Brian Burke let it slip: Lane Hutson, like Macklin Celebrini, is too young for the Olympics
/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-tor.buminteractif.com%2F2026%2F01%2F22223126%2FGettyImages-2237326736-1-1.jpg)
Lane Hutson has (yet again) been passed over by the U.S. Olympic team.
Instead, they called up Jackson LaCombe to replace Seth Jones… and the news has been the talk of the NHL since yesterday morning.
Why would the U.S. ignore one of the league's best offensive defensemen? That's the question on everyone's mind right now.
Brian Burke, appearing on Jeff Marek's show, explained that it's the player's style of play that may be complicating matters. Quinn Hughes plays the same way as Hutson, and maybe the Americans don't want to have two defenders like that.
We've talked about this problem before.
But Burke dodged it… by saying that Lane Hutson is too young to compete in the Olympics. He says “it's not the World Junior Championships” and that it's the same for Macklin Celebrini with Team Canadiens because it's a men's tournament.
The problem?
Celebrini is a member of Team Canada, he…
Brian Burke on Lane Hutson not making Team USA's
Olympic roster:
“There's too much redundancy (with Quinn Hughes) and he's too young. Same thing with Macklin Celebrini (on Team Canada
)…This is a men's tournament, it's not the World Juniors, it's the Olympics.” pic.twitter.com/QbBLHFtByn
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 22, 2026
Age has nothing to do with it.
Celebrini is 19… and he was still selected by Canada's leadership. It's not about age: it's about selecting the best players available who can help a country win the gold medal.
And right now, Lane Hutson is one of those players, because he's one of the best players in his position at the time of writing. You'd have to be ignorant not to notice…
No one can get behind the argument that Lane Hutson is too young to compete in the Olympics, because it's simply not true. Canada—perhaps the biggest power on the international hockey scene—is going to put its faith in a 19-year-old kid, and that kid is probably going to have a huge role on the team too.
Why can't the Americans do the same? Whatever the answer to that question… ignoring Lane Hutson will continue to be the talk of the town for obvious reasons.
Overtime
– It's going to be a party tonight at the Bell Centre!
It's a Mascot Party at the Bell Centre!
It's a Mascot Party at the Bell Centre! #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/xmGt5TkUpd
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 22, 2026
– Yes.
Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Mogilny, and Pavel Bure have to be the best World Juniors line to ever take the ice @SpittinChiclets pic.twitter.com/kxqoN16Y3M
– Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 22, 2026
– All the better.
Greater Montreal U15 International Hockey Tournament takes shape https://t.co/tBfPGRjvwS
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) January 22, 2026
– The Titans have a new head coach.
Robert Saleh officially at the helm of the Titanshttps://t.co/xyeGz0yaCx
– RDS (@RDSca) January 22, 2026
– MLB is on the move.
Rangers rotation will be crazy. https://t.co/TNBxpPqgEz
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) January 22, 2026
