Prospect Info: Lane Hutson Part 2

[JianYang]

Anyone remember that gif of midget gionta launching himself over a flight of stairs and dropping a couple bruins?

Time to replace gionta with hutson in that gif.

Those who know, know.

 

[BaseballCoach]

My top 4 for next year
Matheson - Guhle
Jackeye - Mailloux

(Harris/Struble) - Savard
Kovy

Don't know about pairings but my rankings to start next year are:
Matheson
Guhle
Savard
Xhekaj
Mailloux
Kovacevic
Barron
Harris

Kovacevic was a +11 this year. He brings size and is not a terrible skater. If we can move Savard for a return we like, I'd extend Kova for 2-3 years at near minimum salary. He's a fine 6/7

With Struble (waiver-exempt), Reinbacher and Hutson on the farm ready to leapfrog Barron and Harris in a year, we could move the latter two as well for forward or goalie depth.

 

[MarioLeMoose]

Do you think that he can reach the level of Quinn Hughes?

With his 2 games, I see similar style of Hughes for sure.

Tough to say.. there was a lot of people who doubted that Quinn Hughes himself would reach the level that he has.

 

[windycity]

That's what I thought as well watching him in Plymouth on the U.S. team and watching multiple B.U. games. I live in Michigan and saw plenty of both players in person. I definitely saw the similarities. If Hutson becomes Hughes-light you still have a stud on your hands.

We both have dog avatars

Only the best people have a dog avatar

 

[salbutera]

Hutson is going to get game planned by opposition, hit & hit hard at some point (every player does), I want to see how he rebounds - I don’t expect to be disappointed, but that will be the true litmus test IMO

 

[Scriptor]

Hutson is going to get game planned by opposition, hit & hit hard at some point (every player does), I want to see how he rebounds - I don’t expect to be disappointed, but that will be the true litmus test IMO

Hutson got checked four times in his first game against Detroit. He got checked zero times his second game. He will adapt.

He will also feed passes to his tceammatesfor quality scoring chances his opponents go out of position and take themselves out of the play to target him.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Only the best people have a dog avatar

Mrb1p determined this is a lie

 

[windycity]

Mrb1p determined this is a lie

Every rare exception proves the rule

 

[417]

Hutson is going to get game planned by opposition, hit & hit hard at some point (every player does), I want to see how he rebounds - I don’t expect to be disappointed, but that will be the true litmus test IMO

Yeah probably, but that just clears up more space for whoever else is on the ice.

But one thing is for sure, David Perron has seen enough of Hutson already...back to back nights Hutson made him dance like Michael Jackson.

 

[HomaridII]

Yeah probably, but that just clears up more space for whoever else is on the ice.

But one thing is for sure, David Perron has seen enough of Hutson already...back to back nights Hutson made him dance like Michael Jackson.

David Perron looked ridiculous two nights in a row. He looked like he was ready to sit down on the ice and wait. lol

 

[26Mats]

Hutson is going to get game planned by opposition, hit & hit hard at some point (every player does), I want to see how he rebounds - I don’t expect to be disappointed, but that will be the true litmus test IMO

Hopefully Xhekaj can learn to play the right side. Might be nice to have him out there when Hutson is on when a team is trying that strategy you mention.

 

[Whalers Fan]

That's what I thought as well watching him in Plymouth on the U.S. team and watching multiple B.U. games. I live in Michigan and saw plenty of both players in person. I definitely saw the similarities. If Hutson becomes Hughes-light you still have a stud on your hands.

We both have dog avatars

I am a NTDP season ticket holder, so watched a lot of both Hughes and Hutson when they played in the program, too. I thought Quinn was the more dynamic player, but agree you could see a lot of the same traits in Hutson. Lane's game really took a major leap forward at BU, too.

It's going to be fun watching Hutson with the Habs. The first line looked very dangerous when he joined them on the ice during those two games against the Wings.

 

[waitin425]

After the way he played those last two games, I don't see him as not playing with the big club next year. I suppose if we don't have room for him, he could start in the AHL. But, we have some decisions to make to make that room. He will finish the season with the Habs next year. Hell.....I want to see Mailloux start with the big club too.

Matheson - Guhle
Hutson - Savard
Xhekaj - Mailloux
Barron/Struble/Harris

Something has to give with those last three.

 

[Team_Spirit]

 

[Beer and Chips]

Agreed, but wow, you could see the hockey IQ is there, almost like having a Caufield/Suzuki level type player on defense.

More than the skill his intelligence is what I noticed, quite unusual for a fan of this team.

 

[Kojo]

I don't think his ceiling is 50 points, that's ridiculous. He's going to be PPG at some point with the right players.

 

[KevSkillz4]

He have high offensive potential. I think we will not be that bad at defensive aswell, not going a two-way D, but his speed and position will help him to can play on defense aswell.

He is going to make some mistakes, but in few years, he is going to be better at defensive zone.

I see him to play in top 4 with a D like Reinbacher and become the PP specialist we want in him. When he is going to play with Slaf, Suzuki and Caufield on PP, watch out.

Oustanding pick by Habs!

