In a recent article on The Athletic, Corey Pronman ranked 173 players under the age of 23 who are currently on NHL teams’ reserve lists. This means that these players may not be playing for their respective teams just yet. In a major snub to the reigning Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Pronman ranked Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson 34th on that list, lower than eight other defensemen.
Hutson finished the 2024-25 campaign with six goals and 66 points in 82 games, tying Larry Murphy’s rookie assist record for defensemen from the 1980-81 campaign. Not only did Hutson receive 150 more first-place votes than the next closest (Dustin Wolf) in rookie of the year voting, but he also made some noise in the Norris Trophy voting, finishing ninth in voting with one third-place vote, five fourth-place votes, and 22 fifth-place votes.
Pronman acknowledged Hutson’s scoring prowess, but based much of his ranking on Hutson’s defensive quality. In the article, Pronman said, “He’s a small defenseman without high-end feet or physicality. He works hard, but he can get bullied in physical play, and without high-end athletic traits, he will have trouble defending the fastest, strongest forwards, especially in the playoffs.”
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- After being limited to just three games during the 2024-25 season due to an upper-body injury, Washington Capitals forward Sonny Milano is continuing to work his way back to the team’s lineup. The Capitals aren’t setting any hard guidelines for the quality of his play when he returns, only hoping that he eventually does return. Tom Gulitti of NHL.com shared a quote from head coach Spencer Carbery, saying, “The way I look at Sonny right now is I’m looking at it from a standpoint of him just getting back into practice and game action and going from there. There’s no unrealistic expectations of him. Not putting any pressure on him. We just want him to get into camp, feel good health-wise and just take it from there.“
- The defending National Champions, the Western Michigan University Broncos, have earned a commitment from a Boston Bruins prospect. The Broncos announced that Cole Spicer, who last played for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, will join the program for the 2025-26 NCAA season. Despite playing in the USHL last year, Spicer has prior NCAA experience, suiting up in 49 games for the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 2022 to 2024.
And Pronman got what wrong…?
And how could Pronman embarrass his fellow compatriots to such a degree when they voted Hutson “Rookie of the Year” when everyone knew that there were 8 defensemen his own age better than him? You will agree I’m sure.
Doesn’t answer the question.
He had a great season. So did Jim Carrey.
Doesn’t address the notion that he’s a more productive version of Torey Krug or Marc Andre Bergeron and nothing more.
So you are right and the 191 professional hockey writers are wrong.
Makes sense…..the key is to sit in a big armchair, drink a few beer, and question and disagree on everyone’s ability to assess talent. You are right, always. 🤡
So, you have nothing more than garden variety Appeal to Authority and generic insults.
K.
Corey Pronman is spot on about Hutson, And when Montreal returns to the playoffs, We will see exactly what he’s talking about, Saw the exact same thing awhile back when Vancouver was in the playoffs with Hughes.
Pronman is just doubling down on the same ranking he got wrong (“Tier 5 Prospect”) last year. He didn’t even bother to update the text. Lazy, biased analysis.
Pronman has produced other garbage articles.