Player Discussion Lane Hutson Part 2
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Hutson is a fighter -- has had to be Allis life so far. I'm betting on the kid proving many people wrong.
I don't think he needs to be a shutdown D, or a #1 LD, because we have Guhle to play that role.
With he right defensive partner, willing to play a physical, defensive game, to insulate Hutson as he uses his strengths on a second pairing, and with Hutson leading the way while we're one man up as our PP QB, Hutson can stand out and be of great use to the Habs!
If he can raise his D-game as shown at the WJC, just to not be a MAB clone, Hutson will, in his own way, become a cornerstone of the Habs' D-Corps.
I'm of the mindset that you risk Hutson not panning out because his upside is unlike other players that we have in our system and that we have had in ages.
Hutson has the potential be a game-changer from the backend and I don't think we should pass up on that possibility materializing.
Hutson has impressed every coach, every teammate and every opponent where he has passed so far in his career, with the US national team coach being the latest.
It's hard to overlook, or write off what the head coach of the US team said about Hutson when he mentioned that we should really be speaking more about his quality defensive game, not just his offensive game, about his decisions with and without the puck, his engagement to take away timed and space from opponents and his ability to control the flow of the game with the puck on his stick.
It's hard to overlook this from a coach who played Hutsonover 25minuteson average and over 27 minutes in the goal-medal game.
It's hard to overlook this from a head coach who admitted having the very same impressions about Hutson's game (limited to offense) as posters on these and other fan forums, before getting the chance to see him play up close and to see the full extent of his talents.
It's hard for me to buy into a negative narrative that seems wrapped up in some manifestation of Hutson of a few years back when he was 5'8" and around 150lbs, maybe less, like no time has passed at all and like the player hasn't, cannot and won't evolve from that moment.
If the competition he faces in the NCAA and faced at the WJC is so weak (to brush off his actual production and performances offhandedly in order for the negative narrative to stick), wouldn't multiple other Ds produce in similar fashion?
Are other Ds all bad? If he really can't skate and is that bad defensively, plus really only excels with the man advantage on the PP, wouldn't his plus/minus differential be horrible as top talents from other teams in the NCAA regularly expose his weaknesses?
In the NCAA, Hutson plays against older and larger opposition than he would in Juniors. Yet, he still excels, despite all fhis alleged failings that he will never overcome.
Like all other Junior-aged prospects, Hutson needs to improve on -- but can improve on -- different facets of his game, to take it to another level that will facilitate the jump to the pro ranks and, eventually, the NHL
Can't wait to see Hutson in the NHLin a Habs sweater.
I don't think he needs to be a shutdown D, or a #1 LD, because we have Guhle to play that role.
With he right defensive partner, willing to play a physical, defensive game, to insulate Hutson as he uses his strengths on a second pairing, and with Hutson leading the way while we're one man up as our PP QB, Hutson can stand out and be of great use to the Habs!
If he can raise his D-game as shown at the WJC, just to not be a MAB clone, Hutson will, in his own way, become a cornerstone of the Habs' D-Corps.
I'm of the mindset that you risk Hutson not panning out because his upside is unlike other players that we have in our system and that we have had in ages.
Hutson has the potential be a game-changer from the backend and I don't think we should pass up on that possibility materializing.
Hutson has impressed every coach, every teammate and every opponent where he has passed so far in his career, with the US national team coach being the latest.
It's hard to overlook, or write off what the head coach of the US team said about Hutson when he mentioned that we should really be speaking more about his quality defensive game, not just his offensive game, about his decisions with and without the puck, his engagement to take away timed and space from opponents and his ability to control the flow of the game with the puck on his stick.
It's hard to overlook this from a coach who played Hutsonover 25minuteson average and over 27 minutes in the goal-medal game.
It's hard to overlook this from a head coach who admitted having the very same impressions about Hutson's game (limited to offense) as posters on these and other fan forums, before getting the chance to see him play up close and to see the full extent of his talents.
It's hard for me to buy into a negative narrative that seems wrapped up in some manifestation of Hutson of a few years back when he was 5'8" and around 150lbs, maybe less, like no time has passed at all and like the player hasn't, cannot and won't evolve from that moment.
If the competition he faces in the NCAA and faced at the WJC is so weak (to brush off his actual production and performances offhandedly in order for the negative narrative to stick), wouldn't multiple other Ds produce in similar fashion?
