Player Discussion Lane Hutson Part 2

[badfish]

Hutson playing right now in a pre-tournament game against Sweden. I think there's free streaming available if you're in Sweden.

 

[David Suzuki]

made a nice move to create out of nothing per usual

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

With 2 majors injury. We won't be able to play a physical game in the future. Hope, he come back at 100% and don't become an injury prone player.

Yeah, hopefully he can get straightened out. I’d be more concerned if it were concussion problems but there’s no doubt he’s lost a lot of time.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Yeah, hopefully he can get straightened out. I’d be more concerned if it were concussion problems but there’s no doubt he’s lost a lot of time.

Yeah it would be a huge blow. He’s a huge part of the core. This stupid curse has to lift at some point

 

[McGees]

I want Lane to have the type of tournament that other fan bases rip their GMs all over social media for not taking him.

 

[SlafySZN]

I want Lane to have the type of tournament that other fan bases rip their GMs all over social media for not taking him.

Some fans already doing it since last year lol.

 

[Redux91]

I want Lane to have the type of tournament that other fan bases rip their GMs all over social media for not taking him.

Agreed
I want like 11-12 points lol

 

[26Mats]

I want Lane to have the type of tournament that other fan bases rip their GMs all over social media for not taking him.

Me too. But I also remind myself that the world juniors mean very little for predicting NHL success.

Suzuki didn't produce well, while guys like Drouin and Puljujarvi put up huge numbers...

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

Me too. But I also remind myself that the world juniors mean very little for predicting NHL success.

Suzuki didn't produce well, while guys like Drouin and Puljujarvi put up huge numbers...

look at Bedard, i know he's special, but Lane is kind of special too.

 

[26Mats]

look at Bedard, i know he's special, but Lane is kind of special too.

It's always nice when one of our prospects stands out at the world juniors.

I really enjoyed Subban, Romanov, Poehling, Primeau, Martin Reway, Andrighetto, and Gallagher doing so. But I wasn't worried when Suzuki, Lehkonen, and McDonagh didn't (unlike Gainey in the later's case perhaps).

 

[Guess]

My feeling moving forward is that Guhle, Struble and Reinbacher are the top 3.

Mailloux, Barron and Engstrom are fighting for spots 4 and 5. Two guys only will make it, the third one traded. I suspect Engstrom is the guy that will be on the outs, since he is a left-handed D and we have many. However, Barron and Mailloux will need to shore up their D.

Xhekaj and Hutson are required specialists that need to be on the team, but serving as the 6D and 4th line winger option every game. I think the team will always dress seven defensemen, with Xhekaj serving as the 6D to protect a lead, play against physical teams, or on the PK second pairing, while Hutson will play the full two minutes QBing the PP, and be on the backend when we are trying to come back from behind. They will swap spots during the game between winger and defenseman depending on the score. Because of injuries to the defense during the season, both these guys will likely end up playing 65+ games on D.

Harris will be traded, or not re-signed.

The vets (Matheson, Savard and Kovacevic) will also be traded in the last year of their contracts.

I think Hutson will be on the first pairing, he's too big a competitor to be relegated to specialized duty. He'll figure out how to play better D eventually.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I think Hutson will be on the first pairing, he's too big a competitor to be relegated to specialized duty. He'll figure out how to play better D eventually.

It is not impossible that he makes the necessary improvements to be a top pairing D but it is highly unlikely as he is terrible defensively and does not appear to have the physical tools to ever defend against the top lines of NHL opponents.

It is far more reasonable to limit his 5 vs 5 ceiling to a 2nd pairing defender and more likely a 3rd pairing defender. His value will be on the PP and offensive zone starts. He is a non factor defensively as he will get torched on the rush, can't box out, gets beat to loose pucks and loses most board battles. He is fantastic once he gets the puck but he really struggles to kill plays and get the puck himslf.

He is a unique player with extreme skills and extreme weaknesses. I do agree that his competitiveness should push him to work on his weaknesses but that just leads to the question of why is his backskating still such an abomination?

 

[Guess]

It is not impossible that he makes the necessary improvements to be a top pairing D but it is highly unlikely as he is terrible defensively and does not appear to have the physical tools to ever defend against the top lines of NHL opponents.

It is far more reasonable to limit his 5 vs 5 ceiling to a 2nd pairing defender and more likely a 3rd pairing defender. His value will be on the PP and offensive zone starts. He is a non factor defensively as he will get torched on the rush, can't box out, gets beat to loose pucks and loses most board battles. He is fantastic once he gets the puck but he really struggles to kill plays and get the puck himslf.

He is a unique player with extreme skills and extreme weaknesses. I do agree that his competitiveness should push him to work on his weaknesses but that just leads to the question of why is his backskating still such an abomination?

