It’s 28 degrees outside. If the leaves are beginning to turn somewhere, it’s not in my hood. It feels like early August, a time to put your feet up, take the occasional dip in the pool and eat barbecue till you bust.
So what in the name of Crazytown were 20,000 fans doing at the Bell Centre to watch a prospects game between the young Maple Leafs and the young Canadiens, when most of the players on the ice will have to buy a ticket to get into the building five years from now?
For openers, the weekend double dip into hockey was affordable, especially for families who can’t even dream of taking in a Leafs-Habs game in December. Then there was the chance to see the handful of players who have a chance to crack the lineup when the big clubs get serious later this week.
But the focus for most fans had to be the slender figure wearing number 48 in red. One Lane Hutson, the quicksilver 20-year-old Michigan-born defenceman drafted 62nd overall in 2022 in what looks like a stroke of sheer genius on the part of Kent Hughes & Co.
The fans got their money’s worth. Owen Beck had an outstanding weekend. So did Logan Mailloux. Filip Mesar was eye-catching at times and so was Emil Heineman. But we’re guessing that the majority of fans went home talking about Hutson.
There was a play in the second period of Sunday’s game when Hutson looked like Steve Shutt as he burst in on left wing and took on two defenders. He had nowhere to go with the puck and the play went nowhere — but a couple of ticks later, there was Hutson back at his post in his own zone, looking as though he had never left.
Look, these were prospects games and to see young players trading heavy punches in these exhibitions is sickening. But Hutson is the most exciting, charismatic young defenceman to wash up on these shores since P.K. Subban arrived, brazenly tooting his own horn, in the spring of 2010.
Obviously, we will have to see how Hutson fares through the long, wearying struggle that is an NHL season. He will be tested on a nightly basis, banged and slashed and cross-checked by bigger, stronger, older players.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, however, picked up on a couple of aspects of Hutson’s game that have gone pretty much unnoticed. “It’s easy to get caught up in all the fancy stuff Lane Hutson can do,” Engels said on Twitter. “What’s standing out most to me … is the energy he plays with and how hard he works.”
Those characteristics, coupled with his intelligence and vision, will affect Hutson’s career more than the slick skating and adroit stickhandling.
Does that mean the Canadiens have drafted another Quinn Hughes? It’s too early to say. Our best guess now? Hutson is going to be a key part of a very young, very exciting hockey team this season.
The Game 13 blues: Should we be concerned about the defending Grey Cup champs? In a sport you get your head beat in on a weekly basis, it’s tough to get up for games that border on meaningless and the Alouettes are 10-2-1 even after a loss and a 19-19 tie in Calgary.
What really hurts is the absence of their two game-breaking receivers, Tyson Philpot (out for the season) and Austin Mack, who played one game before being shelved for at least six. But with their defence and innate resilience, the Als are still our pick to win the Grey Cup.
&&&& still more lies, rumours &&&& vicious innuendo: Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won another Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal Sunday, after winning the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France earlier this year and after countryman Primoz Roglic won his fourth Vuelta a Espana. …
Almost brought a tear to my eye to see that Jaromir Jagr is back on the ice. It appears that rumours of his retirement were greatly exaggerated. Jagr lost 17 pounds in the off-season and came back to the Czech league for another campaign at age 52. …
You know who else could still play? One Martin St. Louis, at 49 nearly Jagr’s age, is in such superb condition that he would not embarrass himself, even in the NHL. …
I don’t care if Rick Campbell is a lousy coach. But if he messes up Nathan Rourke, we’re going to have a bone to pick. …
Not surprised to see Max Pacioretty has signed a professional tryout contract with Toronto. With his scoring touch and his disdain for the rough stuff around the net, Pacioretty should fit right in.
Heroes: Sarah Mitton, Marco Arop, Alysha Newman, Marina Stakusic, Jose Maltos, Darnell Sankey, Wesley Sutton, Mustafa Johnson, Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, McLaren, Canelo Alvarez, Tadej Pogacar &&&& last but not least, Lane Hutson.
Zeros: Chad Kelly, Jon Rahm, LIV Golf, Jack Eichel, Deion Sanders, Aaron Rodgers, Jim Harbaugh, the Cowboys, Bev Priestman, John Herdman, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.