Are other Ds all bad? If he really can't skate and is that bad defensively, plus really only excels with the man advantage on the PP, wouldn't his plus/minus differential be horrible as top talents from other teams in the NCAA regularly expose his weaknesses?
In the NCAA, Hutson plays against older and larger opposition than he would in Juniors. Yet, he still excels, despite all fhis alleged failings that he will never overcome.
Like all other Junior-aged prospects, Hutson needs to improve on -- but can improve on -- different facets of his game, to take it to another level that will facilitate the jump to the pro ranks and, eventually, the NHL
Can't wait to see Hutson in the NHLin a Habs sweater.
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@estimated prophet
Who are all these young LHDs already in the Habs' system that will be so much better than Hutson at the NHL level?
Guhle? Okay...
Xhekaj?
Struble?
Harris?
Engstrom?
Trudeau?
Norlinder?
Nurmi?
Seriously? Some of those after Guhle might end up better than Hutson, but Hutson would have to be a complete bust for that to happen.
None of those D have the upside that Hutson has, or the potential to actually control a game from the back end.
Hutson might never realize his potential at the NHLl evel, but you definitely need to take the chance that this might happen.
To trade away that kind of potential, you need a bluechip impact C back in a trade.
Since I don't think we will get that for Hutson right now, I'll be very happy to discover if his talent and potential actually translates to the NHL level.
Who are all these young LHDs already in the Habs' system that will be so much better than Hutson at the NHL level?
Guhle? Okay...
Xhekaj?
Struble?
Harris?
Engstrom?
Trudeau?
Norlinder?
Nurmi?
Seriously? Some of those after Guhle might end up better than Hutson, but Hutson would have to be a complete bust for that to happen.
None of those D have the upside that Hutson has, or the potential to actually control a game from the back end.
Hutson might never realize his potential at the NHLl evel, but you definitely need to take the chance that this might happen.
To trade away that kind of potential, you need a bluechip impact C back in a trade.
Since I don't think we will get that for Hutson right now, I'll be very happy to discover if his talent and potential actually translates to the NHL level.
Twisted Sinister
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I'm amused that this player successfully played a shutdown role on a gold-medal winning Junior team is still not good enough. I suppose a prospect needs to be 8-foot tall defensive Jesus while still maintaining his offensive prowess to be even remotely worthwhile around here.
26Mats
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World Juniors don't mean anything.
I'm hoping Lane can make it defensively in the NHL. But I'm not just going to assume he will.
Twisted Sinister
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Everything means something. Juniors mean something, NCAA means something, USNTDP means something. How the Hell do you evaluate a player if you're not watching him play... Especially in best-on-best competition?
26Mats
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The world juniors is a short tournament where a team is thrown together almost over night. Also, it's 19 year olds dominating younger players.
Check out Suzuki versus Drouin or Jesse Puljujarvi's stats at the world juniors to see how much it means.
Lafleurs Guy
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His trade value? Or his abilities?
I’d encourage you to watch the game recaps on him. It’s pretty hard to underplay how dominant he’s been at the lower levels. He’s broken every record there is and he is nothing short of spectacular. There’s a lot of sizzle to go with the steak.
It’s really just a question as to how much of his game can translate to the NHL and nobody knows the answer to that question.
Twisted Sinister
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I'm pretty sure there are enough 19 year olds to go around on all the teams. Lane also plays well against older players in the NCAA
I swear, the mental gymnastics I hear on here sometimes:
-The Juniors mean nothing
-The NCAA means nothing
-The KHL is apparently a garbage league so that means nothing re: Michkov
-Liiga apparently means nothing and Slaf's lack of production from there means nothing
-Apparently, the only league that means anything is the Swiss league, which means Reinbacher's awesome!
-The World Championships and Olympics mean everything!
I mean, just admit you don't like the player despite his success even though his success and adaptability have proven people wrong every step of the way. You don't have to come up with wild justifications for it such as "nothing means anything except what I decide means something."
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BenchBrawl
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Both.
I don't have a good read on Hutson, I admit, so I don't feel strongly about any of this.
Lafleurs Guy
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Go watch the clips. The guy’s insanely good. He dominates games every night.
Will it translate? For sure he needs to add about 20 lbs. and even then he’ll be on the small side. Some have cited skating concerns - I don’t see it. He may not be the fastest player but he’s not the slowest either and he turns on a dime.
It all comes down to what translates at the NHL level. If he’s anywhere close to the player he is in college, he’ll be one of the best blueliners in the league. But there’s no guarantee that happens.
