Hockey

Best U23 players: Corey Pronman justifies Lane Hutson’s 34th place with… Adam Fox
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Best U23 players: Corey Pronman justifies Lane Hutson’s 34th place with… Adam Fox
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Over the past few months, Corey Pronman(The Athletic) has been the talk of the town with his assessments of Lane Hutson. The prospect expert doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of the Habs defenseman… despite his big rookie season.And that really, really didn't sit well with the fans in town.And in the last few days, Pronman has published a new edition of his ranking of the NHL's best players under 23. Juraj Slafkovský (7th) and Ivan Demidov (10th) make up the top-10, while Hutson is ranked… pronman was asked about Hutson in a podcast with his colleagues about his ranking… and what's peculiar is that he explains Hutson's low position by comparing him to… Adam Fox. Adam Fox.Yes, the defenseman who is an annual Norris nominee and has 74, 72, 73 and 61 points in his last four seasons.

Basically, what Pronman is explaining is that it's hard for him to find a comparison for Hutson, especially if you look at the few options among smaller defensemen. He's not Quinn Hughes, he's not Samuel Girard, and he's clearly not Jared Spurgeon, so the name he links to is Adam Fox, who's a little taller than the Habs defenseman. And it's clear that Pronman isn't Adam Fox's biggest fan: he doesn't see him as one of the NHL's top 15 defensemen,even though Fox has finished in the top-5 in the Norris race in four of the last five seasons… but that, in Pronman's eyes, is because people vote for the defenseman with the most points, not the best (and he's not wrong about that).What we understand, then, is that Pronman is clearly not fond of smaller offensive defensemen. And in a way, that's fair enough, because you can't have a ton of those players on the same brigade.But if you ask me, there clearly aren't 33 players under 23 I'd take before Hutson. Except that by understanding Pronman's reasoning, we understand a little more why he holds

'Overtime'

– Obviously.

– Ah well.

– To be continued.

– To watch.

– Shane Bieber is making his third start with the Jays.

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