It Was A Good Season For Rookies In Montreal, And Not Just For Lane Hutson

Earlier this month, Montreal Canadiens’ blueliner Lane Hutson was declared the winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie, and with good reason, he played a historic season.

Hutson wasn’t the only rookie to have an impressive season in town, however. On Wednesday, the PWHL held its award show and named six players to its All-Rookie Team. Half of them were members of the Montreal Victoire: blueliners Cayla Barnes and Anna Wilgren, and forward Jennifer Gardiner.

You may recall Gardiner from the Canadiens’ skills competition in February, where she won the accuracy shooting event, hitting all four targets in under 10 seconds. While some might have expected Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield to come out on top in that event, it was the Victoire rookie who stole the show.

Unfortunately for the PWHL outfit, though, the Victoire won’t be able to count on those great rookies next season, all three were lost during the expansion draft and signing period of the new Vancouver and Seattle franchises. Can you imagine the reaction in Montreal if Lane Hutson had been lost to an expansion draft? That can happen when you’re only allowed to protect three players. If you thought the NHL expansion rules were too lenient with the Vegas Golden Knights, take a look at what’s going on in the PWHL.

Meanwhile, Hutson will be back in Montreal for his sophomore season, and the city is already buzzing with excitement at the thought of witnessing Ivan Demidov’s rookie offering.

Thankfully, the three standout rookies weren’t the only players honoured by the league. Netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens was named goaltender of the year, Kori Chrverie won the title of coach of the year (unlike Martin St-Louis who finished third in voting for the Jack Adams Trophy), and Marie-Philip Poulin was named forward of the year and MVP. As for Laura Stacey, she won the Hockey for All Award as the player who made the most significant impact in her community.

It will be interesting to see if both Montreal teams manage to make the playoffs this coming season. Both were eliminated in the latest campaign, but they were both in the first round. While taking part in the Spring dance exceeded expectations for the Habs, the Victoire was expected to reach the Walter Cup Final but failed.