Either way, he’s really, really fun to watch right now. He’s more of a rover than a defenseman.
but he’s at least two years away from the NHL.Two years, including this one, or two more years after this one?Go watch the clips. The guy’s insanely good. He dominates games every night.
Will it translate? For sure he needs to add about 20 lbs. and even then he’ll be on the small side. Some have cited skating concerns - I don’t see it. He may not be the fastest player but he’s not the slowest either and he turns on a dime.
It all comes down to what translates at the NHL level. If he’s anywhere close to the player he is in college, he’ll be one of the best blueliners in the league. But there’s no guarantee that happens.
Either way, he’s really, really fun to watch right now. He’s more of a rover than a defenseman.
We know he'll likely play in the NHL at the end of this season, but like with Farrell, it's an administrative thing to burn a year off of his ELC in order to convince him to sign with the Habs rather than finish out his degree inUniversity and become UFA. It's also an opportunity for him to evaluate his game at the NHL level and for the organization to evaluate the player there.
How the player performs then and at next year's training camp will dictate if he starts the next season in theNH, or in Laval.
Some analysts claim he's ready for the NHL right now (Hockey Writers, for example), but, whether they are right or not, with Matheson, Guhle, Xhekaj, Struble and Harris, we are deep enough at LD to let Hutson take the next step into the AHL first, where expectations won't be as overwhelming as starting in Montreal.
Mind, you, Hutson seems to be highly motivated by important moments in big games!
Still, playing in Laval, until next year's trade deadline, a time where I feel that Matheson's trade value (especially if Hughes holds back salary) will be at its highest, would allow Hutson to play plenty of minutes in all game situations as a pro, because the AHL is a development league and players are more regularly allowed to make mistakes from which they can only improve.
Getting promoted to the NHL at the trade deadline would give Hutson the opportunity to gauge his progression as a pro and determine what remains to be improved upon in his game in order to become dominant in the NHL, not simply to survive once there.
NHL LD depth passing from Matheson - Guhle - Xhekaj - Struble - Harris to Guhle - Hutson - Xhekaj - Struble - Harris, at that moment, would be organic, provided that Hutson is performing well in Laval.
Keep in mind that until the trade deadline, as both Reinbacher andMailloux should both be starting the 2024-2025 season in Laval as well, the depth on the right side at the NHL level might well include one of Struble or Harris, if not even both, depending on what happens at this year's deadline with Ds amongst Savard, Barron, Struble, Harris, or Kovacevic possibly getting traded (I'd bet on Kovacevic and/orHarris getting moved for a 2024 2nd round pick, maybe even Struble, but likely Kovacevic, IMO).
26Mats
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The only one inventing stuff is you.
I'm a Hutson fan. I just don't know whether he'll be a forward and pp qp or able to play D 5 on 5.
I never said or believed any of those other things you said. Be careful about putting words in peoples' mouths, if you have any integrity...
I just don't put stock in the world juniors and haven't seen enough to know if Hutson will be able to defend at the NHL level.
Twisted Sinister
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That was a general comment on the board, hence "I hear on here sometimes." At one time or another, I've heard all those things. The cognitive dissonance on here is all over the place.
Now, onto your comments specifically. You seem to be disregarding the Juniors, where Lane was used as a defensive defenseman for 30 minutes a game against the best competition his age, playing the penalty kill and PP. He even skated backwards sometimes
. This was not him beating up on 18 year olds. This was him drawing the toughest defensive assignments against the other teams' best players. He was one of the top 3-4 players in the tournament, in my view.One year ago, people were saying Lane didn't even know what a defense was. Is that not sufficient improvement for one year, or does the kid need to jump through flaming hoops while skating backwards as well?
Okay, fine... the Juniors aren't important. But you're also disregarding the NCAA. If he's dominant at that level against older guys and continuously improving on the defensive aspects of his game, why in the world don't you think that'd translate? Disregarding both his NCAA performance and his Juniors performance is where I see the cognitive dissonance on your end. If neither of those things matter, what does matter?
There are certainly cerebral defensemen without all the tools that have worked out in the NHL. At the Juniors, he was playing a very Markovesque game to me, which translated pretty well to the NHL, as I recall.
If he learns to defend with his stick, which he seems to be picking up, he'll be fine.
Like, at what point does someone need to be successful for us to think he might be successful in the NHL? What's the threshold here?
Lafleurs Guy
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I think the soonest he plays with us is 25-26. Needs more muscle on his frame.
