Lane Hutson is already one of the best offensive defensemen

Is Lane Hutson perfect?

The answer is no, and we all noticed it last night.

The little defenseman may have had an interesting game offensively against the Penguins, but it was more than difficult defensively. He finished the game with a cumulative score of -4, and we saw why some people were afraid of his defensive shortcomings.

But at 20 years of age, it’s normal to see a young defender like him make mistakes.

Kris Letang has been in Lane Hutson’s shoes before, and after yesterday’s game, the Québécois said there was nothing to worry about, because the defender’s talent is undeniable:

Let’s just say the Québécois isn’t too worried about Lane Hutson pic.twitter.com/VG9liuoErN

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) October 15, 2024

Right.

The season is only four games old and Lane Hutson, in his career, totals six games in the National League.

We haven’t seen much of him, but Scott Wheeler (The Athletic) has seen enough to share a pretty powerful comment on Twitter: for him, Hutson is already among the NHL’s best offensive defensemen.

Scott Wheeler has seen it all because he’s an expert on prospects, and that’s why his exit is significant:

We shouldn’t be asking “Will he become one of the NHL’s best offensive defensemen?”.

He already is. – Scott Wheeler

We shouldn’t be having a “will he become one of the NHL’s top offensive defensemen?” conversation. He already is. He’s there. His ceiling will be determined by his growth defensively. Chances are he’s already more gifted offensively than the D running your favourite team’s PP.

– Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 15, 2024

At the risk of repeating myself, the season is still very young.

But so far, Hutson is tied with Logan Stankoven and Seamus Casey for the rookie scoring lead. In fact, only three defensemen have more points than him so far this season.

I’m talking about Seah Theodore (5), Rasmus Andersson (5) and… Cale Makar (5).

For sure, Lane Hutson isn’t the best defensive player on the ice. And there’s a good chance he’ll make some questionable decisions that could cost a goal at times.

But his offensive impact is so enormous that we’ll have to live with his defensive shortcomings.

And we’ve seen proof of that since the season began.

Overtime
– A new environment for the Québécois.

First practice at Place Bell for Alex Barré-Boulet

First practice in Laval for ABB #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/AQ2Us9KJm4

– Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) October 15, 2024

– Oh…

pic.twitter.com/BZrUllPv0R

– Trois-Rivières Lions (@Lions3r) October 15, 2024

– It doesn’t look good for the Oilers: Now the team’s two big guns are together on the 1st line.

Draisaitl-McDavid-Hyman

Podk-RNH-Arvid