 game sample if you try and translate it as "which MTL dman is the best offensively" that's not what it tells you.

What it was telling you is that MTL was generating a lot more offense with Hutson sitting on the bench back then.

From my viewings, it was because Hutson was trying to do too much himself. It made the offense very easy to stop and very predictable, as you would just protect the shooting lanes and keep hutson to the outside (especially with him not being a shooting threat).

Now, he plays much more within an offense, much better without the puck. And it makes him much less predictable and much harder to defend. Leading to much better offensive results.

You can praise Hutson for his impressive growth and development, or we can lie to ourselves about the past and pretend he was this all along.

I'd rather give credit to the kid for his improvement

 

[Jabba11]

The hater here is Corey Pronman. That guy does not deserve a platform.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Yes it was a 10 game sample if you try and translate it as "which MTL dman is the best offensively" that's not what it tells you.

What it was telling you is that MTL was generating a lot more offense with Hutson sitting on the bench back then.

From my viewings, it was because Hutson was trying to do too much himself. It made the offense very easy to stop and very predictable, as you would just protect the shooting lanes and keep hutson to the outside (especially with him not being a shooting threat).

Now, he plays much more within an offense, much better without the puck. And it makes him much less predictable and much harder to defend. Leading to much better offensive results.

You can praise Hutson for his impressive growth and development, or we can lie to ourselves about the past and pretend he was this all along.

I'd rather give credit to the kid for his improvement

Yes
The player who broke 30 year old records in college for offensive production didn’t know how to produce offense for 10 games improved dramatically then

It wasn’t the too small sample size that was the problem

 

[Frank Drebin]

The Kool aid must be pretty strong.

its delicious would you like to try a sip?

 

[MXD]

Careful! You’re gonna get slapped with a spreadsheet

... More like 1100 words of verbiage that could've been wrapped up with "I don't know what I'm talking about" than a spreadsheet.

 

[dgibb10]

Yes
The player who broke 30 year old records in college for offensive production didn’t know how to produce offense for 10 games improved dramatically then

It wasn’t the too small sample size that was the problem

College isn't the NHL.

You seem to be misinterpreting what I mean by "improved". His skillset was there before. It didn't improve.

But he, through some pretty ugly at times trial and error, seems to have learned what he can and can't get away with at the NHL level. When it's time to try and create himself vs when it's time to just keep the cycle going. When it's time to jump into the attack vs when it isn't worth it.

And so he isn't getting caught in bad spots nearly as much. He is playing much more within the flow of an offense. And so he's been much more productive in terms of ensuring that, when he's on the ice, his team is getting the lion's share of shots, chances, and goals, rather than the other team

 

[mphmiles]

(Huge Hutson defender when 2/3 of the board was shitting on him earlier this year)

Bashing analytics when discussing a player like Hutson is a weird take to me.

The increased value and emphasis placed on them in recent years and decreased value on the "eye test" is one of the biggest drivers that have allowed players like Hutson (small, high-skill, non-physical defensemen) to thrive and be given more of an opportunity.

25 years ago, before the advent of analytics, Hutson is a late round pick or undrafted and never makes it out of the AHL, because he's 5'9, doesn't hit, and doesn't have a pretty skating stride. Analytics made teams realize that those defensemen can be incredibly effective players even though they don't fit the traditional role of the position.

 

[FerrisRox]

Guys, stop being mean to Sammy Spreadsheet!!

I don't want him to stop posting here. I think he's incapable of experiencing embarrassment, but he might get chased off if you keep badgering him.

He's my absolute favourite poster and I want him to keep burying himself in this thread.

His latest, that Huston was "brutal" in October might even be better than when he told us Jonathan Kovacevic was a better defenseman. This stuff is pure gold.

Back in October, when every telecast and all the sports channels were raving about Lane Hutson to the point that there was a backlash and mockery in this very thread, turns out all of them were singing the praises of pumping the tires of a guy who, according to Sammy Spreadsheet, was actually brutal.

