Key Takeaways
- Lane Hutson was excluded from Team USA's 44-player Orientation Camp roster that was released earlier this week.
- Sources told RG that decision was partially due to Hutson passing on the chance to play in the World Championships.
- However, the Montreal Canadiens star still has a realistic shot at making the Olympic team if he gets off to a hot start in the 2025-26 season.
Lane Hutson in action for Habs (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
USA Hockey stunned the hockey world earlier this week when it didn’t invite the reigning Calder Trophy winner and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson to their Men’s Olympic orientation camp.
While Hutson’s brilliant rookie season (6g, 60a) easily warranted an invite to the camp, right or wrong, stats aren’t always the deciding factor when it comes to building a roster. An NHL source has confirmed that this was the case with Hutson’s omission from the orientation camp.
“He didn’t go to the World Championships; that’s the first part and that matters,” the source told RG. “I know that for both Canada and the United States, that weighs heavily on the decision-making because they have such deep talent pools. One could argue that they could both put together two squads and still compete for gold.
So, other stuff comes into play and showing up for the Worlds when you have the chance, goes a long way to playing in the Olympics. I know a lot of fans and media didn’t believe that when Nick Suzuki wasn’t invited to the Four Nations after he didn’t go to the Worlds, but that was the case then, too. So, if Hutson really wanted to be at this camp, he should’ve been there for the World Championships.”
Here is the list of the 16 defensemen that USA Hockey invited to their orientation camp:
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).
Three of those players, Jackson Lacombe, Brady Skjei, and Alex Vlasic, helped USA Hockey win gold at the World Championships this past May.
Team USA showed the same consistency when it came to the selection of their forwards, surprising many with the selection of Frank Nazar, who just signed a seven-year extension with the Blackhawks.
Nazar, who had a fantastic end to the season and a dominant World Championship showing for Team USA, earned a ton of points with management for making the trip and showcasing his talent.
Roster Not Final
According to the source above, another factor for Hutson not being invited to the orientation camp was the fact that USA Hockey has a plethora of ‘small’ defenseman who play the same offensive-minded game that he does.
“You look at the Four Nations roster and the heavy emphasis on size and being physical, and USA just didn’t want to overload on smaller players on the back end,” the source said. “Of course, one could argue there’s a strong case that they’re better off with Hutson than Luke Hughes, and I get that. But the only other small defenseman, Quinn Hughes, is arguably their best defenseman — at least offensively — and they’re not bumping him, obviously.”
One thing this source stressed, though, as others have stressed as well, this is not a training camp and there will be no on-ice activities.
“The roster isn’t getting decided there, and no one is getting cut,” the source said. “All of that will be decided from October to December on the ice. So, if Hutson goes out and does what he did for long stretches last season, then I still think because of the injury history of some of the guys going to camp, he has a chance to make the Olympic roster.”
For someone like Lane Hutson, who was already motivated going into a contract year, this just adds even more fuel to the fire.
“Someone like Lane has been doubted his entire life and he’s proven them wrong at every step,” said another source close to the Canadiens. “This can only help push him to hit the ground running this season, which will only benefit him and the Canadiens moving forward.”
As the Canadiens look to punch their ticket back to the playoffs again this season, a motivated Hutson will be a major piece in getting them there.
