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Jay Pandolfo on Hutson: “He’s done enough to show he’s ready”.
Credit: Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Let’s talk about Lane Hutson.

The defenseman made the jump to the pros by signing his first contract with the Canadiens at the end of last season, following his club’s elimination from the NCAA.

He played two games… and everyone will agree that he looked like a guy who belonged.

Hutson did what he knows so well: he danced in the offensive zone, he used his skating stroke to create space and scoring chances, he collected two assists…

Yeah. It’s hard not to get excited after seeing him be so good in his first two games in the National League.

Stu Cowan spoke with Jay Pandolfo, his former coach at Boston University.

The popular conclusion, in Pandolfo’s eyes?

Lane Hutson is ready to play at the highest level:

He’s done everything right in the NCAA, so I think it’s the right time for him to take the next step in his hockey career. He’s had two great years of college hockey […] He’s done enough to show he’s ready. – Jay Pandolfo

It’s safe to say that the sample size is small.

After all, Hutson has two games of experience under his belt…

But the fact that he’s been offensively dominant in his first two NHL games may lead one to believe that he’s ready, and has what it takes to be good as soon as next year.

That said, he’ll clearly be the coolest player to watch next camp, and that’s when we’ll really see what he’s made of.

Because if he puts out sequences like the ones below, every Habs fan is going to be excited to see him playing in Montreal at the start of the next campaign:

In a row

– New minor in LA.

– Makes sense.

– Nice read on the WNBA.

– Still!

– I love this.

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