Lane Hutson scores one of his finest career goals at Team USA camp

In my eyes, Lane Hutson is the most electrifying prospect in the CH’s prospect bank. He may not be the best (it’s between David Reinbacher and him, in my opinion), but if he reaches his full potential, he could wow Montreal fans for years to come.

For a late second-round pick, it’s hard to beat that.

And right now, Hutson is at Team USA White ‘s summer camp, where he’s been impressing for the past few days. His team took on the Swedish team in the evening, and for the occasion, the little defender once again found a way to shine.

How did he do it? By scoring one of the finest goals of his young career.

From behind the Swedes’ net, he mocked young Axel Sandin-Pellikka (just drafted in the first round by the Red Wings) to get directly in front of the net. All he had to do was put the puck in the net.

Really, watching Hutson play is a pure delight every time. The little defenseman has offensive instincts beyond belief, and he seems to push the envelope every time he plays.

And as well as scoring a spectacular goal, Hutson also added two assists in his team’s crushing 10-0 victory.

Note that Frank Nazar, a Blackhawks prospect drafted with the pick acquired in return for Kirby Dach last year, scored four goals in the victory. It must make them feel a little better about losing Dach to see Nazar perform like this.

That said, Hutson wasn’t the only Tricolore hopeful to shine at Team USA’s summer camp today: after a difficult first outing, Jacob Fowler was back in front of the net for Team USA Blue, and this time he was very solid.

Fowler turned aside 17 of 18 shots in an impressive performance that saw him do a much better job of tracking the puck. Take a look at the following sequence, for example:

Fowler’s good outing gave his team a 4-1 win over the Finns, a good performance after losing the first game 7-0.

The two American groups will face off on Wednesday, and while we’re likely to see Hutson in action, he probably won’t get the chance to face Fowler considering the latter was given a full game today. Logic dictates that young Andrew Oke should also get a full match, and we can expect him to face Hutson and his gang.

In short, the CH’s two hopefuls at the U.S. team camp impressed today. That’s a good sign for two guys who can aspire to be part of Team USA at the WJC and, in Hutson’s case, have big responsibilities, like a C on the front of his sweater.

In bursts

– Hutson got some nice comments from Steven Ellis, who is covering camp.

Steven Ellis on Lane Hutson at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

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– Bogdan Konyushkov: a CH prospect to keep an eye on. [H&L]

– Changes at ESPN.

– Attention tennis fans.

A short list of the players who will be attracting attention next week👇🎾https://t.co/u5u8hCJTvX

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