This stuff is the best. I strongly urge you to enjoy some of his other work, including the thread where her praises Rasmus Sandin as "an absolute stud."

I'm not making this up. It's for real. Sammy Spreadsheet Forever!

 

[dgibb10]

Guys, stop being mean to Sammy Spreadsheet!!

I don't want him to stop posting here. I think he's incapable of experiencing embarrassment, but he might get chased off if you keep badgering him.

He's my absolute favourite poster and I want him to keep burying himself in this thread.

His latest, that Huston was "brutal" in October might even be better than when he told us Jonathan Kovacevic was a better defenseman. This stuff is pure gold.

Back in October, when every telecast and all the sports channels were raving about Lane Hutson to the point that there was a backlash and mockery in this very thread, turns out all of them were singing the praises of pumping the tires of a guy who, according to Sammy Spreadsheet, was actually brutal.

This stuff is the best. I strongly urge you to enjoy some of his other work, including the thread where her praises Rasmus Sandin as "an absolute stud."

I'm not making this up. It's for real. Sammy Spreadsheet Forever!

Rasmus Sandin and Jonathan Kovacevic yes, 2 key members of cup contenders.

They do this cool little thing called defense

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Rasmus Sandin and Jonathan Kovacevic yes, 2 key members of cup contenders.

They do this cool little thing called defense

I assume they’ll be sharing the Norris this year?

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Guys, stop being mean to Sammy Spreadsheet!!

I don't want him to stop posting here. I think he's incapable of experiencing embarrassment, but he might get chased off if you keep badgering him.

He's my absolute favourite poster and I want him to keep burying himself in this thread.

His latest, that Huston was "brutal" in October might even be better than when he told us Jonathan Kovacevic was a better defenseman. This stuff is pure gold.

Back in October, when every telecast and all the sports channels were raving about Lane Hutson to the point that there was a backlash and mockery in this very thread, turns out all of them were singing the praises of pumping the tires of a guy who, according to Sammy Spreadsheet, was actually brutal.

This stuff is the best. I strongly urge you to enjoy some of his other work, including the thread where her praises Rasmus Sandin as "an absolute stud."

I'm not making this up. It's for real. Sammy Spreadsheet Forever!

He can't feel embarrassment because he is posting solid hard gospel factual numbers.


Jackeye and Struble > Lane Hutson to start the season duh

 

[dgibb10]

I assume they’ll be sharing the Norris this year?

Do you have to be a norris contending dman to be an excellent dman?

My apologies for valuing guys who make key contributions to winning.

The Siegs-Kovy pairing has been absolutely NAILS as a shutdown pair this year. Basically NOBODY has given up less than them.

Sandin, along with the rest of the INCREDIBLY underrated capitals dcore, has them with the best record in the entire f***ing league.

I have hutson right beside where I have current Erik Karlsson.

And as I have said, if hutson maintains his current level of play he will continue to shoot up my rankings. He has been incredible for the last month. If he had this level of play from the last month all year, he would be in the norris conversation.

 

[Quinning]

He is 20 and has 43 games played and he is 1st in rookie pts and 6th in pts and for assists among all dmen in the league. I can't believe there is still guys in here hating on the kid.

They aren't hating on the kid, they're trolling Habs fans who are collectively blowing loads all over the website. Anyone with eyes can see he's a special talent.

I heard that's why the boards had to do their reformatting for a few days, actually.

 

[Guess]

Ever since he's taken the reins over on PP1, he's just been incredible. He leads all dmen in PP assists/60 on the season (>100 PP mins) - and only Werenski has more points than Hutson since early December (when Hutson was really given the reins on PP1).

