Stu Cowan: Canadiens' Lane Hutson adjusting quickly to life in the NHL

Life is coming pretty fast these days for the Canadiens’ Lane Hutson.

The 20-year-old rookie defenceman has already played six games over the first two weeks of the 82-game NHL season after never playing more than 39 games during his two seasons at Boston University with the much shorter NCAA schedule.

Hutson has four assists in the first six games and is averaging 23:08 of ice time, second on the Canadiens to Mike Matheson at 23:10. Hutson logged 30:05 of ice time during last Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre and then played 24:10 in Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders in New York. According to Sportsnet Stats, Hutson became only the fifth NHL defenceman age 20 or younger to have at least 30 minutes of ice time in a game that didn’t require overtime.

On Sunday, Hutson was able to enjoy a day off with his mother, Julie, who is living with him in Montreal. Hutson said they watched some TV together and his mom is able to work remotely, so she also did some work online.

“It’s been really nice just to hang out with her on off days,” Hutson said after the Canadiens practised Monday at the Bell Centre. “Someone to talk to all the time.”

Hutson added that his mother — who will probably return to the family home in Chicago when the Canadiens go on extended road trips — is falling in love with Montreal.

“She loves coming to the games,” Hutson said. “She loves the energy in the building and she’s kind of getting into a routine learning what she likes to do on off-days or when I’m not at home. It’s a good change for her.”

It’s also a good change for Hutson, who left home at age 16 to pursue his hockey career. Hutson spent one season with the North Jersey Avalanche Triple-A U16 team before joining the United States National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., for two seasons and then attending Boston University for two years.

“I obviously love my family and love being around them, but it’s just part of the journey, I guess,” Hutson said about leaving home at 16. “I didn’t really think anything of it. Other kids were doing it, so it wasn’t really that hard for me. Now it’s even more special to have my mom here because I haven’t lived with her in a long time. It’s awesome.”

Hutson’s play has also been pretty awesome and Canadiens fans are quickly falling in love with him. Hutson said he’s still getting accustomed to being recognized around town by fans.

“For me, it’s pretty special,” he said. “It’s cool that they’re that invested in the team and that they think it’s that cool to see me because I’m just a normal person, just like everyone else.”

Not when it comes to hockey.

“He’s fearless,” teammate Cole Caufield said about Hutson. “He’s not afraid of trying anything or doing something. He’s shown to be comfortable on the ice in all situations. The other night when he played 30 minutes, it’s not like he’s got a different gear. He’s always going and he’s a special player. It’s fun to have him on our team.”

Hutson said the biggest adjustment he’s going to have to make in the NHL after posting 30-67-97 totals in 77 games over two seasons at Boston University is learning when to make the simple play instead of trying to do something fancy.

“Sometimes you want to do so much and make high-end plays,” he said. “But sometimes you got to take the play that’s given you and just play the game that the game’s giving you. That’s something I’m working on and still learning.”

Head coach Martin St. Louis said Hutson will also need to learn how to conserve his energy during games so that he still has plenty left in the tank for the final 10 minutes.

“There’s pockets during a game where you can recharge a little bit versus constantly driving and then your tank gets empty and it’s hard to build it back up,” St. Louis said. “He’s going to learn that.”

Before Monday’s practice, the Canadiens posed for their official team photo. It was the first for Hutson, coming two years after the Canadiens selected him in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, taking a chance on a young defenceman who was only 5-foot-9 and 148 pounds at the time.

“It was awesome … pretty cool,” Hutson, who is now 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, said about being in the team photo. “Hopefully more to come, but I know there’s lots more work to do to be here every day and be effective every day.

“Sometimes you just got to take some time to reflect, but I’m having so much fun,” Hutson added about life in the NHL coming at him so fast. “It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and just think about the next game and the next game. You really just got to take in every game, learn as much as you can and use it down the road. But it’s been so much fun.”

Canadiens fans will agree.