The Montreal Canadiens are bursting at the seams with talent. Patrick Laine, Ivan Demidov, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky are all forwards with the track record and/or pedigree to have a big season for the Canadiens this year.
Their blueline is just as impressive. Between the physicality that Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj possess and the offensive punch of Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson, the future is bright for the Canadiens.
However, when the list for the US Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp came out on Tuesday, the reigning Calder Trophy winner was nowhere to be found. And that’s when the outrage from hockey fans and pundits alike came pouring in.
Canadiens’ Lane Hutson Absent From Orientation Camp List
On Tuesday, August 19th, the US Men’s Olympic management team announced the players who will be invited to orientation camp. In total, 24 forwards, 16 defenders, and four goalies were given an invitation. Only the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield makes an appearance on the list.
The defenders who received an invite to orientation camp were: Brock Faber, Adam Fox, Noah Hanifin, Luke Hughes, Quinn Hughes, Seth Jones, Jackson LaCombe, Charlie McAvoy, Ryan McDonagh, Brett Pesce, Neal Pionk, Jake Sanderson, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, Alex Vlasic, and Zach Werenski.
Outrage Pours In Over Perceived Snub
Hutson is coming off a 66-point season. He played 22:44 per game, playing all 82 regular season games. He’s also the latest Calder Trophy-winner, given to the NHL’s best rookie. Many fans and journalists believe it merited an invite, at the very least.
Although he believes Hutson wouldn’t make the team, Greg Wyshynski of ESPN thinks Hutson should have been invited. He listed LaCombe and Vlasic as other players who he believes won’t make the Olympic team either.
Philadelphia-based writer Justin Giampietro believes that Hutson is better than 11 of the 16 defenders invited to camp.
NHL insider and Boston Bruins-centric journalist Jimmy Murphy believes the 2025-26 season will be a “Revenge Tour” for the Calder Winner.
The X account, Hockey Psychology, echoes the sentiment that the Rookie of the Year should be invited to Orientation camp. They also write that it’s “wild” that Hutson wasn’t invited.
Habs Chronicle expressed their displeasure by saying, “This is an all-time snub to Hutson.”
Jordan Decker on X posted, “I can hear an argument for why you might not pick him to make the team (yet), but not inviting Lane Hutson to even try out, over like half those dmen is definitely a choice.”
The X account NHL Insider Max Pacioretty (@NHLInsider67) wrote, “If I was Lane Hutson I would renounce my American citizenship IMMEDIATELY.”
How Canadiens’ Hutson Stacks Up Against the USA Invitees
The biggest argument for having Hutson on Team USA is his offensive skill and production. Of the 16 invited, only Quinn Hughes and Werenski had more points than Hutson last year. Hutson was seventh among blueliners in points and 66th overall in the NHL in points. It’s clear from looking at the production that this was not the reason Hutson was left off the list.
The most likely reason to leave Hutson off the list is his size. Of the 16 invited to camp, only Fox (5-foot-11) and Quinn Hughes (5-foot-10) are under 6 feet in height. Hutson is listed as 5-foot-9, 162 lbs on his NHL.com profile. On PuckPedia, they list Hutson as being 5-foot-10 and 165 lbs.
At least Canadiens’ fans don’t have to worry about their prized offensive blueliner getting hurt during the Olympics. Instead, they can stew in excitement over what the youngster will do with this snub as motivation heading into the new season.
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