Player Discussion Lane Hutson Part 2

Estimated_Prophet

Registered User
Mar 28, 2003
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Adam Fox skating is not his strongest suit. He is not doing so bad in the NHL you know.
His straight ahead speed is quite average but his edges are great and he skates backwards as well as anyone which is certainly not true of Hutson.

He is still a much better all around skater than Lane is and I would be ecstatic to see Hutson reach Fox's level of skating. If he could also grow two inches and add 20+ pounds to reach Fox's size then we can get really excited but as you can see he has a long way to go to reach Fox's level.

The real question for me is do you play Hutson in Laval next season or does he stay in college. If he continues to make very little progress with his skating maybe putting him in a league where he will have no choice but to focus on this part of his development instead of leaving him in a league weak enough to get away with it. I have seen him at least making attempts for the first time to try and incorporate a rudimentary form of defending while backskating but he is still avoiding it way too often.
 
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JeffreyLFC

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Sep 29, 2017
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The real question for me is do you play Hutson in Laval next season or does he stay in college. If he continues to make very little progress with his skating maybe putting him in a league where he will have no choice but to focus on this part of his development instead of leaving him in a league weak enough to get away with it. I have seen him at least making attempts for the first time to try and incorporate a rudimentary form of defending while backskating but he is still avoiding it way too often.
He has to become a pro next season, he is already way ahead of the competition in the NCAA, he will improve way more by becoming a pro and unlike Slafkovsky and Caufield, I hope he start in the AHL and stay out of the Montreal circus.

His weaknesses as you already have pointed it out like 100 times are correctable and not a career killer. Hockey sense is the most important and Hutson is a very rare specimen in that regard.

He has to adapt to the pro game, but the better way is to have play against pro.
 
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Junohockeyfan

Registered User
Dec 16, 2018
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Watched the BU / UMass game last night and here is my take on Lane Hutson:

In the offensive zone, Lane is a maestro. He is so elusive that defenders no longer attack him. They contain him instead. But Lane still skates at will in the offensive zone creating opportunities.

Defensively, Land has very good positioning and awareness. Rarely does he put himself in no man's land and is always tracking the play and knows who is in the danger zone. But, he is not strong and can't move people out of the crease / blue zone.

In transition defensively is when he is at his weakest. He relies on skating forward to gain speed then spins to a backwards stance. He doesn't try to skate backwards. He can't build speed skating backwards. He can't explode sideways (like PK). This is a serious problem. He gets away with it in college by having an active stick but i think he will be exposed in the NHL. He will get beat wide and won't be able to punish a player who cuts in the middle.

IMO, after this college season, he needs a year in Laval working on the defensive side of the game. He gets by because of his hockey sense / instincts and good positioning. That's not enough.

Do the pros outweight the cons? They do. But he can be a lot better and will need to take step back (and focus on skating, crossovers, strength and gap control.) to make forward strides.. Size isn't the issue with Lane. Its pure skating.
 

Estimated_Prophet

Registered User
Mar 28, 2003
11,125
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He has to become a pro next season, he is already way ahead of the competition in the NCAA, he will improve way more by becoming a pro and unlike Slafkovsky and Caufield, I hope he start in the AHL and stay out of the Montreal circus.

His weaknesses as you already have pointed it out like 100 times are correctable and not a career killer. Hockey sense is the most important and Hutson is a very rare specimen in that regard.

His offensive game is definitely exploiting the **** out of the NCAA and needs to be challenged at a higher level. His defensive game is still poor at the NCAA level but I think that he needs the threat of being embarrassed every night in the pro game to really work on his flaws. He is an animal as a competitor so I am confident that his pride will kick in when he turns pro and having Nicholas constantly around as he is for our Laval prospects will be invaluable.

It will be interesting to see how much he improves this season as he is just starting to attempt to learn how to defend properly and I would not be shocked to see him take a big step as long as he stays consistent with trying to apply it in game situations.

I know I have said the same thing over and over but only because so many posters insist on ignoring his flaws. Perhaps they legitimately can't see them as this is a fan forum and not a private scouting discussion but trust me I am as tired of saying it as you are of hearing it lol.
 
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Skip Bayless

The Skip Bayless Show
Aug 28, 2014
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Go away.

Let me have this okay? Let me have this!

Nah.

ff7.gif
 
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Miller Time

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
24,250
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his drive to improve... and the evidence of his effectiveness in doing so... is what is most exciting about this prospect.

that hunger goes a long way. MSL was a long shot to be an NHL regular at the same age, and still far from a lock as a mediocre NHLer after 4 years of NCAA and 3 years as a pro... Went on to be a HOF player that was among the best of his era.

If this kid can hold on to his incredible drive and keep stacking improvement over the next 3-5 years, we could well be looking at the early days of a HOF career trajectory.

Future is Bright
 

Treb

Global Flanderator
May 31, 2011
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Dude is going to have a season like Adrian Aucoin had 98-99

It will probably normalize during the year, but who knows as Hutson is a generational college player at this point.

What I don't understand is how BU were unable to attract a decent goaltender. This year they got:

Caron who got decent stats on a losing NCAA program.
Graham the 3rd goalie on good NCAA teams.
Howard the guy who was good in NCAA 3rd division.

Their backup from last year would likely top them all but he transferred to Quinnipac.
 

The Great Weal

Phil's Pizza
Jan 15, 2015
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Nothing to add about his offensive talent and production, the sky is the limit. It's ironing out the other details that I want to see him develop. Some players do it differently. You got a guy like Suzuki who looked like he took a step back offensively to focus on his weaknesses in the OHL, but then a guy like Sergachev still had serious defensive IQ concerns in his D+1 which he adapted by actually playing in the NHL since his strengths were just so dominant at the OHL level.
 

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