Most Montreal Canadiens fans can’t wait to see Lane Hutson in a Habs uniform this season.
And with good reason: he’s so electrifying.
With the preseason fast approaching, the vast majority see him starting the season in Montreal.
Honestly, I don’t see how he could start in Laval with what he’s shown us so far.
His ease on skates and his talent with the puck show that he has what it takes to be a regular right from the start, but also to be a candidate for the Calder Trophy (best rookie of the year).
With the addition of Patrik Laine, the return of Kirby Dach to the line-up and a first line that continues to improve, he should have an easy time collecting assists.
If he can also get a chance on the first wave of the power play, he automatically becomes a serious contender for the Calder.
In fact, Grant McCagg believes the young American defenseman will be the best rookie of the season.
On the most recent episode of The Sick Podcast – Recrutes Draftcast, McCagg gave his top-7 candidates, and to everyone’s surprise, Hutson is number one.
Here are his top-7 picks:
- Lane Hutson
- Macklin Celebrini
- Cutter Gauthier
- Logan Stankoven
- Brandt Clarke
- Matvei Michkov
- Easton Cowan
With the additions of Laine and Dach to the line-up and the current young players who will only get better as the season progresses, he sees the American reaching 60 points.
The last time a rookie defenseman reached the 60-point plateau was in 1991-92, when Nicklas Lidstrom began his NHL career.
And I’m not talking about the future Nicklas Lidstrom in Mattias Norlinder, but about the Detroit Red Wings legend.
Cale Makar could have reached this plateau in 2019-20 had it not been for COVID, who scored 50 points in 57 games.
For McCagg, seeing Hutson reach 60 points is not at all a far-fetched idea in his opinion.
If the American doesn’t reach the 50-point plateau, he’d be extremely surprised.
Another argument McCagg brings to the table is that he doubts any of the talented forwards on his list will reach 70 points.
If Hutson scores 50-60 points and no rookie forwards score over 70 points, Hutson’s chances would be very good.
On the other hand, I’d be very surprised if Celebrini or Michkov don’t reach that plateau this season.
In my opinion, there’s one major absentee from McCagg’s list, and that’s Will Smith.
We all know that Celebrini will be a better player overall, but Smith’s offensive touch is definitely not to be overlooked.
If you want a hot take on the Calder, I’ll give you one: Will Smith will beat teammate Celebrini to the Rookie of the Year ballot and win the trophy.
While I’d be very happy to see Hutson win this honor, I’m really partial to Smith and wouldn’t be surprised if he kept up a point-per-game pace.
