Free washer | Lane Hutson in the footsteps of Caufield or Farrell?

There is excitement in the air among the Canadian despite the team’s elimination. Lane Hutson will likely begin his career with the CH on Monday evening in Detroit.

Hutson is not the first to cause excitement by showing up in Montreal at the end of the season at the conclusion of the NCAA. Here are five. Among them, only Cole Caufield has a career corresponding to the expectations placed on him.

Moreover, the polar opposite trajectories of forwards Caufield and Sean Farrell, two dominant players in the NCAA despite their small size, blur the lines in our attempt to predict the future of Lane Hutson.

This one obviously plays in a different position, defense, but the parallel is nevertheless interesting since it involves three small players who are dominant in the NCAA.

Farrell, it should be noted, played in a much weaker division, the ECAC, formerly the Ivy League, with Harvard, unlike Hutson (Hockey East) and Caufield (Big Ten).

Farrell also entered the NCAA at the dawn of his 20s, and experienced his first major season of domination at 21, not without having obtained 28 points, including 10 goals, in 24 games in his first year. Caufield and Hutson stormed into the college ranks at 18 and made an immediate impact.

Even though he plays defense, played in the NCAA at ages 18 and 19 — unlike 20 and 21 for Farrell — and played in a stronger division, Hutson maintained a points average per game. match superior to Farrell: 1.44 (97 points in 67 games) against 1.39 (81 points in 58 games) and scored as many goals as him.

But Hutson will have to prove he can defend his turf, something Farrell didn’t have to do, at least not to the same extent.

Charlie Lindgren (2016)

There were no expectations for Charlie Lindgren since he was never drafted and his signing with the team took everyone by surprise. But the arrival of this 22-year-old goalkeeper was intriguing. He posted a 30-9-1 record with a 2.13 GAA and .925 save percentage in his final season at St. Cloud State.

The CH cared so much about him that they offered him to finish the season in Montreal, to the great displeasure of Ben Scrivens, who was placed on waivers to make a place for the young man. He was brilliant in his only game, against the Hurricanes in Carolina, in a 4-2 victory.

But there were ups and downs in the following seasons and Lindgren never became the runner-up to Carey Price as was hoped. After a professional career spent mainly in the American League, he finally obtained a position as number one goalie this year with the Washington Capitals, at age 30.

Ryan Poehling (2019)

This first choice of the Canadian, 25^e in total, in 2017, was not the biggest scorer at St. Cloud State, he even seemed to have stagnated offensively in his third season (31 points including eight goals, in 36 games), but Montreal nevertheless got carried away during the World Junior Championship, where he shone with eight points, including five goals, in seven games and the title of tournament MVP!

We preferred to remember the positive, the World Championship, and Poehling constituted the future of the Canadian at center alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi, already in the NHL in 2018-2019. Poehling, most remember, scored three goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs in his only game late in the season, plus the shootout winner. His feat earned him an invitation to the golf tournament in September, despite his inexperience, an honor to which Nick Suzuki, drafted the same year, but fresh out of the junior ranks, was obviously not entitled to.

Poehling scored just once in 27 games the following season, after suffering a concussion in training camp. After a lackluster second season, he was dumped by the new administration. After a year in Pittsburgh, he found a niche at the center of the third line in Philadelphia, where the 25 are generally expected^e choice in total.

Cole Caufield (2021)

Unlike Poehling, Caufield was smoldering in the NCAA at Wisconsin, but less flashy at the World Junior Championship. Despite an incredible production of 30 goals in 31 games in his second collegiate season, and 52 points, doubts remained about him in the eyes of some due to his small size of 5 feet 8 inches and a lack of explosiveness on skates, a bit like Lane Hutson, 49 points in 38 games in his second season at Boston University, an astonishing performance for a defender. Caufield first went through Laval. After only two games, we knew he was too strong for the American League, with three goals and an assist. Three years later, he had his place on the first line and produced at a rate of 32 goals per season over an 82-game schedule. Will Lane Hutson be able to silence his detractors from his height of 5 feet 10 inches like Caufield did before him? We are talking about two exceptional talents here, even if Hutson was drafted at the end of the second round only in 2022.

Jordan Harris (2022)

A third-round pick in 2018, Harris was never dominant offensively at Northeastern University like Hutson was at Boston University, but he played around thirty minutes per game in his final seasons and controlled the game with his intelligence, his calm with the puck and his mobility. He was the heart and soul of his team.

We started to get more excited in his third season with the Huskies, in 2020-2021, with his production of 19 points in as many games and a participation in the World Junior Championship. But he surprised the management of the Canadian by making the decision to play a final season at Northeastern. Some saw it as a snub to eventually join his childhood team, the Boston Bruins, as a free agent after his collegiate career.

The arrival of Kent Hughes as general manager, very familiar with Harris, undoubtedly convinced the young man to join the organization. He played ten games when he arrived at the end of the season in 2022. He obtained only one point and had difficulty adapting to the fast pace of the NHL.

Two years later, Harris belonged to the National League, after two full seasons with the CH. He excels in several phases of the game, but seems to be looking for an identity. Offensive defender? Not really. Defensive? Anyway. Robust ? No. At 5 feet 11 inches and 185 pounds, you will probably have to choose between Hutson and him if the new CH sensation ever lives up to expectations.

Sean Farrell (2023)

Farrell was a modest fourth-round pick in 2020, in part because of his size, but he never stopped impressing after the draft. First a record season of 101 points in 53 games in the USHL, the American junior circuit, then a production of 53 points, including 20 goals, in only 34 games in his second and final season at Harvard. Farrell also participated in the Olympics and World Championships with NHL players, which added to his appeal.

Farrell earned the privilege of finishing the season with the Canadiens, while the team’s 2019 second-round pick Jayden Struble, whose collegiate career ended at the same time, was sent to the Laval Rocket with a tryout contract in the American League. Before playing a first match in Montreal, we saw Farrell in the plans because of his track record in recent years.

Even though he scored his first career goal, Farrell had six difficult games with the CH, unable to win his battles for the puck and one step behind in reaction time.

At 22, he has just had an interesting season as part of the Laval Rocket’s first trio, with 28 points in 45 games, without ever meriting a recall nonetheless. He was overtaken in the pecking order by Joshua Roy and we wonder if he will eventually reach the NHL on a regular basis. He remains a peripheral attacker who must gain physical strength.

Will Huston shine like Caufield, or will he have difficulty adjusting like Farrell? That’s the big question…

The race for the playoffs in the East

The New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals are masters of their respective destinies. By winning their last two games, they would qualify for the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins still have hope, but their fate doesn’t just depend on them. The Flyers are in a more precarious position with only one game remaining.

Note that the Capitals are ahead of the Red Wings in the standings despite an identical number of points and an additional victory. But the NHL first takes into account victories in regulation time to decide. In the event of a tie, the Penguins would have the advantage, as you can see below.