MONTREAL— Lane Hutson dangles through two Toronto Maple Leafs prospects with the puck tethered to his stick. He twists, turns 360 degrees and slips it through sticks and legs, but it’s what he does after losing it that says all you need to know about why he’s ready for the next step.
Instead of stopping, Hutson jumps into a sprint to get back on defence. On the way, he reads the Leafs’ neutral zone formation, cuts off the most obvious passing lane and intercepts the puck to create another odd-man rush for the Canadiens.
This competitiveness is as much a feature of Hutson’s game as the skill is, and it’s vital he’s displaying it right now.
The five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman spent the weekend bringing fans at the Bell Centre out of their seats with his skills. He sucked the opposition into his vortex and opened up space for his teammates so many times you lost count.
But where Hutson really gained points was in the energy and effort he put into every shift. Everyone knows his ability is off the charts, but coupling that with how badly he wants to be in the NHL gives him the edge he needs going into main camp.
“I said it yesterday, I think his biggest skill is his desire to play the game, his passion to play the game. That’s a skill, to me,” said Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent on Sunday, after the Canadiens suffered their second loss in as many games for this Prospects Showdown.
“He wants to be the guy,” Vincent added.
You saw that when Hutson made that second effort to chase down that puck in the neutral zone and turn it back on offence. You saw it late in the second period when he jumped back to his feet after taking a heavy — and illegal — check from Toronto’s Mashall Finney. And you saw it right after Finney put the Leafs up 4-3 with 9:04 to play in the third period.
A scrum ensued off the following faceoff and Hutson swooped in, grabbed the puck and charged his way down the ice on a rush that left him inches from tying the game.
“That’s the mindset that he has,” said Vincent. “You don’t get that good if you’re not invested—not only physically but mentally. I don’t know him enough, so I don’t want to say things that aren’t true, but I think he has the passion to be the guy…”
Hutson displayed it all weekend — both during the games and after them.
When Sunday’s game ended with the Canadiens failing to erase a 5-4 deficit, Hutson caught up to a puck labelled for Montreal’s empty net and fired it away in frustration.
“He hates to lose,” said Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch, who probably knows Hutson better than anyone here after having played on his team at Boston University over each of the last two seasons.
When asked if Hutson hates to lose more than he loves to win, Tuch responded, “I don’t think he loses a lot.”
“But he loves to win,” Tuch added. “He’s going to be a really good player, a really good pro player.”
The competitiveness Hutson showed over the weekend is just as big a reason as the mesmerizing skill he displayed in the offensive zone was.
Notes and observations
– One word to describe Emil Heineman’s play over the weekend: Assertive.
It’s what it needed to be at this time last year, when the door was wide open for him to steal a spot high up in Montreal’s lineup and he tried to tip-toe his way through it.
Now that the competition is stiffer and fewer spots are available, it’s critical that Heineman keeps charging ahead.
– Leader in scoring chances amongst every player who took part in the Prospects Showdown? Jared Davidson, who finally buried a goal in Sunday’s game.
There’s nothing flashy about him, but Davidson has an important skill that can eventually bring him to the NHL: He finds open space and arrives in it on time. Always.
Davidson scored a lot in the WHL because of that and, after an injury-plagued first season in Laval, he needs to show this year that he can do it at the pro level.
– If you thought it was an understated weekend for David Reinbacher, you may have missed all the subtle plays he made that led to good things. On Saturday, on two of three Montreal goals, he started the play was off the ice before the puck hit the back of the net.
A couple of scouts I chatted with loved his positioning throughout the weekend, saying he always appears to be on the right side of the puck. I thought he was physical when he had to be, engaged up the ice, and he only found himself caught in the wrong spot once or twice.
– Filip Mesar, who was taken 26th overall by the Canadiens in 2022, has tantalizing individual skill. The process for him now is using it to greater effect with the other four players he’s playing with. Not knocking him after two rookie games, as these contests provoke players to do all they can to get noticed, but hockey at this level isn’t a solo mission. This is his first season in pro hockey on this side of the pond, and it’s an excellent opportunity for him to develop a different way of playing.
– Owen Beck stood out all weekend for all the right reasons. Really heady hockey from him, especially in the offensive zone and on the power play. He may not drive a line at this level, but he already looks like he can play on one. Vincent called his conditioning, based on test results from the opening day of rookie camp, “off the charts.”
– Shoutout to invitee Charles Savoie, who potted a pair of assists over the weekend and made himself noticeable.
– Will be interesting to see how Tuch and Florian Xhekaj evolve over the next year. They’re two guys who could bring size and edge to a team that’s going to need it down the line.
Ty Thorpe, the six-foot-five monster who played with them this weekend, might’ve earned himself an invite to main camp with a goal in each game.