ST. PAUL, Minn. | At the start of the year, Lane Hutson said he didn’t know if he was going to make the jump with the Canadiens organization at the end of his season with Boston University. The little defender wanted to take advantage of the campaign to “grow, gain weight and gain physical strength”.
Five months later, Hutson has still not confirmed his decision. The 20-year-old guard first wants to lead the Terriers as far as possible in the Frozen Four this week, and at the same time avenge the failure suffered a year ago in the semi-final of the American University Championship.
But this past season with Boston University, under former NHLer Jay Pandolfo, made him a better player, he said Wednesday.
Because while his offensive prowess is well known – just watch one of the many tour highlight videos he stars in – Hutson still needed to refine his defensive game.
An improved Hutson
And if he finally makes the decision to make the jump to the professionals at the end of the season, it is a more complete defender that the Canadian organization will benefit from, he estimated.
“I wanted to improve my transition games, but above all, be better at getting in front of a player in order to gain possession of the puck, and be better when a player gets in front of me,” explained the CH second-round pick. , two years ago.
In short, skills which have a link with the physical strength of the young player, the biggest question surrounding the talented defender, due to his small size (162 lbs for 5 ft 10 in).
What if Hutson told our colleague Kevin Dubé, in October, be pretty tired of being asked questions about your weight and heighthe admitted Wednesday that he always wants to “be bigger, bigger and stronger.”
“But obviously it’s something all the players want. And I’m sure it’s something I’ll continue to develop,” he pointed out, smirking.
Try it to find out
The American with 49 points this season has skillfully made the transition from one level to another, despite his size and weight, but the NHL remains the biggest step to climb.
The defender is aware of this. To the question “But you, Lane, do you feel ready for the NHL?”, there is an answer that is initially philosophical.
“I won’t know until I try it.”
“But when I take the leap,” he added, “I will try to do it with confidence, as always.”