Player Discussion Lane Hutson Part 2

[Goalfield13]

He’s never going to be Shea Weber in the crease but he doesn’t shy away from physical play either. As long as they give him some time to pack on some muscle he’ll be fine.

I don't need him to be She Weber. I just want to avoid Victor Mete.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I don't need him to be She Weber. I just want to avoid Victor Mete.

He ain’t Victor Mete.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I don't need him to be She Weber. I just want to avoid Victor Mete.

I still stand by Mete being mismanaged (he made the NHL in his D+2 season as and undersized D and didn't get any development help at the NHL level), but Mete never came close to displaying the offensive upside of Hutson.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

Evasive actions are not going to matter during the playoffs when the other team purposely dumps the puck in with the intention on grinding him down. Defensemen can't avoid contact if they want to play actual defense.

So by then we’ll need a nuclear deterrent like Big George was…..Xhekaj maybe Mailloux or F Xhekaj will be ready by the time we are contending…CC & Hutson will be targets in the PO

 

[Gillings]

I am not sure if lanes ability to score goals is more about him being good or him being good at that level.

Guess well find out aye b'y?

 

[windycity]

I saw a pic of him with his coach, who's 6'1", and he's about 5'10"

Except Hutson was in skates and coach was in shoes

 

[Sam de Mtl]

I am not sure if lanes ability to score goals is more about him being good or him being good at that level.

Guess well find out aye b'y?

Well being good implies he is good at that level, so it's not really one or the other.

Him scoring goals from defense while not having a strong shot shows two things: (1) his rover style of play that often brings him much closer to the goalie than average defensemen would and (2) he is a very smart and skilled hockey player.

Now whether that translates at the next level, which seems to be your question, remains to be seen as with any other prospect. The outlook is worse because of the size, lack of strength and ordinary skating, but in another way much better because of his insane gamer qualities that hint to him potentially being a special player despite his flaws.

I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[Gillings]

Well being good implies he is good at that level, so it's not really one or the other.

Him scoring goals from defense while not having a strong shot shows two things: (1) his rover style of play that often brings him much closer to the goalie than average defensemen would and (2) he is a very smart and skilled hockey player.

Now whether that translates at the next level, which seems to be your question, remains to be seen as with any other prospect. The outlook is worse because of the size, lack of strength and ordinary skating, but in another way much better because of his insane gamer qualities that hint to him potentially being a special player despite his flaws.

I am cautiously optimistic.

Nice

 

[jfm133]

I wanted him in the OHL last season. This big kid was never allowed to dominate a league, and that was a problem for him. OHL would have been the safest place to send him last season and having him to produce offensively at a high rate and the Habs could have forced a trade from the OHL team owning his rights to have him on a very good team last year. Many great NHL players played in the CHL in their D+ year. That's not a step backward, it's just putting overall maturity of the player in front of everything.

And spare me that he needed to be coached by MSL the supposed genius last year. Suzuki played two more years in the OHL after his draft. Also, the fact that Slaf was picked first overall does not change anything. If you are a forward thinker you are not forced to do it the way many would want you to do it or to care about how it would be percieved.

Being in the AHL would not protect him from head injuries. He would likely have been more of a target. What plug is going to pass up chance to hammer a #1 overall pick. Even though the players are slower if he lacked awareness they would still catch him.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I wanted him in the OHL last season. This big kid was never allowed to dominate a league, and that was a problem for him. OHL would have been the safest place to send him last season and having him to produce offensively at a high rate and the Habs could have forced a trade from the OHL team owning his rights to have him on a very good team last year. Many great NHL players played in the CHL in their D+ year. That's not a step backward, it's just putting overall maturity of the player in front of everything.

And spare me that he needed to be coached by MSL the supposed genius last year. Suzuki played two more years in the OHL after his draft. Also, the fact that Slaf was picked first overall does not change anything. If you are a forward thinker you are not forced to do it the way many would want you to do it or to care about how it would be percieved.

The OHL would have been the worst place to send him. Why would you want a 6'3 238lbs 1st overall pick with professional experience to play against kids when he has the chance to play against men...

 

[FerrisRox]

I wanted him in the OHL last season. This big kid was never allowed to dominate a league, and that was a problem for him. OHL would have been the safest place to send him last season and having him to produce offensively at a high rate and the Habs could have forced a trade from the OHL team owning his rights to have him on a very good team last year. Many great NHL players played in the CHL in their D+ year. That's not a step backward, it's just putting overall maturity of the player in front of everything.

And spare me that he needed to be coached by MSL the supposed genius last year. Suzuki played two more years in the OHL after his draft. Also, the fact that Slaf was picked first overall does not change anything. If you are a forward thinker you are not forced to do it the way many would want you to do it or to care about how it would be percieved.

