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Calder Race: Celebrini Turns Spotlight on BU Teammate Hutson

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Hockey is a very small world.



Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson aren’t just the frontrunners for the Calder Trophy this season, they were teammates at Boston University last season and they face off for the first time in their NHL careers on Tuesday night as the Montreal Canadiens visited the San Jose Sharks.

The rookies went for steak on Monday night ahead of the game.

Undeniably, Celebrini has had a fantastic start to his NHL career offensively. The 2024 No. 1 pick has scored 16 goals, totaling 37 points in his first 42 games with the San Jose Sharks. Meanwhile, his former teammate Hutson isn’t far off his pace despite being a defenseman. In 52 games, the 2022 No. 62 pick has 39 points for the Canadiens. As a result, the two have quickly jumped to the top of the Calder race.

Celebrini, who didn’t seem interested in discussing the battle for the Calder, instead shifted the spotlight onto his teammate turned rival.

“I said at the start of the year in a couple interviews, that he’s gonna do well,” Celebrini said. “He’s a special player, and I think now people are starting to believe that. There’s a good reason why [he’s done] what he’s done this year. But also, the plays that that didn’t result in any points, some of those plays that he’s made, show the kind of player he’s going to be.”

Hutson’s teammate and 13-year NHL veteran Brendan Gallagher echoed Celebrini: “We rely on [Hutson] so much. You’ve got to remind yourself he’s a rookie at times. He plays in every situation for us. His ability to be a game-breaker, to be dynamic, to make something happen, is special.”

Hutson is second among Montreal defenders, playing 22:38 a night.

“Lane has been huge for us. The way he’s able to help us break pucks out and do that type of things in the D-zone. His offensive ability is very special. We’re lucky to have him. He creates a lot,” Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield said.

Looking back on his time at Boston University, Celebrini reminisced about defending against Hutson in practice.

“It’s tough practicing against him, because even though we’re teammates and I know what he does, you still can’t stop it,” the 18-year-old standout stated. “You still can’t do anything about it in practice, and defending [against him], it’s pretty much the same as defending some of the top talent in this league, just as difficult trying to contain them.”

Celebrini added: “I think something that’s overlooked is his defensive game. He works and has a great stick and is tough to play against.”

Hutson is as full of admiration for Celebrini’s game. While Hutson wasn’t made available to media this morning, the 20-year-old rearguard had told Montreal play-by-play announcer Bryan Mudryk recently that playing against an NHL-ready prospect like Celebrini everyday helped to prepare him for the best league in the world.

Caufield, who skated with Celebrini for a week in Michigan this summer, with the Hughes brothers and many other stars, knows all about that: “Got to skate with [Celebrini] for a week in the summer, and you could just tell how detailed and competitive he is. Special player to watch and just keeping up with him throughout the year, we just see how much talent he has and how he’s bringing their group along.”

While Celebrini’s main focus was just getting back on the ice and playing with the San Jose Sharks again after a few days off, he conceded, “Obviously, playing an old teammate, it’s always fun.”

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Smokey Da Shark

what an absolute joke. Zetterlund puts the puck behind the post but “no goal” cuz it’s the sharks. After Celis penalty ref makes a point to call out the sharks for not complaining then canadiens go out and proceed with the same play on 3 occasions with no call.

Just Steve

I think the no goal was an okay call – it’s one of those cases where you can see that the puck had to have crossed the goal (looked like Montreal goalie dragged it across with his right pad), but (at least from all the replays I saw), you could never see a video clip of it actually crossing the goal-line.

Nimrod

It’s just the letter of the rule. There must be conclusive proof to overturn the call on the ice. If the call on the were that it had been a good goal, the goal would have stood. They took so long with the review because the refs knew the puck went in but lacked the required camera angle to overturn the call on the ice conclusively. They would have needed an angle that showed the puck cross the line. Our being certain the puck has crossed the line is insufficient to overturn the call, unimpeachable proof is required. There is… Read more »

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