What had riled up a large portion of the Montreal Canadiens fanbase going on a few weeks has officially become a reality: Defenseman Lane Hutson was left off the U.S. men’s Olympic orientation camp roster yesterday.
When you break it down though, it shouldn’t come as a shock.
Hutson vs. Hughes
That sentiment isn’t just in reference to earlier reports anticipating this exact development coming to pass. It more so has to do with cold, hard logic. Sure, Hutson, who obviously won the Calder Memorial Trophy this past season as the top-scoring rookie and sixth-highest-scoring defenseman across the league, deserves consideration. However, when you consider two of the five defensemen above him on the league leaderboard were fellow left-handed shots from the U.S.A., who were each on the list (Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski), it’s clear Hutson really wasn’t ever going to be in line for a regular spot in the lineup anyway.
Also consider how Hughes, who was one of the first six players named to the country’s preliminary roster back in June, is a diminutive 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. The U.S. icing a team that also comprises Hutson, who’s listed at 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, simply isn’t in the cards, especially as rightie Adam Fox (5-foot-11, 180 pounds), who fits a similar profile, but has won a James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman (2021), was also just named to the orientation camp.
Related: Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Set to Defend Olympics MVP Title with Slovakia
Is it a flawed thought process on the part of the Americans? When a player like Hutson should be even more dominant than he proved himself capable of being last season in the NHL, one year older? Maybe, but in team management’s mind they probably already have their bases covered in terms of playmaking from the back-end.
Caufield Makes the Cut
With the aforementioned players in the mix, they simply turned their attention to adding Olympic experience in the form of Ryan McDonagh and Jake Sanderson instead. Still looking at left-handed defensemen, Jackson LaCombe, Alex Vlasic, and Brady Skjei helped form the historic gold-medal-winning 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship team. Sanderson was also on the silver-medal-winning 4 Nations Face-Off team alongside fellow camp attendees Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin. Altogether, those are nine lefthanded defensemen, with Hughes’ brother, Luke, getting a 10th spot. It’s clear the country prioritized loyalty to players who had “been there” before, and, when only a relatively small fraction are going to make the final roster anyway, maybe they deemed it more politically correct to at least recognize players who have already represented the country.
How ironically “woke.”
Should Canadiens fans be upset? They probably are, at least a portion of them, anyway. However, how upset should they be, really, when Habs forward Cole Caufield made the (very initial) cut up front?
It’s a very understandable, tribal instinct for a fanbase to want their players to get their due, but, from a sheer practicality standpoint, do they really want any Canadiens players exposing themselves to undue risk of injury by playing a highly physical contact sport outside of the NHL schedule, in an incredibly competitive international tournament?
Hutson Hopefully Has Chip on Shoulder
Logically, injuries can happen anywhere, even when players are blowing snow or eating breakfast, but it’s the Charlie McAvoy ones fans always remember as being avoidable. The sweet spot is probably along the lines of Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault’s experience at the 4 Nations Face-Off, with him having been named to Team Canada, but without him actually having gotten in any games.
Montembeault is projected to fill a similar role as the team’s third goalie at the Olympics, while defenseman Noah Dobson and forward Nick Suzuki had also been named to the Canadian side’s orientation camp. While it would be nice to see Suzuki represent Canada, absolutely no one wants to see his ironman streak snapped at all, but least of all as a result of something that hypothetically were to happen in Italy. Habs fans should keep that in mind when penning angry letters to U.S.A. general manager Bill Guerin regarding Hutson’s absence. And, if they are extremely confident in Hutson’s abilities, do they really want him playing for the U.S.A., potentially in Canada’s way of first place? They should probably think this through first.
Now, they have good reason to be confident. Hutson is a stud and he obviously could have been included in some form here. He should have. There shouldn’t be any doubt. You can find one defenseman currently on the roster with a similar level of professional and international experience but without as many accolades as Hutson to take out instead, like the younger Hughes.
However, there are worse things than one of the Canadiens’ projected best defensemen getting a two-week mid-season break and coming out it incredibly refreshed. Considering the Habs exited the 4 Nations Face-Off like bats out of hell by winning five straight, en route to capturing their first playoff berth since 2021, largely on the strength of a rested Montembeault’s goaltending, this is far from a bad situation.
From the U.S.A.’s perspective, it’s hard to classify this as a mistake that will come back to bite them. Whichever players they ultimately pick will almost inevitably form an incredibly tough defense against which to play. So, they snubbed at least one player in Hutson. It happens. Even if this announcement does represent the sun setting on his 2025 Olympic dream, there will be others. It’s up to him to prove them wrong, starting this coming season. In truth, Canadiens fans should be ecstatic at the sheer prospect.
