(Burlington, Vermont) From our first steps in the dilapidated Gutterson Fieldhouse, Friday in Burlington, for this match between Boston University and the Vermont Catamounts, we grasp the scale of the phenomenon: we speak almost as much French as English around we and the spectators dressed in Canadian jerseys number in the dozens.
That evening, CH’s most polarizing prospect, defender Lane Hutson, was in town with the Terriers, the best collegiate team in the United States.
A recruiter would have been hard-pressed to analyze Hutson’s defensive work. The young man is too dominant for this caliber. When this CH prospect is on the ice, the Terriers are generally in possession of the puck. They don’t have to defend their territory.
Hutson is not dynamic like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, but he stands out for his incredible intelligence and his feints. A swing of the hip and his rival goes in the wrong direction. An impromptu brake and the opponent is confused, as in the sequence leading to Celebrini’s second goal.
Imagine a Mike Ribeiro, but in the defender position. The former Canadian and Stars center was far from strong, or even explosive, but he moved like a snake on the ice. Without all his excesses off the ice, Ribeiro, against all odds, would have amassed much more than 793 points in 1,074 games, an already impressive total for this second-round pick by the Canadian in 1998.
Boston University takes jealous care of its young players. Celebrini was not available to the journalists (mostly students) after the meeting, but a rare exception was made in Hutson’s case for the two Montreal reporters on site.
In a tiny room adjoining the Boston College locker room, under the stands of the Gutterson Fieldhouse, this friendly young man still bore a huge scar on his lip, the result of a stick blow received from the hands of his rival Noah Östlund, in the final of the World Junior Championship, two weeks ago.
Hutson could not miss the numerous supporters of the Canadian in this small amphitheater of a few thousand seats. “I see them occasionally at Boston University, but tonight the guys were teasing me in the locker room. They said it was a away game for them, but a home game for me! It’s really special to see that they follow the team’s hopes like this. I appreciated. I hope they liked the match. »
Barring a major reversal, Hutson will sign a contract with the Canadian at the conclusion of the Terriers’ season and join the team, like Sean Farrell did at the end of the season last year. Hutson barely hides it. “I’m committed to Boston University for now, but if the opportunity presents itself, it would be very exciting. »
Dominant
Late second-round pick in 2022, 62e All in all, Hutson is generously authenticated at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. We can give him at least an inch and a dozen pounds less by the looks of it.
Despite everything, he dominates the NCAA as rarely a defender has done in history. In his first collegiate season last year, at just 18 years old, he broke legendary Brian Leetch’s record for a rookie defenseman with 48 points in 39 games.
Hutson will shatter that mark this winter. He already has 28 points in 19 games, a pace of 57 points in 39 games, a staggering production for a defender under 20 years old.
In his second season at the University of Michigan, Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, a defenseman of similar size, had 33 points in 32 games. Cale Makar of the Avalanche had 49 in 41 games at UMass-Lowell and Adam Fox had 28 in 29 games for Harvard.
Hutson also just won the gold medal at the World Junior Championship with the American team, in which he was easily the most used player.
The Canadiens fan obviously dreams of the next Hughes, Makar or Fox, three of the best defenders in the NHL. Hutson, if he produces more than these three stars at the same age, does not however possess their power and their explosiveness on skates, and as a result, gives ammunition to the skeptics: will he become a big star in the National League? hockey or an offensive specialist, vulnerable in defensive territory and who must be kept away from major confrontations by placing him in a third pair?
The verdict is not known. We will have to wait until Hutson’s first skate with the Canadian, at the end of the season, somewhere in March or April, when the Terriers will have played their last game.
In the meantime, we understand the enthusiasm of the most dedicated supporters, and their desire to take the wheel on a Friday evening to see this exciting hope in action on site. Only a two-hour drive separates Montreal from Burlington, after all.
Olivier Paquin, Cédric Austin and their three friends left from a little further away, Shawinigan, a three and a half hour drive. They had printed the young man’s face in close-up on their white t-shirts.
Hutson could hardly miss them during warm-ups. A good prince, he gave them a puck, throwing it over the bay window in appreciation.
The fight was unequal on Friday. Boston University comes in first in the Hockey East with a 16-4-1 record and fourteen players drafted into the NHL, plus consensus 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini, compared to just five, but none in the first two rounds for the Catamounts, eighth in this same section with a record of 10-11-1.
Unsurprisingly, the Terriers won 5-1 against the Catamounts – the alma mater of Martin St-Louis and Dominique Ducharme, among others –, under the eyes of many Canadian fans, but also of general manager Kent Hughes , on hand to observe his defensive hope, winger Luke Tuch, CH’s second-round choice in 2020 who will have to be offered a contract by the end of the summer if we want to keep him in the fold, but also his son, Jack Hughes, second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2022. Hutson took the opportunity to add four assists to his record, including two on goals from the gifted young Celebrini.
His coach is confident
Terriers coach Jay Pandolfo played 899 games in the NHL, almost all of them with the New Jersey Devils, sometimes led by Larry Robinson, sometimes by Pat Burns or Claude Julien. He served as an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins from 2016 to 2021, first with Julien, then for Bruce Cassidy. He is in his second season at the helm of the Terriers.
Pandolfo had the opportunity to play with smaller defenders like Brian Rafalski in New Jersey, he also managed Torey Krug in Boston. He predicted a bright future for Hutson in the NHL.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I meet him every day. I see in him a crazy talent and a fierce competitor. You never know what will happen until you see a player reach the next level, but for some, like him, it becomes even easier to play at the highest level because of an above-average hockey IQ. I believe it will adapt well. »
Skeptics say he will have challenges defensively in the NHL due to his small size and lack of explosiveness on the skate. “He will have adjustments to make, as he had to make when he arrived in the college ranks,” replies Pandolfo. He’s not the strongest, but he manages to separate the puck from its carrier thanks to his speed – quickness in English – and his way of approaching his rival with the right tracking angle. He’s so smart. »
Pandolfo was also struck by the birth of this Hutsonmania, Friday evening in Burlington. ” Amazing. It’s crazy. But I also understand the excitement. I also love watching him play. And for the Canadian’s fans, they didn’t travel that far to see him at work on site. »
Patrick Roy, finally…
PHOTO MARY ALTAFFER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Patrick Roy speaks to the media after the Islanders game.
Patrick Roy had to wait eight years for a second chance to lead an NHL club. His crashing departure from Denver, a few weeks before the start of the season in 2016, leaving the Avalanche in a complicated situation, did not help, he is the first to admit. His willingness to get involved in management decisions undoubtedly scared several general managers as well.
With the Islanders, he will be content with his role as coach. The Canadian’s former glory no longer sees any problem with it. Islanders boss Lou Lamoriello, 81, runs autocratic training. Old game, he doesn’t even accept facial hair among his employees. Roy had to mourn his beard.
Patrick Roy won his first game on Sunday against the powerful Dallas Stars. Guillaume Lefrançois was there. Roy will be at the Bell Center on Thursday for a match against the Canadiens.
What great news is this hiring for hockey!