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

[montreal]

 

[Hug Ben Laf]

Are you Habs Prospect Video on youtube? If so thanks for the videos of Lane Hutson

 

[Anardil]

As much as I enjoy what Hutson has accomplished up to now in his career, I cannot get overly excited about him. I do not see his style translating well to the pro levels.

I also find it very concerning that one of his major weaknesses is backwards skating. That will need to improve greatly if he is to have a productive NHL career.

The videos are great, however they only show what he does well. Thankfully, one of his strengths is his hockey IQ, so he should be able to improve his weaknesses, but I will temper my expectations, at least until I see him play regularly in Laval.

 

[BLNY]

Does that kid really pronounce his name "Poy-sahn" or is that just a Mass announcer butchering French lol? "Poisson", Fish in English, is pronounced "pwah-son".

 

[thrillhous]

Does that kid really pronounce his name "Poy-sahn" or is that just a Mass announcer butchering French lol? "Poisson", Fish in English, is pronounced "pwah-son".

if so he should have played at Notre Dame

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

As much as I enjoy what Hutson has accomplished up to now in his career, I cannot get overly excited about him. I do not see his style translating well to the pro levels.

I also find it very concerning that one of his major weaknesses is backwards skating. That will need to improve greatly if he is to have a productive NHL career.

The videos are great, however they only show what he does well. Thankfully, one of his strengths is his hockey IQ, so he should be able to improve his weaknesses, but I will temper my expectations, at least until I see him play regularly in Laval.

This is incorrect. The videos show his warts as well.

 

[Raistlin]

Have they really changed though? Has anyone doubted his offensive potential? You have some critics who will look at his stature, skating, or perception of two way play and doubt his long term viability as a top four NHL all situations defender, but as a dispassionate observer, the same statements have been made for some time about him. At this point there may be some waning interest from fans that only follow the NHL and only care about a prospect that will play for the team they root for. Ultimately, he will go as far as his defense takes him. I have no doubt he will QB a PP and with the puck on his stick will be quite a dangerous player. It is what he will do without the puck that will define his career. If he can just be slightly below average defensively his overall impact should be quite positive. I guess the best case scenario is sort of like Fox or Quinn Hughes? The low end is a third pair guy who runs the PP which is still a good player when you put it in context.

Following quite a bit of BU games because of Celebrini and Willander. Hudson's skating is his greatest undoing in my opinion, when he has the puck, its like the lightshow goes on, and the offense just flows so naturally through him. but without possession, hes just not mobile enough. The comparison with Hughes is odd, becasue he is defined by his skating. his 8 way mobility is peerless except for McDavid, hes like on videogame controls walking the line. Willander on the other hand is the opposite of Hudson, elite skating and very good defense, but clueless at times with the puck on his stick, he needs a puck skills coach. Hudson Gostisbehere comparison is apt at this time. he will need a very good skating coach this summer to fill this crucial gap in his game.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[Sam de Mtl]

Following quite a bit of BU games because of Celebrini and Willander. Hudson's skating is his greatest undoing in my opinion, when he has the puck, its like the lightshow goes on, and the offense just flows so naturally through him. but without possession, hes just not mobile enough. The comparison with Hughes is odd, becasue he is defined by his skating. his 8 way mobility is peerless except for McDavid, hes like on videogame controls walking the line. Willander on the other hand is the opposite of Hudson, elite skating and very good defense, but clueless at times with the puck on his stick, he needs a puck skills coach. Hudson Gostisbehere comparison is apt at this time. he will need a very good skating coach this summer to fill this crucial gap in his game.

That is accurate at this point in time. Hutson is special in some ways, but doesn't look special when you look at him play, except for the dangles. He is a strange case.

However, very few players transition to the NCAA as seamlessly as he did. My reflex would be to say he will struggle when he reaches pros, but he is so smart he seems to find his way out of many situations and learn quickly. I am convinced he will be in the AHL next year (not NHL) but I wouldn't be surprised if the discourse was the same: "he is doing great in the slower AHL, but he will get hammered in the NHL". A slow burn approach will be best for him, where he can slowly adapt to each levels, but he seems like a guy who will always keep on surpassing expectations (except the lofty 1D expectations of some over the top fans who don't watch the games).

 

[Mudz]

a lot of his offence comes from deception and shimmies... I wonder how that will translate to NHL. Players are way more disciplined and won't bite as much. And he's not great in his zone. Worst case scenario, if he's a PP specialist, it's still a win.

 

[HabzSauce]

a lot of his offence comes from deception and shimmies... I wonder how that will translate to NHL. Players are way more disciplined and won't bite as much. And he's not great in his zone. Worst case scenario, if he's a PP specialist, it's still a win.

If all he ends up being is a PP specialist I'd trade him now in a heart beat while his value is at an all time high. Would be very disappointing with all the skill, IQ and compete this guy has.

Time will tell. He is impossible to predict but his warts are definitely concerning. I want this guy to be a stud lol. Anything less than that and I'd rather have Xhejak/Engstrom/Struble/Guhle as our LD.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

If all he ends up being is a PP specialist I'd trade him now in a heart beat while his value is at an all time high. Would be very disappointing with all the skill, IQ and compete this guy has.

