Photo: New York Times
The Washington Capitals took defenseman Cole Hutson with the 43rd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Saturday morning at The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hutson is 5’10” and from North Barrington, Illinois, who posted 36 assists and 51 points in 51 games with the U.S. National Under-18 team. He also led all defenseman at the tournament with nine assists and 13 points in seven games for the U.S. U18 squad at the 2024 World Junior Championships. The left-handed blueliner set USA’s NTDP record for career points by a blueliner (119).
“[It’s] pretty crazy. I still can’t comprehend it. I’m just super excited.”@ColeHutson_22 on being selected by Washington at pick 43 during the Second Round of the #NHLDraft#CapsDraft | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/fCAYu1Xpdd
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 29, 2024
During the 2022-23 season, Hutson set USA Hockey’s NTDP single-season record for points by a defenseman after recording 68 points (10 goals) in 61 games.
The 18-year-old was ranked 26th overall by TSN’s Craig Button and 47th by Bob McKenzie entering the draft.
Quick Take: “Cole Hutson has the 1-on-1 game at the point down to a science. A lateral slide, a hesitation move, and he gets past the first layer of defence. He drives down the faceoff circle, fakes a shot, and sends the perfect cross-ice pass to the talented shooter sitting inside space on the other flank.” (Elite Prospects)
OTHER TAKES
“Hutson is a somewhat undersized defenceman who possesses fantastic vision with the puck on his stick. He’s a power play quarterback who can be elusive escaping pressure in all three zones. Despite his stature he’s plenty involved defensively, never backs down and defends with purpose. Hutson is heading to Boston University in the fall, the same school where his brother Lane (Montreal Canadiens 62nd overall in 2022) is currently playing.”
This site described Hutson as a facilitator and creator and projected his points potential to be around 20 goals and 55 points per season. Their conservative points projection per season was 10 goals and 30 points. They expect Hutson to be ready for the NHL in 4-5 seasons.
“David Saad – Cole Hutson has given both the critic and the supporter everything they’ve wanted to see out of him this season. For the critic it was a lot of recycled material from his brother. Lack of size, turnstile defensive play, lack of physicality. He relied on calling his number and forcing one-on-one plays. Naturally, that led to plenty of turnovers going the other way and without the motor or high-end vision to anticipate pressure often surrendered unforced odd-man rushes. He doesn’t have the “wow” factor Lane had and as a result was just easier to suppress. Things started to change around the new year. After he came back from a nagging injury in February, Cole quickly started to chain together solid performances. The anticipation that was previously lacking was showing up with frequency. He started developing way better straight-line speed as well as lateral mobility. But most importantly, he was getting much better at assessing risk. When Hutson would attack the zone, it almost always came with a pre-meditated plan in mind and he has the puck handling and playmaking to realize them. All of these culminated beautifully at the U18’s where he stuck his flag as the best offensive defensemen at the tournament.
Which version of Cole Hutson are we more likely to see going forward? It’s unlikely he will ever show the flashes and peaks like his brother but Cole is also a lot less likely to show you the valleys. Maintaining his current trajectory will be key. By going to Boston University, Cole heads to a program already familiar to and with him, and a development staff who already have an intimate understanding of which areas to develop in his game to take him to the next level in impact, consistency, and dynamism.”
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
RANKINGS
Ranked #39 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #47 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #47 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #26 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #45 by THN/FERRARI
Ranked #71 by THN/KENNEDY
Ranked #36 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #35 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #41 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #37 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #55 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #57 by HPR/MALLOY
Ranked #28 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #26 by SPORTSNET/BUKALA
Ranked #55 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #40 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #40 by SMAHT SCOUTING
By Harrison Brown
