NHL Prospect Roundup: Montreal Canadiens’ Lane Hutson is having a ridiculous season
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Let’s not waste any time this week. Here’s a look at 10 prospects you need to know right now:
NCAA
– Lane Hutson might be something special, man. Hutson was easily one of my favorite prospects in the 2022 NHL Draft – and someone worth taking a flier on with a top 15 pick, too. The Montreal Canadiens ended up snagging him 62nd overall last July, and he has responded with 35 points in 25 games with Boston University as a freshman. Hutson had 13 points in eight games last month, leading him to the NCAA’s Hockey East player of the month award for January. Not only is Hutson crushing every other U-19 drafted prospect this season, but he’s on pace to pass Adam Fox’s 40-point season as an 18-year-old in 2016-17 – regarded as one of the best Draft+1 seasons by a blueliner in recent years. For what it’s worth, Cale Makar had 21 points as a freshman.
– There have been some quiet stretches during the season, but when Stephen Halliday is on his game, he’s been exceptional. Drafted in the fourth round as a double-overager by the Ottawa Senators last summer, the 6-foot-3 forward has five points in two games this weekend and has six multi-point outings over his past 10. That gives Halliday 23 assists and 30 points in 28 games, good to lead Ohio State. With COVID-19 impacting viewings of younger prospects over the past few years, teams elected to head towards the overage market at the draft table. Halliday’s game is starting to really evolve, even if the signs from an early age were there after ripping up the GTHL with the Toronto Marlboros. It’s starting to look like an excellent move for the Sens, who already have some solid young prospects in the system.
QMJHL
– We’re officially on 100-point watch in the CHL. Jordan Dumais‘ incredible season continues, with the Columbus Blue Jackets forward putting up 35 goals and 95 points in just 44 games. That includes 19 points over his past 10 games, highlighted by a hat-trick on Sunday against Rimouski. Dumais has easily had the most prolific scoring season of any NHL prospect, and he’s doing so after getting drafted 96th overall by Columbus and getting cut by Canada’s World Junior Championship team. The Halifax Mooseheads winger is exceptionally skilled, but his 5-foot-9 frame scared teams away at the draft table. We’ll see what happens when he eventually makes the trek up to the big leagues.
OHL
– I’ve purposely ignored Ty Nelson this season because I knew he’d always find a reason to pop back up here. He had four points in three games this year, but he also scored his first OHL hat-trick with North Bay in a 9-1 win over Kingston on Sunday in one of the more impressive games of his junior career. Drafted 68th overall by the Seattle Kraken this year, Nelson is on pace for around 25 goals and 80 points, something only Evan Bouchard (87 points in 2017-18) has managed to accomplish as a defenseman over the past decade. In fact, he’s second among Draft+1 prospects in the OHL, trailing future Kraken teammate David Goyette by just one point. Nelson is also 19 points clear of the next-highest defenseman, too. There are some concerns about his overall defensive game, but he has become a solid, active puck-moving defenseman that isn’t afraid to lay the body, either. Nelson’s ceiling is high.
– Sticking with the Battalion, Matvey Petrov, an Edmonton Oilers sixth-rounder in 2021, is on pace for 102 points himself. Petrov was known more as a goal-scorer over past few years, but it seems like one of his biggest improvements since last season was using his teammates more. And it has worked, with his three-assist night on Sunday helping him to surpass the 50-assist mark and put him on pace for just over 100 points. Petrov has five three-plus point nights over the past 10 games and 31 points over his past 15, making him one of the more dangerous forwards in the CHL as of late. When Petrov came over to the OHL last season, he had never skated in a pro game of any kind in Russia and had a weak U-18 World Championship performance, helping to lead to a low draft rank. Everything else since then has helped boost the 6-foot-2 forward’s profile.
WHL
– It’s been an excellent season for Josh Filmon, who’s on pace to finish with just under 50 goals. He’s been quite consistent over the past 10 games, recording 11 points over his past 10. His stat line looks a bit wonky with 32 goals and 19 assists, but he already surpassed his numbers from a year ago and 80 points isn’t out of the equation. Many of the New Jersey Devils‘ top prospects are defensemen, but the winger is looking excellent as a sixth-round pick from 2022.
AHL
– Bobby Brink didn’t make it to the AHL All-Star Game, but the winger is lighting up the league right now. The first-year pro has 11 points in 13 games this year, which includes five points in three games last week for Lehigh Valley. Off-season hip surgery clearly hasn’t slowed down the Philadelphia Flyers prospect, who is making a case for an NHL call-up after a solid 10-game stint last year.
– Just like Joel Hofer, goaltender Vadim Zherenko has held his end of the bargaing for the Springfield Thunderbirds. Taken 208th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2019, Zherenko came over to North America this year for the first time and has a 7-7-1 record for the Thunderbirds while posessing a .923 save percentage. Hofer could end up backing up Jordan Binnington with the big club next year, which would give Zherenko more laneway to prove he’s a legitimate long-term option for the Blues.
KHL
– Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nikita Grebyonkin has had quite an interesting season. After barely playing in the first month of the season with Magnitogorsk, he bounced around between the MHL and VHL before getting loaned out to Amur Khabarovsk. That was easily the right decision, and he’s up to 23 points in 40 games – leading all U-20 KHLers by quite a margin. I’m not high on Toronto’s prospect system, but there’s some solid hidden gem potential, and that includes Toronto’s fifth-round pick last year.
VHL
– The Detroit Red Wings used one of the picks acquired in the Anthony Mantha/Jakub Vrana deal to draft overager Dmitri Buchelnikov with the 52nd selection last year. And with Russia’s regular season coming to a close soon, Buchelnikov’s season can be easily categorized as a success. He crushed the MHL, skated in 10 KHL games and recorded a pair of points and has been one of the best U-20 players in the second-tier VHL. Young Russians, especially smaller ones, have a hard time finding ice time in the KHL, but Buchelnikov has taken the opportunity to thrive in the VHL in stride and has developed into quite a solid goal-scorer. One of the biggest concerns is his small 5-foot-9 frame, but if he keeps scoring goals, it’ll be hard to ignore his potential.