Craig Button: “David Reinbacher may be the ideal partner for Lane Hutson”.

It’s very plausible to say that Lane Hutson, less than a year after being drafted late in the second round by the Habs, was an important part of the decision-making process for the fifth pick.

Asked by the guys at Habs Fan TV (who collaborated with HockeyDB for a draft media pass), prospect expert Craig Button said it was the first thing on his mind when he heard the Tricolore were setting their sights on David Reinbacher with the club’s first pick.

“Immediately, I thought… They’ve got Lane Hutson, who is a very impressive young player. I think David Reinbacher might be the perfect partner for him, in the future. […] David, for me, is a very solid and competitive defender. You may think he can develop in attack, and that’s okay, but I see Reinbacher a lot like Adam Larsson, who is a very solid player, a real competitor, and you want him in your team. Not everyone can be a star defender.”

Reinbacher, right-handed, is a reliable defender who could effectively make up for Lane Hutson’s shortcomings, and vice versa. While Hutson will probably never be an incredible fullback in his own zone, Reinbacher will probably never move the puck the way his future teammate does.

If right-handed defensemen are a rare commodity, right-handed defensemen of this profile are even rarer.

We could even add, when thinking about the Canadiens’ future, that Kaiden Guhle (left-handed) could fill a very similar role alongside another defensively lacklustre defenseman, Logan Mailloux.

Many things may change between now and then, but the CH top-4 could one day look something like this.

Guhle-Mailloux
Hutson-Reinbacher

If all four develop as expected, it’s really, really not bad.

Lane Hutson himself commented on this possibility in an article for The Athletic.

Lane Hutson on potential future D partner David Reinbacher.

👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/WqSmtZqwjo

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 3, 2023

“He’s a very good player, very good with his stick and his body. He’s definitely someone who would be very easy to play with, especially for me.”

-Lane Hutson

In a gust

– It’s done (kind of).

– Pat Maroon traded to the Wild.

Pat Maroon packs his bags for Minnesota! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xhPa414S2C

– RDS (@RDSca) July 3, 2023

– To be continued.