The ‘25-‘26 boredom thread..

[Mickstix]

True that.. Im not sure what the hopes are anyway, he was drafted 45th, in the 2nd round. Not your usual spot for people to think he could be the savior to anything. Did he just recently become good or something? Don't know much about him.

[alta]

I have not seen him play.

[BlackIce]

True that.. Im not sure what the hopes are anyway, he was drafted 45th, in the 2nd round. Not your usual spot for people to think he could be the savior to anything. Did he just recently become good or something? Don't know much about him.

The excitement is based entirely on pedigree.


His brother Lane was drafted 62nd by the Canadians and came into the NHL under the exact same circumstances as Cole is coming in now.  He went that low because of his size, which was thought to perhaps be unplayable in the NHL, despite his skill.  (Cole is 2 inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than Lane at the same point.)  This is Lane's 2nd full season, and he is now a point-per-game defenseman, playing upwards of 24 minutes per game and having a +/- rating of 26.  I realize that +/- has to be taken with a grain of salt, but it would seem to indicate that he isn't a tremendous defensive liability.   


Believe it or not, Cole is considered by many hockey experts to have more skills than his older brother at the same stage of development.  We'll see.  The question is, does he have "it?"  His older brother seems to - and he is the leading defensive stalwart on a Montreal team that is in playoff position -- while we are not.

[richkrt99]

Hutson goes straight to the NHL?  Well lets hope he's up to the task.  I agree with Alta - Dmen usually take a bit longer, and Hutson's size could be a problem.  Not exactly filling our roster with big strong imposing d-men, but then the NHL is moving away from that anyway.
Lets hope Cole does as well has as his brother; won the Calder as NHL top rookie.  THat's pretty fantastic for a high draft pick.

[Mickstix]

Well, they certainly talk highly of him on the interwebs. The way he QB's the PP for BU.. That's really about all I've heard of him. Hopefully he shines and shines early, cause 1 bad game out of the box and the DC sports establishment will have him mopping floors and driving the zamboni.

[richkrt99]

14 games left, trailing Boston and Isles by 7 points (realistically 8 pts).  Its over.
Bring up some AHL guys and see what they can do,  Let them play some real minutes on a real line (not throw a scorer on the 4th line just to get him in a game).  Maybe give you some insight for who's ready and help you know what do do over the summer.

[Mickstix]

If they were gonna do that I doubt they would have wasted picks on the new D and C.. Unless they plan to move Lappi and a Dman in the offseason.. Either way, there should be room for Hutson to get some ice anyway. I'd like to see Crystal and LilPro, but don't know who they'd replace. Well, I do, but CoachGut probably disagrees.  Dude has been on my nerves for a couple months now.. 

[alta]

TvR is a UFA at the end of the season. I would not be surprised if management lets him walk.


You need to chill your nerves..

[Mickstix]

Im chill. Just don't have a lot of patience for stupidity. And he's been doing stupid shit lately. 

[Beaglefan2]

It will be interesting to see if they play Hutson more than the 8 or 10 games needed to burn of year of his entry contract - which I believe they did for Leonard. For an undersized defenseman that was drafted so late, I think that would be a mistake - but they probably had to guaranty him that to get him to sign.  At this point though, they have to realize they are not making the playoffs so sacrificing a contract year is a significant giveaway.

[alta]

Leonard played 9 games last season. I think 10 regular season is the cutoff to maintain rookie status. Leonard also signed a three year deal and it appears those 9 games did burn a year of it.


The Caps roster lists Hutson at 5’11” and 175. He’s about to turn 20 so I doubt he’s going to get any taller. But he should put on some pounds in the next couple years.

[alta]

Hutson is supposed to play tonight.

[richkrt99]

I don't think Carbs is stupid or a bad coach.  He might be a little conservative, but he also is hamstrung with limited talent resources.
He is the only coach in history to win the major coaching award at all three levels. (NHL-Jack Adams, AHL-Loius Pieri, ECHL-John Brophy)  Those didn't come by accident or him getting lucky with talented teams.  (Okay last year everyone overperformed so he there some luck to it)
He is no dummy, and maybe because of his time in ECHL, AHL, he maybe limits the young guys more, it's hard to say.
I think one of the reasons Caps moved to him instead of an established guy is that they knew they were headed for rebuild (of sorts) and Carbs is a younger guy who has helped develop guys at all levels.  They got lucky last year and had a better season than expected so it altered the narrative a bit last year.

Ultimately everything is the coaches responsibility but its tough when you have 2-3 guys playing well, and a bunch of guys underperforming, and a bunch of guys that just are not that great.

[richkrt99]

Caps have 14 games remaining.  They are not making the playoffs.  It would be dumb to burn a year for Hutson, but what does that really mean?  If the guy is gonna make the squad next year, and continue to get better, does it really have an impact?  I mean if he IS going to be a stud, what does it matter when he starts?  Are we talking only in regards to contracts?  Like when his next contract will start. 

For example....what does it matter that Leno burned a year of ELC if he is gonna be permanent NHLer?  Because you have to sign his next contract sooner?
I am not arguing, I am asking what's the difference?

[richkrt99]

TVR....absolutely let him walk.  He's 1/10 of a step from getting beat 95% of the time now

[alta]

Kampf finally has a visa, but is still in Vancouver waiting for his wife to give birth

[Mickstix]

What are his faceoff #'s?? Pay the man double if good.  They never heard of induced labor that far north? 

[alta]

Based on how it was reported, she should have popped by now.


Click on game logs, it gives individual game stats. His FO% seems pretty high, but with a bad game here and there..

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/k/kampfda01.html

[Beaglefan2]

So I have to say that I was very impressed with Hutson.  He is one of these new-era defensemen that are shrimps but can skate and handle the puck.  I was really, really pleased with his offensive aggressiveness and ability. I do worry about him in the defensive zone. He is not capable of clearing the crease or even holding his own in that zone, but maybe the Hughes boys have proved that that is not critical anymore.


Next year the Caps will have Hutson, Chicky and Sandin - all of which can be puck moving and more offensive. Kinda like that!

[BlackIce]

So I have to say that I was very impressed with Hutson.  He is one of these new-era defensemen that are shrimps but can skate and handle the puck.  I was really, really pleased with his offensive aggressiveness and ability. I do worry about him in the defensive zone. He is not capable of clearing the crease or even holding his own in that zone, but maybe the Hughes boys have proved that that is not critical anymore.


Next year the Caps will have Hutson, Chicky and Sandin - all of which can be puck moving and more offensive. Kinda like that!

   


But Sandin hasn't yet shown that he can really drive offense.  If CH develops the way the team obviously thinks he can, I wouldn't be surprised if Sandin is out the door at some point.   


I am baffled as to why the Caps keep bringing Miroshnichenko and then sit him on the bench.  He's back up again - give the guy a chance to play!  If he isn't going to play, they might as well send him back down to Hershey and give him ice time.