I think it would have been utterly pointless to put a hulking man-child in the OHL last year. A year of Slaf absolutely physically dominating 90 percent of his opponents wouldn't have allowed him to grow his game at all, and instead, he would just rely on his physical advantages which wouldn't be nearly as big a part of his game at the professional level.

I think Junior hockey would have been terrible for his development and it would have caused him to stagnate his game (while putting up big numbers.)

There is absolutely no chance in hell we would have seen Slafkovsky playing at the level he is right now if he spent last year in Junior. He would only be just beginning to adjust to the speed of the NHL game and he would be learning a lot of very tough lessons about the differences in his physical play in Junior vs. Pro.

 

[WeThreeKings]

OHL was only an option for people who wanted to see big numbers on a hockeydb page to thwart their concerns over draft year production. There would have been nothing beneficial to his growth.

 

[admiralcadillac]

I have the same feeling about him, this player is a black box for me as a pro. I see the offensive dominance in the NCAA on a very good team at that level, but given his physical limitations, I don't see how he will be able to replicate that quickly in the NHL and also in the AHL, which is a though league to play in physically.

In the NHL, the only D with a similar frame is Jared Spurgeon, listed at 5'09, 166 lbs, and Spurgeon played junior at 20, that's why I want Hutson to play one more year at BU, just to work on getting stronger and being more ready physically. Spurgeon is not as gifted offensively as Hutson, but he is a better skater. Also, find me the last team to win a Stanley Cup with a D that is 5'10 or less. Samuel Girard was hurt early in the playoffs when Colorado won it.

All that to say that I dont see how his play at this stage of his career would translate well to the pros. A defensman need first to be able to defend well, the offense comes on top of it. We see it this year with Struble, he rose above the others because he can defend well at the pro level. He was a plug and play D last spring in Laval, and made the jump to Montréal at the first opportunity, never to be sent down again. During this time, Harris, Barron and Xhekaj, better offensively, are struggling to establish themselves in the NHL on a weak team. All that to say that I don't know what we will get in the pros with Hutson, especially if he turns pro this year. If he is to succeed, he will need time. He is not Quinn Hughes, and Adam Fox played three years in the NCAA. Hutson should do the same and the kid is open to it. It's on Hughes and Gorton to be wise with him. And the nice thing is that the Habs can afford to be patient with him.

Was Krug on both Boston cup winning teams?

Meh, Letang is often injured too. A couple of examples are not enough for me, and it is hard to compare the two when there is a 40 lbs difference. I know he has been doing this his entire life, but NHL playoffs are a different beast. He's going to be targeted. I still like him as a player, but this is a legitimate worry until he proves otherwise.

It’s not really a legitimate worry

 

[LaP]

I have the same feeling about him, this player is a black box for me as a pro. I see the offensive dominance in the NCAA on a very good team at that level, but given his physical limitations, I don't see how he will be able to replicate that quickly in the NHL and also in the AHL, which is a though league to play in physically.

In the NHL, the only D with a similar frame is Jared Spurgeon, listed at 5'09, 166 lbs, and Spurgeon played junior at 20, that's why I want Hutson to play one more year at BU, just to work on getting stronger and being more ready physically. Spurgeon is not as gifted offensively as Hutson, but he is a better skater. Also, find me the last team to win a Stanley Cup with a D that is 5'10 or less. Samuel Girard was hurt early in the playoffs when Colorado won it.

All that to say that I dont see how his play at this stage of his career would translate well to the pros. A defensman need first to be able to defend well, the offense comes on top of it. We see it this year with Struble, he rose above the others because he can defend well at the pro level. He was a plug and play D last spring in Laval, and made the jump to Montréal at the first opportunity, never to be sent down again. During this time, Harris, Barron and Xhekaj, better offensively, are struggling to establish themselves in the NHL on a weak team. All that to say that I don't know what we will get in the pros with Hutson, especially if he turns pro this year. If he is to succeed, he will need time. He is not Quinn Hughes, and Adam Fox played three years in the NCAA. Hutson should do the same and the kid is open to it. It's on Hughes and Gorton to be wise with him. And the nice thing is that the Habs can afford to be patient with him.

It depends on his hockey IQ. Hockey IQ is kind of hard to evaluate in junior level imo. He'll need to add some muscles for sure but if he can see the ice like Markov he will probably do well. But to succeed at the NHL level he'll need to be twice as talented as a big guy and have twice the hockey IQ.

 

[Goalfield13]

Was Krug on both Boston cup winning teams?


It’s not really a legitimate worry

Both cups? They won one in 2010-2011... and no, he wasn't. lol.

