When Team USA announced the 44 players invited to its orientation camp at the end of August, there was one glaring omission that didn’t go down well with the Montreal Canadiens fanbase: Lane Hutson. The reigning Calder Trophy winner was not one of the 16 blueliners the American brass decided to invite.
According to RG media, the fact that the young defenseman declined to play for his country at the World Championship following the Habs' elimination was part of the reason why he didn’t receive an invite. Marco D’Amico’s source goes on to say that the Canadian and American teams have such a deep talent pool to choose from that they feel they can use that as a criterion.
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The 16 defensemen who got the call are Brock Faber (Minnesota Wild), Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce (New Jersey Devils), Ryan McDonagh (Tampa Bay Lightning), Brady Skjei (Nashville Predators), Adam Fox (New York Rangers), Seth Jones (Florida Panthers), Jacob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes), Noah Hanifan (Vegas Golden Knights), Jackson Lacombe (Anaheim Ducks), Neal Pionk (Winnipeg Jets), Alex Vlasic (Chicago Blackhawks), Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators) and Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets).
From that group, Lacombe, Skjei, and Vlasic were part of the gold-winning Team USA squad at the last World Championship co-hosted by Sweden and Denmark in May. The orientation camp will not include any on-ice activities and isn’t a selection camp; no one will be cut on that occasion, and Hutson’s absence from the event does not mean the door is completely shut on him making the Olympic squad, but it’s still not ideal.
Chances are the snub will be a huge motivational factor for the Canadiens’ blueliner, just like it was for captain Nick Suzuki when he wasn’t invited to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. If Hutson has a great start to the season, he could still force the American brass to give him a call for the Olympics, but even then, that’s not guaranteed.
Anyone who watched Team USA at the 4 Nations knows how much it bet on physicality and intimidation, and those are not Hutson’s forte. As previously written, a best-on-best tournament is not an All-Star Game, and as such, the decision process cannot focus solely on offensive production. As good and spectacular as Hutson is right now, he hasn’t yet reached Hughes’ (Quinn) level on the blueline, and nobody will argue on that point. Since the Canucks captain is already undersized in the American brass’s eyes, they may just feel like they have no room for a player of Hutson’s frame.
While this is understandable, should Hughes be injured like he was for the 4 Nations, Hutson would remain a good potential replacement if Team USA wanted to make up for the possible loss of offensive production. This is why the omission is puzzling, but it seems the Americans might have wanted to send a message to Hutson. If he wishes to represent his country at the most significant event in the future, it would be ill-advised to refuse to do so at the World Championship.
In his post-season media availability at the start of May, Hutson had told the media that he had yet to decide on whether he’d play in the World Championship, but he eventually chose not to go. Given how much hockey the youngster has played over the season, it wasn’t a shocking decision. After all, the rearguard is so dedicated to the game that he tends to forego his days off and get on the ice even if he’s the only player there. At times, the Canadiens had to force him to take a day off.
It will be interesting to see how the youngster reacts to the snub on the ice when training camp opens and when the puck drops on the regular season. While the defenseman has been eligible to sign a new contract since the start of July, nothing has happened on that front yet, and he will possibly be playing the last year of his ELC without having a new deal. If that’s the case, the stakes will be high for the youngster who will hope to build on his record-setting rookie season and avoid the “sophomore jinx”.
Even though he wasn’t invited to orientation camp, it’s safe to say that the Americans will be monitoring his performances closely, much like the Habs’ brass, if a contract extension is not signed by then.
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