Time will tell. He is impossible to predict but his warts are definitely concerning. I want this guy to be a stud lol. Anything less than that and I'd rather have Xhejak/Engstrom/Struble/Guhle as our LD.

If you get a contributing NHL player with a late 2nd round pick, it's a win. If he turns out to be a bottom pairing dman at 5v5 who can run PPs at an elite level, that's a very good outcome honestly. I know the points are exciting but there's a lot more to being an NHL defender.

 

[Wondercarrot]

* tied at 43pts with rookie Zeev Biuim!

 

[Boxscore]

a lot of his offence comes from deception and shimmies... I wonder how that will translate to NHL. Players are way more disciplined and won't bite as much. And he's not great in his zone. Worst case scenario, if he's a PP specialist, it's still a win.

Imho, worst case scenario this kid ends up Shayne Gostisbehere. Best case, Quinn Hughes. If you take the middle ground, you're looking at the "good version" of Brandon Montour... or a #4D who can run a top PP and score 60 points a pop.

 

[BKarchitect]

Imho, worst case scenario this kid ends up Shayne Gostisbehere. Best case, Quinn Hughes. If you take the middle ground, you're looking at the "good version" of Brandon Montour... or a #4D who can run a top PP and score 60 points a pop.

There’s no version of this where he ends up as Quinn Hughes. He will never have that skating.

 

[Boxscore]

There’s no version of this where he ends up as Quinn Hughes. He will never have that skating.

Might not have Quinn's skating, but there's always a "best case scenario" where Hutson could be a PP titan who scores 85-90 points and leads NHL D scoring. Is it highly-likely? Probably not. But if he ends up Gostisbehere on steroids and Red Bull the Habs have themselves a gem.

 

[Frank Drebin]

i see Datsyuk on d

 

[frederixx]

* tied at 43pts with rookie Zeev Biuim!

Hutson's still 1st. also played less games and got more goals, right?

 

[Blue Chip Prospect]

a lot of his offence comes from deception and shimmies... I wonder how that will translate to NHL. Players are way more disciplined and won't bite as much. And he's not great in his zone. Worst case scenario, if he's a PP specialist, it's still a

a lot of his offence comes from deception and shimmies... I wonder how that will translate to NHL. Players are way more disciplined and won't bite as much. And he's not great in his zone. Worst case scenario, if he's a PP specialist, it's still a win.

one of the big issue with his offence and breakouts in my opinion is that he creates all kinds from fakes and misdirections but I don’t think he has the legs to explode into the space he will creates at the NHL level. Even in the NCAA he often gets caught up after spinning off pressure. What is it gonna be in the NHL when the gap created is smaller and players are faster ? I’m a Hutson Belieber so he has the benefit of the doubt since he always destroyed expectations but I can’t wait to see him play against pros and have a clearer idea.

 

[HabzSauce]

If you get a contributing NHL player with a late 2nd round pick, it's a win. If he turns out to be a bottom pairing dman at 5v5 who can run PPs at an elite level, that's a very good outcome honestly. I know the points are exciting but there's a lot more to being an NHL defender.

MEH you're right that is good value for a late 2nd, but I want him to be able to run a PP, AND be effective 5v5.

Not dumping on the guy lol I hope he does it. Time will tell, but I'm not really a fan of PP specialists. If that's all he is I think Habs would be better using that asset in a trade to get someone that can contribute more at 5v5, especially come playoff time.

 

[Mudz]

@bluechip...
During his first dev camp, Hutson took JB out of his pants. At first, I liked the move but usually it's against fillers. Now JB is not he best defensively but still, I think it's encouraging that his moves worked against that level of opponent.

Now I understand what you mean. And one big flaw I saw this year (at the dev camp) was that he was holding the puck waaaayyyy too long. Maybe it's because no one was getting open, maybe he was trying to do too much.

Can't wait to see him at a real NHL with and against players. Unless he decides to stay one more year...

 

[badfish]

@bluechip...
Now I understand what you mean. And one big flaw I saw this year (at the dev camp) was that he was holding the puck waaaayyyy too long. Maybe it's because no one was getting open, maybe he was trying to do too much.

From what I've watched this year, I think he is holding onto the puck less, and even doing high-risk dangles less, and trying to drive his offense more through passing/skating. I think this is why there seems to be less highlights of Hutson this year, despite him having a better season offensively.

 

[Guess]

Habs have a skills coach who is a skating specialist. Hutson is also extremely motivated to improve. I find it hard to believe he won't have a skating program to improve during the offseason. He'll do whatever it takes to make the show.

 

[jiboy]

Hes got lots of Adam Fox in his game , higher risk but the poise and the way he walks the line and generate his offense should translate to higher levels.

Hes going to be a special player and of course on some highlights he will look very bad. A little bit like Subban who was a huge overal net positive player on the ice but who looked awful when his play driving failed.

 

[montreal]