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

[lomiller1]

I don't know how you could watch him and come up with these conclusions... The guy is an absolute stud #1 defender in the NCAA right now. He can defend very well with an active stick and good anticipation at that level.

Have you really watched him play to come up with these conclusions?

There's definately concerns about his defending translating to the NHL. However all prospects have things to work on, even top 5 guys. The +++s far overcome the ---s in his game. With him growing a few inches last year, it improves his chances a ton to be more then just an offensive dman at the NHL level.

I don't know how you can watch him and NOT come to these conclusions. He's a small offensively talented defenseman with notable defensive deficiencies. It's what he was before the draft and it's what he is now. His offensive game is impressive but he's still way behind guys like Makar in his overall game at the same stage in his development.

 

[jfhabs]

I don't know how you can watch him and NOT come to these conclusions. He's a small offensively talented defenseman with notable defensive deficiencies. It's what he was before the draft and it's what he is now. His offensive game is impressive but he's still way behind guys like Makar in his overall game at the same stage in his development.

I have my answer, thank you...

 

[My3Sons]

Lane Hutson isn't BAD at defending, at least not at the college level. I think the real question is if his style of defending can properly translate to the NHL. He uses an active stick and sound positioning, along with using his strong ability to read the play in order to disrupt attacks. He will get beaten physically and in many one-on-one battles even in college - so my question is if those tools are enough in the NHL, when the size and speed is so much greater. I suspect next season he will work to improve his defensive game in college, as there's not much left to prove offensively for him.

I am confident with what I've seen that he would be able to transfer many of his offensive skills to the NHL, but defensively remains a big question, and his stature plays a much bigger role than a lot of people realize. I also think it is possible that his elite offensive skills are able to propel him to such highs where his deficiencies are minimized. I think he is still not a top 10 pick in a re-draft, but he is trending in that direction.

When he was a little boy
Way back home in Illinois
His mother told him he was great

Now that he’s a teenager
He knows that he’s got something going
All his friends tell him he is great

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

His offensive game is impressive but he's still way behind guys like Makar in his overall game at the same stage in his development.

Hutson was far better than Makar in the NCAA in their d+1 year.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Hutson was far better than Makar in the NCAA in their d+1 year.

Makar played on a really weak team, you can't really compare their stats.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Makar played on a really weak team, you can't really compare their stats.

The difference in teams doesn't make up the 27 pts difference in their production.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The difference in teams doesn't make up the 27 pts difference in their production.

In the same way the 27 point difference doesn't reflect who the better defensemen was. They played different roles on different teams, Makar was very obviously the better prospect.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Hutson was far better than Makar in the NCAA in their d+1 year.

It's really going to be something when this kid ends up being Tory Krug 2.0.

 

[Ligue]

It's really going to be something when this kid ends up being Tory Krug 2.0.

To be fair nobody is arguing he’s gonna end up like Makar. Krug is no slouch.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

In the same way the 27 point difference doesn't reflect who the better defensemen was. They played different roles on different teams, Makar was very obviously the better prospect.

What role did Makar play? It's a lot easier to have a big role playing on a weak team than playing on a strong team.

I didn't say Hutson was a better prospect. Makar was obviously a better prospect since his tools (skating + size) translated better to the nhl. That doesn't change the fact that Hutson was a much better NCAA player in his d+1.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

To be fair nobody is arguing he’s gonna end up like Makar. Krug is no slouch.

I like Krug. Prime Krug in Boston was pretty damn good. The expectations seem to be Leetch-esque, though.

 

[jfhabs]

It's really going to be something when this kid ends up being Tory Krug 2.0.

I'd be absolutely trilled as a Habs fan if he becomes as impactful as prime Krug

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

The difference in teams doesn't make up the 27 pts difference in their production.

If anyone should understand how team quality impacts production, it should be Habs fans.

Lehky went from a 30 point player in MTL to a 60 point player in Colorado.

 

[Ezpz]

If anyone should understand how team quality impacts production, it should be Habs fans.

Lehky went from a 30 point player in MTL to a 60 point player in Colorado.

But not in comparable roles. You're talking 1D vs 1D whereas Lehkonen played mostly on the fourth in Montreal without pp time. Even without a reduced role just taking out his PP points this year brings his productivity back to Montreal levels.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

What role did Makar play? It's a lot easier to have a big role playing on a weak team than playing on a strong team.

