A New Era For NHL Defensemen? A Deep Dive On 5'9" Defender Lane Hutson
How the diminutive Montreal Canadien defenseman may expand how we think about defensive hockey in the NHL
In the NHL, players are challenged to their physical limits by the best athletes the sport has to offer. So without great physical traits, how can small players - much less defensemen - succeed in the NHL?
To answer that question, we are teaming up with Will Scouch of Scouching Hockey. Will is going to be a regular contributor here on the Hockey IQ Newsletter (at least until an NHL team hires him away).
Today, we are examining Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens. Hutson is an outlier among NHL defensemen, standing just 5’9”. Per Will’s research, defensemen standing under 5’11” and playing significant minutes in the NHL have been extremely rare over the last few decades. From 2000-2012, just 6.5% of defensemen stood 5’10” or under; since then, that number has sat at 6.74%.
Usually, this type of player ends up as a shifty forward, but Hutson has the tools and traits to succeed where many have failed and gives a blueprint for defensemen to follow, regardless of size.
Defense Comes First
Put simply, if you can’t defend well, you’ll be unable to play in the NHL.
Here is a great defensive example from Hutson’s first game where he uses the basic principle of “Position Before Possession”
We can see that defense is more than being big and physical.
“I just think it’s more about being in the right spot, being more skillful, and knowing the game rather than just being a big frame. It’s about making the right plays and the right reads” - Hutson when asked about his thoughts being a smaller defenseman.
Proactive defense ahead of the play gives Hutson advantages once the play enters his area of responsibility. While sometimes passive in areas of the rink, Hutson is always preparing for the next sequence.
“Being able to get up in their face without getting pulled out of position. Controlling my speed and my gap and my spacing around the inside of the ice to keep guys to the outside.” - Hutson (Interview with Jon Morosi)
Being bigger isn’t enough, on its own. The formidably sized Rasmus Ristolainen recently went through a massive transformation to rebuild his game into a more modern style under the guidance of John Tortorella & staff in Philadelphia.
Tracking Hutson
After two All-American seasons with Boston University, Hutson immediately jumped to the Montreal Canadiens in the closing games of the season. In the 40+ minutes of 5v5 ice time that Hutson skated, he revealed strengths that can combine to create a successful undersized NHL defenseman.
When it comes to the raw tracked data, you might write him off at first glance, seeing that Montreal controlled just 37.5% of the shot attempts while Hutson was on the ice. However, Detroit is a team that often peppers the net from the perimeter. Removing perimeter attempts, Montreal actually carried a 57% shot share with Hutson on the ice. As we know, shot quality often matters more than shot quantity.
The concern many have with Hutson is his off-the-puck play on defensive rushes and his ability to defend the valuable space in front of the net. Yet, hockey is about analyzing the good and not-so-good of a player, weighing those factors properly, and working around them.
Hutson has always been a relatively passive transition defender. He often ‘waits and baits’ puck carriers into his zone of influence after they cross the defensive blueline. While this is less than ideal and exposes some weaker areas of his NHL game, when he did get involved, he was effective at catching errant passes and gaining inside lanes to pucks, using his body positioning effectively.
There is great promise when evaluating the risks and rewards of his play style. Of the 15 defensive zone entries he was involved in, 11 resulted in Montreal gaining possession. Gaining possession on over 75% of defensive transitions is a good baseline, and combining this with facing just 12 dangerous shot attempts with Hutson on the ice is another strong piece of the puzzle.
Shifting to the “How” behind the data, Hutson (#48 in the video below) shows off a number of strong defensive moments that highlight his style of blocking offensive zone exits, keeping opponents to the perimeter, and establishing body positioning on retrievals.
The Make or Break - Skating Efficiency and Speed Generation
One of the criticisms of smaller players is their ability to navigate the ice effectively to compensate for their shorter reach and frame. To overcome this limitation, they must reach puck carriers quickly and at least stick-check effectively to cause turnovers. Specifically, Hutson’s main detraction is that he skates with a wide base that can often limit lateral movement and reach.
