Lane Hutson
The Montreal Canadiens took a gamble on a supremely skilled but undersized defenseman named Lane Hutson at the 2022 NHL Draft and he looks like an absolute steal already.
Hutson is in his second season with Boston University and is a dominant force on the ice every single game. As a freshman, he scored an incredible 15 goals and 48 points in 39 games. The puck seems to be tied to his stick when he has it as he dashes in every direction as he fools opposing defenders but he never seems to so much as bobble the puck.
His skating is by far his biggest strength but it is his agility and ability to change direction on a dime that allows him to constantly buy more time with the puck. Then, he is adept at finding a teammate with a perfect pass and though he doesn’t have the hardest shot from the point, he has a knack for getting the shot through traffic and fooling goaltenders who can’t track it.
Hutson played at the World Juniors a year ago and looked great, though Luke Hughes and even Luke Mittelstadt seemed to get more offensive opportunities. That won’t be the case this year as Hutson is the clear and obvious choice to quarterback what should be a tremendously dangerous power play.
Team USA is loaded with forwards who can score and boast a ridiculous top six that should include the Boston College trio of Will Smith, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault as well as Cutter Gauthier, Frank Nazar and Rutger McGroarty. All six of those players were drafted in the top 15 of the past two NHL Drafts and will benefit from having Hutson transporting the puck up ice for them and setting them up in offensive situations.
If Hutson continues to do that, which he does on a nightly basis against older players already, he will create countless scoring chances and should be among the tournament scoring leaders. He already dominates offensively at the college level and will continue to do that for USA and should be on the short list for pre-tournament favorites to win World Junior MVP.
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