The numbers behind Lane Hutson's breakout rookie campaign

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Every year at the NHL draft, we hear the same trope about players who are under six feet tall:

Will their game translate to the NHL level?

Will they be too small to play against big forecheckers and win net-front battles?

Are they special enough to make their size moot?

We heard those refrains about Alex DeBrincat, Cole Caufield, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point, Jared Spurgeon, Adam Fox, Torey Krug, and the late Johnny Gaudreau. Each of those players went on to be impactful NHL players because their skill outshone their size.

In 2022, we heard similar things about Lane Hutson. After sitting in NHL scouting meetings during the 2021-2022 season, I can tell you that Hutson was the…