Similarly, on defensive zone retrievals, smaller defensemen need to win races or at least be competitive, establishing a line to the puck and gaining a body positioning advantage. As we saw from the video above, Hutson was competitive in races, tracking rushes laterally across the ice, driving entries to lower-danger areas, causing turnovers, and low-danger shots. He was also quite effective at angling and defending skating forward.
Hutson doesn’t have top-end point-to-point speed (though he may have elite quickness). That inherently carries its challenges and will force him to adapt ways to be effective. He won’t be able to dominate physical battles and will need to avoid finding himself in poor speed differentials. How he adapts to a heavier schedule and the NHL's physical pace will be crucial.
The Offense
Key Area of Strength - Offensive Zone Creativity
Hutson is crafty with the puck. He’s arguably one of the sneakiest, most confident, and creative offensive defensemen we’ve seen at the NHL level in some time. His level of creativity and trickery is almost unique to him. He used body and head fakes and skill to cross up wingers covering him high in the defensive zone, giving him open lanes to create passing options and generate scoring chances better than many defensemen in my dataset.
Hutson was an extremely active passer, attempting almost two passes per minute of ice time and completing a very strong 71% of them. In transition, he maintained control of 60% of offensive transitions, with average passing success but strong carrying results, showcasing projectable traits in that area.
He took just five of Montreal’s 30 shot attempts, with only one from a scoring area, but assisted on six of his linemates' attempts, five of which came from scoring areas, including one primary assist from a tipped shot. Five of his 75 pass attempts were directed at the slot, showcasing high-end vision, patience, and timing for a defenseman, let alone one in his first pair of NHL games!
Any NHL defenseman providing 36% of his team’s shot attempts with plenty of threatening opportunities is notable. Hutson was a major factor in many areas of his team’s performance, with few weak points affecting things negatively. Small sample size, but quite the accomplishment for an undersized and inexperienced defender.
In the below video, we can see how Hutson was shaking off opponents to create space, protecting the puck along the blueline, and driving down the half wall to extend possession, looking for seams, and creating chances. There is much to like about Hutson’s ability to generate offense.
Unlike many productive defensemen who score through small moments of skill and high-volume point shots, Hutson pushes play in a more threatening direction.
Key Area of Strength - Offensive Transition IQ
An offensive defenseman’s value starts and stems from their work outside the offensive zone. You can't play well in the offensive zone if you can't get there, and Hutson can get there in various ways. On carries, he keeps his head up, scanning for lanes and options, using his feet to juggle his orientation, and quick hands to keep his intent hidden, forcing defenders to stay back. His vision and deception lend themselves to strong pass vision, using skill to move pucks around forecheckers and make easier passes to linemates. His pass timing through traffic appears calm, calculated, and well-placed. Time will tell if this holds as players pressure him more quickly and intensely, but for a player with his issues, this is an area where he must excel to showcase his best attributes.
Also, he doesn’t back down and can play tough hockey despite his physical disadvantages. Here is a scrap with a 6’4” opponent at the World Junior Championships from earlier this year:
If I’m a Montreal Canadiens fan, I’d be excited about what Hutson is bringing to the party. He’s a magician on the offensive side of the puck while bringing modern-day defense concepts that will see him be an effective NHL player for the foreseeable future.
Will is the founder of Scouching, a video-focused scouting outlet with weekly livestreams on YouTube and a subscription service at Scouching.Ca.
He is also the founder and Chief Technical Officer for Fractal Hockey, providing data analysis packages to athletes and organizations to enhance recruitment and roster management.
Further Reading around playing better modern defense
Calculating Danger: Developing Defensemen with Coach Matt Deschamps
Seamus Casey
Win more puck battles and races by winning “position before possession”
Angling in Hockey to Dictate Play, How to Go From Reactive to Proactive