LD Lane Hutson - Boston University, NCAA (2022, 62nd, MTL) - Part 2

[My3Sons]

His puck skills are phenomenal and he is one of the most elusive players I’ve ever seen

If he can play even NHL average defense he is going to be a force for a long time

I agree. My point is just about a Calder season for him. Does MTL install him on PP1 and does the team play a wide open style to maximize offense or do they button it down and play it close to the vest and keep a veteran like Matheson on PP1? Long term he just has to be slightly under water defensively and his offensive ability will make him an excellent player overall. Sure he might have to be a bit sheltered at times but that won’t be a big deal most likely.

 

[Garbageyuk]

The series shifted as it went on
At the beginning Hughes was dominant
He seemed like less and less of a factor as the series went on.

But that often happens to star players when teams key on them. Heck mcdavid was held pointless in game 7

He was injured badly enough by that point that they thought he’d require surgery. Was Hughes injured? I’m sincerely asking because I don’t remember.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

This dude is so slick. He's like Patrick Kane on the blueline.

 

[Frank Drebin]

He was injured badly enough by that point that they thought he’d require surgery. Was Hughes injured? I’m sincerely asking because I don’t remember.

I don’t think he had noteworthy injuries. Just the regular stuff from getting the shit ran out of him for 2 full rounds

 

[Canucks LB]

Hughes faded pretty hard in the playoffs
Needs more of a supporting cast in Vancouver

He was hurt

 

[Oak]

He was hurt

It's possible but considering his tiny frame its to be expected that he will get hurt every playoffs.

 

[HuGo Sham]

This dude is so slick. He's like Patrick Kane on the blueline.

he was ridiculous last night. No one was ready for his passes. He's a cheat code who thinks the game 3X faster than most NHLers. He also has much more compete in him than I ever imagined.
He'll be on the opening night roster. guaranteed.
I'm still worried about his size and weight (162) but if they play him with a big-stay-at-home Dman this should prevent some wear out.

We'll see what happens long term, but I'm a believer.
Sorry i wasn't on board sooner, fellow habs friends

 

[Heldig]

Going to be exciting player to watch.

A lot of teams are going to be kicking themselves for letting him drop to the end of the 2nd round.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

Going to be exciting player to watch.

A lot of teams are going to be kicking themselves for letting him drop to the end of the 2nd round.

Stature had a lot to do with that but he’s not short on offensive talent

 

[Frank Drebin]

Going to be exciting player to watch.

A lot of teams are going to be kicking themselves for letting him drop to the end of the 2nd round.

Habs picked slaf mesar and Beck before him

Chosen with Edmontons pick from the kulak trade in 2022

 

[TheDoldrums]

His puck skills are phenomenal and he is one of the most elusive players I’ve ever seen

If he can play even NHL average defense he is going to be a force for a long time

playing average NHL defense with that size and skating will be quite difficult. As a thought experiment, what does the average NHL defenseman in defensive play equate to? Dylan Samberg, Brayden McNabb, JJ Moser? I just literally looked at xGF% rel in the middle of defenseman last year and picked a few that seemed average enough in my head. Will Hutson play comparable defense to them? Probably not imo. His offensive gifts will outweigh it and I think he'll still be a great player but he's always going to be a guy whose sliders are maximized on offense and you live with the defense. Getting average defense out of him would be more unlikely so saying "if he can play even NHL average defense" like that isn't really, really hard is where I would differ.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

playing average NHL defense with that size and skating will be quite difficult. As a thought experiment, what does the average NHL defenseman in defensive play equate to? Dylan Samberg, Brayden McNabb, JJ Moser? I just literally looked at xGF% rel in the middle of defenseman last year and picked a few that seemed average enough in my head. Will Hutson play comparable defense to them? Probably not imo. His offensive gifts will outweigh it and I think he'll still be a great player but he's always going to be a guy whose sliders are maximized on offense and you live with the defense. Getting average defense out of him would be more unlikely so saying "if he can play even NHL average defense" like that isn't really, really hard is where I would differ.

