[Signing] Montreal signs college star Lane Hutson to 3 year entry level deal

[qwijjibo]

 

 

 

[Coconuts]

Vancouver be like

 

 

[qwijjibo]

4 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

Vancouver be like

 

 

Its going to be really interesting to see how he develops over the next few seasons.  Super high ceiling but his size is a concern.

[Miss Korea]

1 hour ago, qwijjibo said:

Its going to be really interesting to see how he develops over the next few seasons.  Super high ceiling but his size is a concern.

 

Same height as Quinn Hughes!  Just get Xhekaj to clear net traffic

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

Vancouver be like

 

 

a broken link?  

[qwijjibo]

27 minutes ago, Miss Korea said:

 

Same height as Quinn Hughes!  Just get Xhekaj to clear net traffic

Slafkovsky has been an absolute beast net front in the past few months.  

[HKSR]

Quinn Hughes lite ... I'm sure he's gonna be a pretty dynamic offensive defenceman, but he's a tier or two down from Quinn.

[qwijjibo]

3 hours ago, HKSR said:

Quinn Hughes lite ... I'm sure he's gonna be a pretty dynamic offensive defenceman, but he's a tier or two down from Quinn.

Not sure he's a tier or two below.  His ceiling is Hughes.  He put up 97 points in 78 college games.  Hughes put up 62 points in 69 games.   Time will tell if Hutson can succeed in the NHL.  But his college numbers are significantly better than Quinn's.   It's going to be interesting to watch. 

[JeremyCuddles]

People were showing his numbers compared to Hughes and Makar. Poor kid is gonna have sky high expectations. Huggy and Makar are arguably 1 and 2 in terms of best d-man in hockey right now. I like him and Reinbacher. So it'll be interesting to see if they survive the eyes and the media pressure.

[qwijjibo]

14 minutes ago, JeremyCuddles said:

People were showing his numbers compared to Hughes and Makar. Poor kid is gonna have sky high expectations. Huggy and Makar are arguably 1 and 2 in terms of best d-man in hockey right now. I like him and Reinbacher. So it'll be interesting to see if they survive the eyes and the media pressure.

Hopefully they keep him and Reinbacher in the minors next season.  Let them develop thier pro game 

[JeremyCuddles]

8 minutes ago, qwijjibo said:

Hopefully they keep him and Reinbacher in the minors next season.  Let them develop thier pro game 

Yeah I wouldn't want them thrown to the wolves. That blueline is a little young and not very talented and goaltending also sketchy. Hughes had the benefit of playing in front of Markstrom and Demko. Also having Edler and Tanev for a bit. Quality vets and legit goaltenders. Let Hutson and Reinbacher grow in the minors and actually sign some good players to play with them down the line.

[canucks curse]

Willander will be no. 1 d man on Pp and 5v5 now 

[HKSR]

1 hour ago, qwijjibo said:

Not sure he's a tier or two below.  His ceiling is Hughes.  He put up 97 points in 78 college games.  Hughes put up 62 points in 69 games.   Time will tell if Hutson can succeed in the NHL.  But his college numbers are significantly better than Quinn's.   It's going to be interesting to watch. 

Montreal fans are saying his skating (backwards and pivoting) are not NHL caliber yet at all.  Apparently he gets beaten on the outside a lot due to lack of backwards skating ability, size, and strength.  His defensive awareness and positioning is also poor.  They're saying he definitely needs some serious time in the AHL before transitioning.

 

From an offensive perspective, his ceiling is Hughes, but for the other facets of the game, he's not at the same level at all.  Hence I think he's a tier or two below Hughes. 

[qwijjibo]

6 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Montreal fans are saying his skating (backwards and pivoting) are not NHL caliber yet at all.  Apparently he gets beaten on the outside a lot due to lack of backwards skating ability, size, and strength.  His defensive awareness and positioning is also poor.  They're saying he definitely needs some serious time in the AHL before transitioning.