Before the season started, I told Habs fans that he was already better than Matheson, and that he should be the teams PP1 QB, but many disagreed. Hopefully they've seen the light now:

PP points/60
Hutson: 7.2
Matheson: 4.9

PP on ice GF/60
Hutson: 9.7
Matheson: 5.5

PP on ice xGF/60
Hutson: 8.4
Matheson: 6.0

PP on ice CF/60
Hutson: 101.2
Matheson: 76.40

Had Hutson rightly started the year on PP1, the Habs would probably be in a playoff spot right now. They were in last place in the league before Hutson was given the reins, at 8-13-3 with the 19th best net PP%. Since then, they are 13-5-1, and they've jumped to 10th in net PP% with Hutson on PP1.

His puck management and overall defensive game is improving as well. Now that he's secured the PP1 QB role, he's playing with less "desperation" at 5v5, and he's done a much better job at picking his spots as a result. His underlying 5v5 numbers have been moving in the right direction in the last month or so:

View attachment 961363

He's been playing like a true top pairing OFD in his last 15 games, which is just crazy impressive for a rookie dman. It's even more impressive to see his improvement vs his first 10-20 games, where he was getting caved in pretty hard.

He'll always be somewhat of a flawed defensive who Montreal will want to shelter/insulate, but he's proving that he can become more than good enough in his own end. Pairing him with a great skater in Matheson was really smart - a smooth skating shutdown D man would be the perfect partner for him down the line.

It's hard to find a great comparable for him because he's so unique. He'll never be solid defensively like Adam Fox, but they have similar offensive tendencies (though Hutson is more dynamic), but he's shown he should be better defensively than guys like DeAngelo, Gostisbehere, Bouchard, and Hamilton.

Regardless, sky is the limit for this kid. What a great pick by Hughes.

Thanks for the nice post.

Some nitpicking:
-Hutson didn't improve on 5v5 because of his inclusion in the PP1, he just learned to adapt to pick his spots better and limit risk. This is still a work in progress but he's already getting really good at it.
-He has gotten really good defensively, in the last game against Utah he was incredible, I don't think I saw him lose a single puck battle on D, he just always gets it done with his stick work.
-I think that he doesn't need to get sheltered in that sense but more like, he will need to play with a bigger D who can keep the crease cleared because there's no way he's ever going to be effective at that.

I think that game against Utah might have been the best of the season and he should have got the first star over Dach, but the verdict remains if he can dominate like that against bigger teams like Columbus.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

The Kool aid must be pretty strong.

I'm assuming you're a Rangers fan and haven't seen Hutson play. He's already better than Fox offensively, defensively Hutson is superior and it's not even close.

There's no Kool aid needed, you should actually watch him play.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Yeah, and you were all so enamoured by the cool plays that you didn't notice every time he got caught in a bad spot leading to a great chance for the other team, or the fact that he basically NEVER was making the simple play to keep the offense flowing early in the year.

I'm sure MTL getting f***ing throttled with him on the ice was just a silly little coincidence tho.

Your opinions on Hutson are trash. Your posts reak of jealousy. Just admit that you never watched him play. That post is quite something, you have an active imagination.

 

[dgibb10]

Thanks for the nice post.

Some nitpicking:
-Hutson didn't improve on 5v5 because of his inclusion in the PP1, he just learned to adapt to pick his spots better and limit risk. This is still a work in progress but he's already getting really good at it.
-He has gotten really good defensively, in the last game against Utah he was incredible, I don't think I saw him lose a single puck battle on D, he just always gets it done with his stick work.
-I think that he doesn't need to get sheltered in that sense but more like, he will need to play with a bigger D who can keep the crease cleared because there's no way he's ever going to be effective at that.

I think that game against Utah might have been the best of the season and he should have got the first star over Dach, but the verdict remains if he can dominate like that against bigger teams like Columbus.

Yup.

His defensive work in the last month or so has been very good.

If he had this body of work from the last month all year he'd be in the norris discussion.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

It would have been him and Nemec who also struggled mightily in that stretch.

Hutson >>> Nemec

Hutson never struggled for 1 minute on the ice. "also" lol, that's a funny play on words there. Nemec is trash compared to Hutson basically.