I didn't say Hutson was a better prospect. Makar was obviously a better prospect since his tools (skating + size) translated better to the nhl. That doesn't change the fact that Hutson was a much better NCAA player in his d+1.

Makar wasn't used as the team's only offensive defenseman. UMass played a much more balanced lineup. And Makar was a much better all around defender at the same stage.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

If anyone should understand how team quality impacts production, it should be Habs fans.

Lehky went from a 30 point player in MTL to a 60 point player in Colorado.

Not even a good example.
Team quality isn't what made increased Lehkonen's production. His linemates are.
He went from playing on the 2nd/3rd line with little pp time on the habs to regularly playing with Mackinnon, Rantanen, and Makar. The main difference in production comes from the pp. He scored 20 pts on the pp this season. The highest he had in a season with the habs was 4 pts.

 

[JianYang]

If anyone should understand how team quality impacts production, it should be Habs fans.

Lehky went from a 30 point player in MTL to a 60 point player in Colorado.

Actually, I think lehkonen turned an offensive corner during the covid playoffs.

He was one of the very few guys who was playing well the following season, and was certainly above the 30 point pace that year before getting traded.... While playing with linemates who were either underachieving, or ahlers.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Not even a good example.
Team quality isn't what made increased Lehkonen's production. His linemates are.

 

[MXD]

I don't know how you can watch him and NOT come to these conclusions. He's a small offensively talented defenseman with notable defensive deficiencies. It's what he was before the draft and it's what he is now. His offensive game is impressive but he's still way behind guys like Makar in his overall game at the same stage in his development.

...You're pretty much proving his point.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Makar wasn't used as the team's only offensive defenseman. UMass played a much more balanced lineup. And Makar was a much better all around defender at the same stage.

Literally not even true. Did you even watch BU play this season? BU's success came from playing 4 lines and having a balanced lineup. Hutson wasn't the only offensive dman on the team. You heard about Fensore? Fensore was used as much as Hutson. In fact, Fensore would often start the pp, and Hutson would be on the 2nd unit.

 

[MXD]

He has a point though.
In some cases, team quality means a player gets better linemates. In other, it means the players plays much further in the lineup, or doesn't have a spot. For Lehkonen, it's clearly the former.

 

[Captain Mountain]

It's really going to be something when this kid ends up being Tory Krug 2.0.

Out of curiosity, is there a reason you think its funny to think that Hutson's D+1 season was better than Makar's? Or is it just because Hutson is pretty unlikely to be as good Makar and was more project-able than Hutson is. Because man, I don't know how you justify

If anyone should understand how team quality impacts production, it should be Habs fans.

Lehky went from a 30 point player in MTL to a 60 point player in Colorado.

If you're going to use that argument, use HAVE to use a different example.

Lehkonen's 5v5 production in Colorado is basically the same as it was in Montreal. The difference is that he's getting more ice-time in Colorado and gets to play on the PP with elite players whereas he didn't play on the PP in Montreal.

Hutson also had a higher involvement in overall team scoring than Makar ever did in college, let alone D+1 seasons. I doubt Hutson will ever get to Makar's level, but we should be able to acknowledge that Hutson had a very special season this year without extrapolating from it.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

You can have a few great players and still be a bad team. Did you follow Karlsson this year?

 

[lomiller1]

...You're pretty much proving his point.

How so? Clearly most non-habs fans agree with my assessment and even jfhabs is now backtracking on his claims that Hutson is a Makar level prospect.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I don't know how you can watch him and NOT come to these conclusions. He's a small offensively talented defenseman with notable defensive deficiencies. It's what he was before the draft and it's what he is now.

Translating his offensive success from the USNDTP over to College Hockey is extremely impressive. His player profile isn't a bad thing, offensive defensemen are way more valuable than they're given credit sometimes... if he can translate that to Pro Hockey, the Habs have a gem. Calling him 5'10 was likely fibbed considering he was 5'8 at the combine les than a year ago, and he needs to add mass, however he's tougher than people credit him. He performed really well in Bench Press and Pullups despite his small size. He might struggle in the NHL in 2003, but I don't really think he'll struggle much in 2023.