 

From an offensive perspective, his ceiling is Hughes, but for the other facets of the game, he's not at the same level at all.  Hence I think he's a tier or two below Hughes. 

Time will tell.  He's still just a prospect. But his skillset is undeniable 

[qwijjibo]

12 minutes ago, JeremyCuddles said:

Yeah I wouldn't want them thrown to the wolves. That blueline is a little young and not very talented and goaltending also sketchy. Hughes had the benefit of playing in front of Markstrom and Demko. Also having Edler and Tanev for a bit. Quality vets and legit goaltenders. Let Hutson and Reinbacher grow in the minors and actually sign some good players to play with them down the line.

Montreals goaltending is actually looking really good.  The D is just Incredibly young (reallyvon 2 veterans on the team in Savard and Matheson) so they tend to leave the goalies to hang dry. Once the D matures (specifically Guhle and  Xhekaj) Theyll look a lot better. They also have Mailloux waiting in the wings.

 

That said, Montembeault was near the top of the league in wins stolen.  Primeau has looked good since nailing down the backup position.  I think the goaltending is fine.  

[JamesB]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

Montreal fans are saying his skating (backwards and pivoting) are not NHL caliber yet at all.  Apparently he gets beaten on the outside a lot due to lack of backwards skating ability, size, and strength.  His defensive awareness and positioning is also poor.  They're saying he definitely needs some serious time in the AHL before transitioning.

 

From an offensive perspective, his ceiling is Hughes, but for the other facets of the game, he's not at the same level at all.  Hence I think he's a tier or two below Hughes. 

I think this is probably the right call. The question is: can Hutson learn to handle NHL forwards from a defensive point of view. Hughes learned a lot quickly and made a lot of progress in his first two years in the NHL. Most guys can't do that. 

[qwijjibo]

Hutson impressed in his 2 games in Montreal.  Played 22+ minutes a game, set up 2 goals (and al.ost a couple more) and didn't look at all out of place.  Going  to be an interesting training camp in the fall. Guys like Barron might be skating on thin ice 

[Odd.]

On 4/16/2024 at 8:17 PM, qwijjibo said:

Hutson impressed in his 2 games in Montreal.  Played 22+ minutes a game, set up 2 goals (and al.ost a couple more) and didn't look at all out of place.  Going  to be an interesting training camp in the fall. Guys like Barron might be skating on thin ice 

I watched both those games, he’s definitely got the it factor. Eerily similar to Hughes.

 

He’s my dark horse for the Calder next season. 
 

that Mailloux kid looked pretty good too. Do you think he makes the team next season?

Edited April 18 by Odd.

[qwijjibo]

6 hours ago, Odd. said:

I watched both those games, he’s definitely got the it factor. Eerily similar to Hughes.

 

He’s my dark horse for the Calder next season. 
 

that Mailloux kid looked pretty good too. Do you think he makes the team next season?

Tough to say.  There's a bit of a numbers game in Montreal.  They actually have too many young nhl quality defenceman, with more coming.  Baring a trade ,  waiver eligibility status may be the deciding factor for who sees time in the NHL and who continues in Laval. 

[Odd.]

9 hours ago, qwijjibo said:

Tough to say.  There's a bit of a numbers game in Montreal.  They actually have too many young nhl quality defenceman, with more coming.  Baring a trade ,  waiver eligibility status may be the deciding factor for who sees time in the NHL and who continues in Laval. 

I suspect there will be a lot of cutthroat competition during training camp. I don’t think even Xhekaj is safe as great of a story he is, especially with his injury proneness, but he does fill a unique role among the others.

 

Matheson, Savard, Guhle, Harris, Xhekaj, Hutson, Struble, Kovacevic, Lindstrom, Barron, Mailloux. Reinbacher in the AHL next season. That’s quite the depth there. Should be very interesting. 
 

For the Canucks, I would love us to grab Kovacevic as a cheap RHD, Tyler Myers replacement for next season. Montreal knows how to maximize value from it’s assets, he might not even come cheap.

 

Great thing they got over there. Future is definitely bright.