 

[dcyhabs]

I still stand by Mete being mismanaged (he made the NHL in his D+2 season as and undersized D and didn't get any development help at the NHL level), but Mete never came close to displaying the offensive upside of Hutson.

Mete is an example of a prospect played in the NHL in spite of totally lacking physicality and shooting. An NHL player may be able to get by with one glaring weakness, but with many you have to leave them in the AHL until they work it out. If Mete had played 3-4 years in the AHL, practiced shooting, worked on his offense, he might have been OK. Playing on a pairing where he was leaning on Weber made him look good but didn't help his development at all.

Hutson is small and can't skate backward well enough to do it much in games. Sure, play him and burn a year of his ELC so he signs, but leave him in the minors until he works out the parts of his game that can be worked out. If he absolutely dominates in spite of his flaws, then fine, but I'd expect him to need a lot of work.

 

[jfm133]

There is no need to burn an ELC year to bring him at the end of this season. Hutson already said he was open to play a third year in the NCAA. This kid is not big, but he surely is wise, wiser than many, that's for sure.

Mete is an example of a prospect played in the NHL in spite of totally lacking physicality and shooting. An NHL player may be able to get by with one glaring weakness, but with many you have to leave them in the AHL until they work it out. If Mete had played 3-4 years in the AHL, practiced shooting, worked on his offense, he might have been OK. Playing on a pairing where he was leaning on Weber made him look good but didn't help his development at all.

Hutson is small and can't skate backward well enough to do it much in games. Sure, play him and burn a year of his ELC so he signs, but leave him in the minors until he works out the parts of his game that can be worked out. If he absolutely dominates in spite of his flaws, then fine, but I'd expect him to need a lot of work.

 

[dcyhabs]

There is no need to burn an ELC year to bring him at the end of this season. Hutson already said he was open to play a third year in the NCAA. This kid is not big, but he surely is wise, wiser than many, that's for sure.

There may or may not be. A lot will depend on Hutson's agent. Whatever happens with his contract he should spend the time needed at lower levels working on the aspects of his game that are lacking.

I would have expected a whole summer of skating backward, and maybe he did that.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He's going to get NHL games when he signs. This management group definitely believes in giving them a little taste of the NHL so they know just what it's like and have them carry that into the off season.

 

[morhilane]

He's going to get NHL games when he signs. This management group definitely believes in giving them a little taste of the NHL so they know just what it's like and have them carry that into the off season.

The problem was never what management wants to do, but if the Terriers reach the final of Frozen Four. It's on April 13th, Habs last two games are April 15th-16th.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

He’s a bit of a unicorn but so is Quinn Hughes. Small blueliners just didn’t exist in the past. But the game has evolved. The obstruction rules are a game changer as is the elimination of the red line and the more offensive game the league is evolving towards.

That doesn’t mean Hutson can skate like Hughes or will be as good but his skating is better than some critics have argued in my opinion anyway. He’s a really smart, competitive, coachable player. The kind of guy who wants to win. And he’s had more offensive success than any other blueliner in NCAA history.

You don’t trade that talent away.

I’d much rather take the risk of his talent not translating than just giving up. If he pans out he’ll be incredible.

Agreed on keeping talent. Seeing as how Hutson doesn’t have Hughes elite skating, I’d be open to trading him for a very talented top 6 player. We can always draft a high end D this year if we make that move. That way we retain skill, just move assets around to fill needs.

 

[salbutera]

He's going to get NHL games when he signs. This management group definitely believes in giving them a little taste of the NHL so they know just what it's like and have them carry that into the off season.

Hutson has leverage position, management group has no leverae, he will not sign unless he gets to burn a year off ELC, this is a business ..

I agree HuGo are high on his potential, but I don’t think Hutson will even see the AHL as a Habs other than a potential playoff run in Laval, should they qualify, after NHL regular season ends

 

[JustAHabFan]

My only concern is can he avoid the big hit/injuries? Now I’m certain at his size he’s practiced “evasive actions” his entire life.

maybe it’s more wear & tear, since Dach is 6’4” and constantly injured!

He is so small and tiny. A big hit and he just fly away. No worry.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Agreed on keeping talent. Seeing as how Hutson doesn’t have Hughes elite skating, I’d be open to trading him for a very talented top 6 player. We can always draft a high end D this year if we make that move. That way we retain skill, just move assets around to fill needs.

Trade him and we’ll regret it

 

[The Don Hughes]

Hutson has leverage position, management group has no leverae, he will not sign unless he gets to burn a year off ELC, this is a business ..

I agree HuGo are high on his potential, but I don’t think Hutson will even see the AHL as a Habs other than a potential playoff run in Laval, should they qualify, after NHL regular season ends

Man, if Hutson, Xhekaj and Roy can be sent down for the AHL playoffs it would be insane for the team.