Everyone knew that Lane Hutson was the NHL’s best rookie, and now we have the proof. The NHL have awarded Hutson the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
And the best thing? It wasn’t even close.
Lane Hutson dominated the vote
The way that a lot of the more subjective awards in the NHL, like the Calder Trophy, are determined by a vote. Some of the biggest minds in hockey come together and give their votes for the top players in each category.
Of the 191 voters, 165 of them voted for Lane Hutson as the NHL’s top rookie. The others that got votes were Calgary’s goalie Dustin Wolf, and San Jose’s forward Macklin Celebrini.
Compared to 165, Wolf only received 15 votes, while Celebrini only got 11 first place votes. It’s not unanimous, but it’s about as close as you can get.
And it’s really hard to disagree with the result. Lane Hutson had one of the best rookie seasons for a defender of all time.
Lane Hutson is amongst the greats
Lane Hutson scored six goals and 66 points. The six goals isn’t very many, but the 66 points led all rookies.
The last player to do that was Quinn Hughes for the Vancouver Canucks in 2019-20. The only other two defenders to do this were Brian Leetch and Bobby Orr.
Hutson’s 60 assists matches and NHL record, set by Larry Murphy for most assists by a rookie defender. Only Murphy, Leetch and Gary Sutter had more points in their debut campaigns.
60 assists is a fantastic stat line for a rookie forward, and Hutson is a defender. There was no team that relied on a rookie as the Canadiens did with Hutson. He was essentially their No. 1 defender and quarterbacked their power play.
There aren’t many other groups you want to be a part of as an NHL defender, and now the Montreal Canadiens have the newest member.
And it’s not like there wasn’t any competition. Macklin Celebrini was the unanimous first overall pick, and he did have a good year, but nothing compared to Hutson.
Hutson, on the other hand, was taken in the second round, mostly due to his small size. This season he has truly proved the league wrong with elite elusiveness, skating and puck skills.
The sky’s the limit for Hutson and the Montreal Canadiens. He’s just going to get better, and it’s not hard to see that Calder Trophy being the first in a long line of accolades for Lane Hutson.
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