Martin St-Louis “will really enjoy managing Lane Hutson,” says his current coach

Lane Hutson is probably the favorite hope of a ton of Montreal fans. After all, we’re talking about an extremely electrifying player, and offensive defensemen like that are a rarity in Montreal.

There were the great years of Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban, and Mike Matheson is far from bad, but Hutson has the potential to be on a whole new level.

And in fact, it’s probably not long before Hutson turns pro. Expect him to sign his entry-level contract with the Habs at the end of his NCAA season, and then play a few games at the end of the season.

And I’m pretty confident it’ll happen in Montreal.

In other words, Martin St-Louis may soon have to coach Hutson… but according to the little defenseman’s current coach at Boston University, Jay Pandolfo, it’s going to be a piece of cake for the Habs coach.

Arpon Basu spoke to him as part of his “Notebook” on the Habs.

In fact, Pandolfo explains that the little defender is very coachable, in the sense that Hutson is a youngster who wants to learn and is willing to do anything to improve. Pandolfo is convinced that this will make St-Louis respect him quickly, and that he’ll love his experience as the defender’s coach.

And in fact, Pandolfo is in a good position to talk: he’s been managing Hutson for a year and a half and knows St-Louis well, having trained together in the past and played against each other as players. If he sees a good compatibility between the two guys, that’s encouraging, especially as MSL is well placed to understand the reality of a talented little player.

As for his protégé’s defensive game, Pandolfo was equally reassuring: Hutson has made enormous progress in this area, in all areas. He’s managing space better, taking better angles, using his stick better and getting better at keeping the puck away from the opposing player.

This is often the scariest part of being a defenseman… but clearly, he seems to have taken a good step forward.

It seems that sending Hutson back to the NCAA this season is paying off, as he continues to produce offensively (20 points in 15 games) while becoming a much better player in his own zone.

And if he can have a big CMJ on top of that, it’ll be the icing on the sundae.

In bursts

– Attention all interested parties.

– Two goals in two games for Ilya Kovalchuk in the KHL.

– Stay tuned.

– Really?

– Luka Doncic offers himself as a gift for NBA fans this Christmas.