To the surprise of nobody, I keep hearing that the #GoHabsGo are indeed interested in #2024NHLDraft prospect Cole Hutson.
I’d watch for them to return to the family in the 2nd or 3rd round!
— Gabriel Foley (@NHLFoley) April 25, 2024
Rumor: The Canadiens are interested in Lane’s brother, Cole Hutson.
With the regular season completed and the U18 tournament underway, the hockey world is beginning to talk more about the draft. Prospects are nearing the end of their opportunities to make an impression, and organizations are beginning to set goals.
Unless anything unexpected happens, Macklin Celebrini will be the first to hear his name called. And then the suspense will begin.
On May 7, the Habs will announce where they will draft in the first round. However, the club has 13 picks in total, indicating that it is considering options beyond the top five.
They have the Jets’ first-round pick and the Avalanche’s second-round pick (but not their own).
According to Gabriel Foley, who works for RecruitScouting and ProHockeyRumors, there is widespread speculation that the Habs would prefer to draft Cole Hutson, Lane’s brother.
You have to take this information with a grain of salt, given that Foley isn’t always a reliable informant, but he’s well-versed in college hockey circles and appears to know what’s going on in the U.S. development program, where Hutson now plays.
In reality, it is not absolutely insane to believe it is true. We know that the Habs’ current management prefers to surround themselves with individuals they know, and they appear to want to profit on this familiarity, as Kent Hughes recently stated.
Such a situation existed last year, when the Habs drafted Florian Xhekaj. They could do it again this season, reuniting the Hanson and Hutson brothers.
For those unfamiliar with Cole Hutson, he is a left-handed defenseman who isn’t the biggest but has good offensive instincts and scores prolifically. This sounds familiar.
Lane’s brother is on track to become the defenseman with the most career points in the United States development program. He has already surpassed not only his brother, but also Adam Fox and Cam York, both well-known figures.
Steven Ellis, who covered the U.S. match of the day at the U18 Championship, felt he looked similar to his brother.
Unlike Florian Xhekaj, the Tricolore will need to spend more than a fourth-round pick to acquire Cole Hutson. The latter should be drafted toward the end of the first round or the start of the second round.
The Jets’ pick might thus be used to draft Hutson, as the Habs only have the Avalanche’s pick in the second round, which will come at the end of the round. Remember that the Habs surrendered their own second-round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for Christian Dvorak, a pick that has since advanced and now belongs to the Jets as a result of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade.
We’ll have to wait and see, but there appears to be an interest in reuniting another pair of brothers with the Habs. With Quinn Hutson, Lane, and Cole’s older brother now free agents, it’s possible that all three might join the Montreal organization soon.