 

[jrom]

What surprised me the most with Hutson in those first 2 games is that he already has a presence on ice. We felt it, Robidas said it in an exit interview, the crowd felt it (that sequence in the last game when he was rushing up ice during a PP) and Perron will remember it for next game.

I agree with a previous poster, now that teams are aware you gotta pay attention to him, he will be targeted and headhunted (we would do the same). It will be his big test next year and for his entire career, do his thing despite being a permanent moving target.

I was really really cautious with my own expectations of Hutson at the NHL level but after those 2 games, wow I can't wait for next season. He's a chaos agent in the o-zone, probably very annoying to defend against and he has the best trait for me as a fan: he is FUN to watch, good/bad things happen but it's entertaining.

Also the balls for Lane to go from RDS boomer approved advice "keep it simple for your 1st game kid, bank it off the glass" to walking the line like that on his 1st point play

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Hutson got checked four times in his first game against Detroit. He got checked zero times his second game. He will adapt.

He will also feed passes to his tceammatesfor quality scoring chances his opponents go out of position and take themselves out of the play to target him.

He played really well both games but lets temper these observations with the knowledge that Detroit is a smaller team with one of the weakest forechecking/physical games in the entire league.

I am interested to see how he handles heavier, more aggressive teams and how the league adapts to Lane's tendencies. So far so good and that is exciting but his progression is going to be met with stiff opposition from opponents who have had a chance to watch him on video and feel him out in-game.

I noticed some ridiculous posts already from a couple of his sycophants claiming victory over any and all concerns regarding Lane. As I said after he signed, there is no room for that kind of rhetoric in nuanced, evidence based civil discourse. As I have always stated, he has some obvious flaws but it is his competitiveness and IQ that should see him successfully navigate these obstacles. Hopefully most of us can sit back and enjoy the show without excessive hyperbole on either side of the conversation. Game by game and shift by shift driven hyperbolic proclamations are annoying and are the diarrhea of this forum and I am just trying to preemptively drop some Imodium into this thread lol.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I agree with a previous poster, now that teams are aware you gotta pay attention to him, he will be targeted and headhunted (we would do the same). It will be his big test next year and for his entire career, do his thing despite being a permanent moving target.

Teams aren't going to target/headhunt Hutson (or anyone specifically) during the regular season just for being good players. That's fan fiction.

In the playoffs when it's a best-of-7 series sure, but in the regular season no.

 

[Bourdon101]

Everyone talks about his similarity to Quinn Hughes and comes to the same conclusion: he doesn't have that level of skating ability.

I don't get it. To me, he's closer to Adam Fox. Though Hutson's deke are eye-catching and entertaining, his #1 asset, like Fox, is his elite IQ. Fox is slightly bigger, but both survive on defense because of their smarts, as neither are elite skaters.

I don't think Hutson can be the player Hughes is but I can definitely see a player like Fox.

I wonder if I'm the only one who sees that, as everyone seems to bring up Hughes for comparison.

 

[japurple01]

Vancouver fan here, watched pretty much every Quinn Hughes NHL game. Watched both games Hutson played in and Habs fans aren't wrong who compare him to Hughes. To come into your first two games and have the confidence, skill, and intelligence to do some of the things he was doing--sure it's early but he does look a whole lot like the guy who may win the Norris this year.

That last game looked like a lot of fun with the atmosphere even with the meaningless loss at the end. I hadn't intended to watch it but it was the most entertaining game of the night--perhaps with the exception of the Leafs giving up 200 shots in the second period when they folded in Florida. So much great young talent in Montreal--the future looks very bright.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Teams aren't going to target/headhunt Hutson (or anyone specifically) during the regular season just for being good players. That's fan fiction.

In the playoffs when it's a best-of-7 series sure, but in the regular season no.

They will target him in the regular season if he shows that he can not cope with a heavy forecheck, it happens all the time. This does not mean head hunting and I am not sure why you made this conflation but every team goes through video and actively targets their opponents weaknesses.

It will be interesting to watch and hopefully he stays healthy and is able to rise to the occasion.

 

[Kojo]

The guy is basically a ninja. Nobody is gonna injure him.

 

[Corky]

Vancouver fan here, watched pretty much every Quinn Hughes NHL game. Watched both games Hutson played in and Habs fans aren't wrong who compare him to Hughes. To come into your first two games and have the confidence, skill, and intelligence to do some of the things he was doing--sure it's early but he does look a whole lot like the guy who may win the Norris this year.

That last game looked like a lot of fun with the atmosphere even with the meaningless loss at the end. I hadn't intended to watch it but it was the most entertaining game of the night--perhaps with the exception of the Leafs giving up 200 shots in the second period when they folded in Florida. So much great young talent in Montreal--the future looks very bright.

That’s great to hear!

We also have to be fair with the Hugues comparison. Both players are 4 years apart. Hugues today is far more dominant than the Higues that entered into the league. I do remember seeing a lot of Hugues during the COVID bubble and he would get really exposed defensively while being an offense dynamo.

We need to accept that this might happen with Hutson as well.

Will he get to Hugues level, no one knows, but it’s too early to say yes or no either way.