Canadiens GM Kent Hughes explains why Lane Hutson should win the Calder Trophy
If anyone tells you one prospect is miles ahead of the rest in the race to win the Calder Trophy, they’re lying to you.
And that’s exciting, because that means it’s going to come down to the wire. Three players, in particular, have a strong case: Montreal’s Lane Hutson, Calgary’s Dustin Wolf and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini. Hutson currently leads all rookies in scoring, and he’s sixth among defensemen, overall.
In a recent episode of Frankly Speaking with Frank Seravalli, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes shared his thoughts on what stands out about Lane Hutson’s season:
Frank Seravalli: “So I’m going to be filling out my Calder ballot in a couple of weeks. Make the case for Lane Hutson.
Kent Hughes: “Lane has had a big impact on our team, obviously. Everybody’s going to see the numbers, offensively speaking. And I feel like usually numbers are what drive decisions. But if you look at his time on ice, the way he competes and defends and all the different situations that he’s being used in, in critical situations. There’s been tons of growth in Lane’s game, too, getting used to the NHL level. Like the way that he started, he was maybe a little bit overwhelmed in the beginning. Not that he felt that, but just a lot of different things coming at him at once.”
Frank Seravalli: “He seems more comfortable now. Would you say that’s true?”
Kent Hughes: “Yeah. I’ve watched Lane Hutson play for a long time. I probably saw him play in youth hockey a little bit without knowing because he was a year younger than my son (Jackson Hughes). But at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program), my son was one year above him with the O3s. But because of the COVID situation, there was so much interchange between the two teams that I got to see a lot of them. I saw him the following year in his draft year and then two years at Boston University.
“To me, it’s amazing. Even if I were to think of his last year at Boston University to now, the difference in the kind of hockey player. So it demonstrates there’s a high level of intelligence to be able to understand what he can get away with and what he can’t get away with and be able to make those adjustments to his game. That is not that common with young players. They usually come and try to force their game, their recipe on each successive level. Eventually, they figure it out, whereas I think Lane figured it out quicker.
Frank Seravalli: “I know there was some weird years drafting-wise with COVID and everyone was kind of playing a little bit of a guessing game too, particularly in numbers of games played. But where Lane was picked at 62nd, is there anything to learn? Are there any draft lessons to learn from that? Because you go back to the beginning of the process. People would say, ‘Oh, this guy is a top 10 talent.’ And he had shown that ability. But is it a size thing? Like, what is it that if you were not to redraft, but if you were to look at things again, how does he end up with you at 62?
Kent Hughes: “Well, I can tell you that we had him higher than 62. And I recall the conversation among the scouts that they believed that they could get him at 62. So probably assumed some level of risk…”
Watch the full conversation below.