Don't forget we have the skills coach who's an expert in skating (Adam Nicholas) to work on him when he gets here.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Don't forget we have the skills coach who's an expert in skating (Adam Nicholas) to work on him when he gets here.

He has been working with Lane for a while now......He simply has not put in the effort yet. Sometimes uber competitive people can be uber stubborn. I did notice Lane attempting to backskate more at the start of the deason but it was really bad and he has almost entirely abandoned it again.

There is no doubt that he will learn to backskate but it is very unlikely that he is ever good at it after neglecting it for so long.

He must be embarrassed and self conscious about it and you would think that would motivate him but the fear of falling/stumbling seems to inhibit him more than it motivates him.

 

[Guess]

He has been working with Lane for a while now......He simply has not put in the effort yet. Sometimes uber competitive people can be uber stubborn. I did notice Lane attempting to backskate more at the start of the deason but it was really bad and he has almost entirely abandoned it again.

There is no doubt that he will learn to backskate but it is very unlikely that he is ever good at it after neglecting it for so long.

Good point, let's hope you're wrong!

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Good point, let's hope you're wrong!

I would love to be wrong!

 

[jfm133]

Hutson on first pairing? We are still far from this.

 

[DAChampion]

Hutson on first pairing? We are still far from this.

Very far.

 

[waitin425]

Imagine a defenceman who can deliver breakout passes like this...

https://x.com/TerrierHockey/status/1738612727021535407?s=20

Imagine Lane 3 on 3

https://x.com/spittinchiclets/status/1738653110837428696?s=20

 

[Goalfield13]

Seems the US national system is pretty biased against smaller players, no? Caufield was put in a poor position to succeed on these teams too. You would think they would learn.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Seems the US national system is pretty biased against smaller players, no? Caufield was put in a poor position to succeed on these teams too. You would think they would learn.

When you are basically dressing an all star team it is only logical to prefer big all stars over little all stars.....

 

[Gustave]

When you are basically dressing an all star team it is only logical to prefer big all stars over little all stars.....

In a vacuum, yes.

But I want to say this on the US team year in year out; they make weird decisions on player deployment and usage. I feel they’ve underachieved for a while, with the USNDP (?) spurning out stars left and right, they’ve got the short end of results more than I thought they would. Consider the absence of Russia, which gives a free pass to a medal…

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Seems the US national system is pretty biased against smaller players, no? Caufield was put in a poor position to succeed on these teams too. You would think they would learn.

Their usage of CC was baffling

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

In a vacuum, yes.

But I want to say this on the US team year in year out; they make weird decisions on player deployment and usage. I feel they’ve underachieved for a while, with the USNDP (?) spurning out stars left and right, they’ve got the short end of results more than I thought they would. Consider the absence of Russia, which gives a free pass to a medal…

The U.S. team has often underachieved because their athletes are uber privileged and their little all star squads don't have enough players willing to play blue collar roles. They have too many kids who devolve into 1 on 1 hockey when things start turning bad. The USNTDP fosters an elitist environment where the kids get to dunk on inferior competition all year and the U.S. teams tend to shun CHL players who are playing in more traditional team focused games with team success at the forefront rather than personal development.

All that being said, they are deservedly the favourites to win this year.

 

[DAChampion]

Hutson must also be a challenging player to coach as he doesn't fit traditional patterns.

The rule of thumb for small players, for as long as I've been following hockey and probably longer, is that if you're small you need to be fast. I remember Gallagher saying he got that advice from Gionta. It certainly applies to coach Martin St-Louis, who could keep opposing forwards honest due to bring a breakaway threat. Paul Coffey is probably the most famous archetype. I have read that he would wear skates that were too small to be faster.

Anyway, part of the reason these rules of thumb matter is that it's what coaches are used to and what other players are used to. Any successful player that fits a niche likely does so by having evolved in a system where his niches are compatible and complementary with the other niches.

Hutson is a unique player: exceptionally high offensive IQ and aptitude, but small, slow, and ineffective defensively. It may not be easy for any coach be it the US team coach or his future NHL coaches to fit him into a system, as he's a chess piece they have not used before. It's also the case that coaches can't be sheltering or adjusting for half of their roster, it becomes too complicated.

I assume that this is not an issue in the NCAA because the opposing teams are not skilled enough to adequately exploit Hutson.

There are multiple ways this can go.

What some fans assume is that St Louis has God-level intelligence and multitasking skill. He's going to simultaneously shelter Hutson, Caulfield, incubate any young players that need to develop, maximize the trade value of every vet, and win games. I'm skeptical.

Another possibility is that the Habs' becomes such a good team, that in a few years Hutson is the only player that needs to be sheltered. Perhaps he can be a better version of Desharnais.

I think that Hutson needs to spend at least a full year in the AHL. He needs to build his strength and skating as much as he can. The coach needs to be willing to challenge by giving him PK time and dzone starts. Maybe he can be on a pair with Reinbacher next year.