Lafleurs Guy
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It's going to be really interesting to see how he's used at the NHL level. In college he's really a rover sometimes... all over the ice. I could see a coach reigning him in and playing a more traditional game. His first coach will be important into seeing what kind of player he becomes.That was a general comment on the board, hence "I hear on here sometimes." At one time or another, I've heard all those things. The cognitive dissonance on here is all over the place.
Now, onto your comments specifically. You seem to be disregarding the Juniors, where Lane was used as a defensive defenseman for 30 minutes a game against the best competition his age, playing the penalty kill and PP. He even skated backwards sometimes
One year ago, people were saying Lane didn't even know what a defense was. Is that not sufficient improvement for one year, or does the kid need to jump through flaming hoops while skating backwards as well?
Okay, fine... the Juniors aren't important. But you're also disregarding the NCAA. If he's dominant at that level against older guys and continuously improving on the defensive aspects of his game, why in the world don't you think that'd translate? Disregarding both his NCAA performance and his Juniors performance is where I see the cognitive dissonance on your end. If neither of those things matter, what does matter?
There are certainly cerebral defensemen without all the tools that have worked out in the NHL. At the Juniors, he was playing a very Markovesque game to me, which translated pretty well to the NHL, as I recall.
If he learns to defend with his stick, which he seems to be picking up, he'll be fine.
Like, at what point does someone need to be successful for us to think he might be successful in the NHL? What's the threshold here?
If it were MSL or an MSL type, I could see them telling him to play a more traditional game to start and then maybe freewheel a little more as he gains confidence. But a more conservative coach probably wouldn't let him do what he does in college. He plays a very non-traditional brand of D to say the least.
If I'm being honest, I don't know if Hutson will really have an impact in the NHL. More often than not, he's not in my "future line-up" when I make them in my head.
With that being said, I would trade one of the multiple two-way dmen the Habs have in the pipeline way before trading the only potential offensive dynamo.
There's 1 guy like Hutson, why trade him away just because he doesn't check all the boxes to some? Why not try and develop him. It's okay to swing for the fences sometimes and the price it cost the Habs to take that swing is so small, why even worry about it.
With that being said, I would trade one of the multiple two-way dmen the Habs have in the pipeline way before trading the only potential offensive dynamo.
There's 1 guy like Hutson, why trade him away just because he doesn't check all the boxes to some? Why not try and develop him. It's okay to swing for the fences sometimes and the price it cost the Habs to take that swing is so small, why even worry about it.
Nico Cauzuki
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didnt Hughes already confirm he would sign him this year after hes NCAA season ? im sure he will see some gms with us this year but might start in Laval next season
Lafleurs Guy
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Yeah but it's not uncommon to sign a player to a pro contract and continue to develop in the minors. Roy is signed with us for example.
26Mats
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Two thoughts:
1) If Hutson can't defend 5 on 5, I could see him being a really hood offensive forward.
2) Romanov wasn't our worst LD, but he was traded because were able to get a really good piece for him. We may end up reading one of our better LD's (Matheson, Ghule, Hutson, Xhekaj, Engstrom, Struble) because the piece coming back is worth more to team than what they bring over the players behind them on the depth chart. We may end up trading THREE of those six players I just mentioned.
Nico Cauzuki
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Yes it is but we gave Harris some gms i think they will give Lane some also even if its just to make him happy but i agree that he needs to add weight
Lafleurs Guy
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I personally don't think we will but we'll see. Maybe you're right.
If Hutson goes to the Frozen Four (Hughes did tell him to go win the national title), he might not play any games with the Habs since it happens on April 11-13 and the Habs only have 2 games after those date (back-to-back) and not much time for Hutson to sign his contract and get a practice in with the team.
Goalfield13
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NCAA 54 GP, 68 Pts, +22
U-20 WJC 14 GP, 10 Pts, +9
People are not just looking at one tournament here. His play at this year's WJC is just another accomplishment to add to the list.
U-20 WJC 14 GP, 10 Pts, +9
People are not just looking at one tournament here. His play at this year's WJC is just another accomplishment to add to the list.
Barron was 21 years old at the begining of the season. He's been playing top minutes at time with some of the hardest opposition in the league. Can we be patient with him? He's a RD who can become a point producing PMD who's a great skater. I think that Ghule coming into the league at 20 and playing a perfect veteran game might have something to do with our judgment on Barron: not everybody is Ghule.
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