Jonathan Drouin has no longer been a member of the Montreal Canadiens since 2023, but that does not prevent him from following the news surrounding his former club and he has kept a close eye on the progress of Lane Hutson.
The Quebecer never had the opportunity to play alongside the young defender or even face him. That was set to change on Saturday evening with CH’s visit to Colorado.
A few hours before this meeting, however, the Avalanche forward had an idea of what awaited him.
“I still watch the Canadian, I watch a lot of all the matches,” he told Renaud Lavoie during an interview in the TVA Sports pre-match. I can’t wait to see it in person. If I compare him to Quinn Hughes, I would say he has a similar style, but there are things he does differently.
Hutson is a leading candidate for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year with 26 points in his first 38 games. According to Drouin, the group of coaches in Montreal has something to do with it.
“I think he’s in a good place with Martin [St-Louis] and Stéphane Robidas. People are really good at talking one-on-one [aux joueurs]. You watch the first 10 games and everyone said he was incredible, but he’s already on another level,” he said.
A question of happiness
With the Avalanche, Drouin seems to have found his feet and above all, the pleasure of playing. In his last 32 games with the Avalanche, including the playoffs, he had 35 points. We can therefore say that he is experiencing the best moments of his professional career.
“I feel comfortable even though I missed a lot of games this year,” explained the man who was slowed down by injuries. It’s a team that’s super easy to play with. We have really good players and a really good system that works well with my way of playing hockey. I’m lucky to have found a place here.”
Good humor is also contagious at Hutson, which is an important asset, according to Drouin.
“It’s fun to see a young person like that who isn’t stressed about making mistakes,” he remarked. If he does one, it doesn’t matter. The coaches put him back on the ice and he continued to improve. I think the Canadian has quite a defender for the future.”
The Canadiens and the Avalanche face off on TVA Sports starting at 7 p.m.
