The Montreal Canadiens made a lot of headlines and were met with a lot of opposed opinions online when they selected Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.
One of their second round picks in that draft, taken 62nd overall, is not receiving as much criticism. In fact, he is just getting more and more praise as time goes on and it is hard to find anyone who disagrees with that pick now.
That player is Lane Hutson. He was tabbed as a highly skilled, but undersized offensive defenseman and would have been drafted much earlier if he was just a little taller at the time. There were questions about whether he could really defend well enough, even at the college level, but he has put those worries to rest.
That was because in his Freshman season last year he was one of the best players in college hockey. Hutson scored 15 goals and 48 points in 39 games for Boston University a year ago and promises to be even better in his second season.
In fact, a prominent college hockey reporter predicts Hutson is the early favorite to win the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey this season.
Chris Peters, who covers prospects, especially the NCAA extensively, as a reporter for Flo Hockey, listed his top ten candidates to win the prestigious award this season. Right at the top is Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson.
The Hobey Baker watch this season should be fascinating with a number of underclassmen looking like legit contenders entering the season.
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) October 6, 2023
Here's my preseason top 10, plus a number of other players to keep an eye out for this year. https://t.co/nuTwc3WAJJ
The 19 year old could soon be patrolling the Canadiens blue line and will likely take over their power play shortly after he arrives at the NHL level. First, he will have one more terrific season of college hockey, and some who follow the league closely are expecting him to have the best year of any college hockey player this season.
We will have to wait and see if he signs an entry-level contract and joins the Canadiens by the end of this season, but we can enjoy the ride as he chases the Hockey Baker.
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