10 Reasons to be excited about the Habs in 2024-25 - #9: Lane Hutson’s rookie year

The ninth reason on my list of reasons to be excited about the Montreal Canadiens - Lane Hutson - probably should have been number one.

But there are so many reasons to be excited about the team now and going forward. There are even reasons to be excited towards the end of the year and maybe even at the Trade Deadline. So, I couldn't narrow it down to one thing and even though they're numbered, I wouldn't say they're in a particular order.

Back to Hutson, though, I think it's safe to say that he and Ivan Demidov are teeter tottering back-and-forth for the most intriguing Habs/future Habs. Hutson might get the edge, just because he is set to play in Montreal. There is so much anticipation and excitement surrounding Hutson, which was only amplified when he made a two-game debut with the Habs last season.

Fans got a brief glimpse of what Hutson can do, which was more of what he did in college, making defenders look like Bambi on the ice. Dancing around on the blue line, throwing shoulder fakes and skating routes that leave the opposition in the dust - he wasn't supposed to be able to do it in the NHL. But he did, and he showed no fear of making a mistake, but instead all kinds of confidence.

Year one

With September now five days old, training camp is looming and that means preseason hockey is inching closer. This means that Hutson will soon hit the ice in the Canadiens threads, to make the Habs' opening night roster. It sounds silly to say with the goal, but the truth is, no spot will be just given.

Hutson will likely make the Habs, and while it will take a bit of time for him to truly establish himself as an effective NHL defender, odds are that he is ready for it. If anything, he was already prepared and getting a small taste of the NHL only prepared him that much more. Now, two games is a small sample size, so with more time to play, more things will be revealed.

Defending against the best players every night is going to be the toughest challenge of his career, so he will for sure be given all that he can handle. But the coaching staff and Hutson are prepared for that, so I expect that he will only grow and learn much more with the new experiences. I expect that he will be paired with a veteran to ease into the league, and that will allow him to have some leniency to attack on the rush and sharpen his defensive tools.

Obviously he isn't going to push guys around and getting to pucks first and making quick decisions will be the bread and butter of his game. But I suspect that he will manage just fine, being a smaller defender who needs to make quick decisions isn't new to him. At the NHL level it will be, but he has the drive, work ethic and hockey mind to thrive.