Yeah I can’t imagine why that would be your opinion, I’m sure it has nothing to do with him playing for the Habs

 

[TheDoldrums]

Yeah I can’t imagine why that would be your opinion, I’m sure it has nothing to do with him playing for the Habs

so am I to dismiss your take as a Habs fan using the same logic? Doesn't seem very conducive to a good discussion.

 

[Captain Mountain]

playing average NHL defense with that size and skating will be quite difficult. As a thought experiment, what does the average NHL defenseman in defensive play equate to? Dylan Samberg, Brayden McNabb, JJ Moser? I just literally looked at xGF% rel in the middle of defenseman last year and picked a few that seemed average enough in my head. Will Hutson play comparable defense to them? Probably not imo. His offensive gifts will outweigh it and I think he'll still be a great player but he's always going to be a guy whose sliders are maximized on offense and you live with the defense. Getting average defense out of him would be more unlikely so saying "if he can play even NHL average defense" like that isn't really, really hard is where I would differ.

xGF% rel. isn't a good measure of defence, but even looking at that the only 5'10 and below D who were below average in that stat last season (in a somewhat reasonable sample) were Zellweger, Grzelcyk and Zac Jones. More than double were above average.

Its totally reasonable to question his effectiveness defensively in the NHL, but that's not the stat to look at. Its far from unprecedented for a player like him to be even more than league average defensively. The question is if Hutson has the skating, hockey IQ and drive to compensate for size limitations. I'd bet all day any day on his hockey IQ and drive, the skating is the question mark.

 

[Bonin21]

"Advanced stats" are one of the dumbest things to hit hockey.

 

[TheDoldrums]

xGF% rel. isn't a good measure of defence, but even looking at that the only 5'10 and below D who were below average in that stat last season (in a somewhat reasonable sample) were Zellweger, Grzelcyk and Zac Jones. More than double were above average.

Its totally reasonable to question his effectiveness defensively in the NHL, but that's not the stat to look at. Its far from unprecedented for a player like him to be even more than league average defensively. The question is if Hutson has the skating, hockey IQ and drive to compensate for size limitations. I'd bet all day any day on his hockey IQ and drive, the skating is the question mark.

"Advanced stats" are one of the dumbest things to hit hockey.

yeah I'm not planting a flag on any stat as the single measure of defense, I was just trying to ponder what I would expect when thinking of an average NHL defenseman. I do think the biggest thing for Hutson to work on is his skating and it will always be a thing, in the way Tavares always works on his skating because it's the obvious weak point if you're breaking him down. And idk if it'll ever be good enough to get to an average NHL level of defense.

 

[bud12]

yeah I'm not planting a flag on any stat as the single measure of defense, I was just trying to ponder what I would expect when thinking of an average NHL defenseman. I do think the biggest thing for Hutson to work on is his skating and it will always be a thing, in the way Tavares always works on his skating because it's the obvious weak point if you're breaking him down. And idk if it'll ever be good enough to get to an average NHL level of defense.

Nothing about his skating showed that he couldn't be a average dman in the nhl in the 3games +2 prospect games he played. In fact, he showed exactly the opposite.

 

[Captain Mountain]

yeah I'm not planting a flag on any stat as the single measure of defense, I was just trying to ponder what I would expect when thinking of an average NHL defenseman. I do think the biggest thing for Hutson to work on is his skating and it will always be a thing, in the way Tavares always works on his skating because it's the obvious weak point if you're breaking him down. And idk if it'll ever be good enough to get to an average NHL level of defense.

I think the bolded is what gets pushback, because "an average NHL level of defense" doesn't really have a definition, and what Hutson specifically should work on skating-wise. Because while Hutson could stand to improve his first step, edgework and backwards skating, he's still a good skater and improving his skating isn't the only path for him to improve defensively. Hutson is hyper aggressive offensively, and that tends to be where he gets burned defensively. Finding the right balance at the NHL level is important too, as is having the right D partner.