The bio on simply reads, “Hockey is fun.” It’s a motto that fits Hutton’s cheerful, happy-go-lucky persona: it’s rare to see him without a smile on his face.
It’s sometimes hard to tell when someone with such a joyful personality is taking something seriously, but rest assured, Hutton is serious about improving his game and he’s serious about this year’s training camp. This is especially true after a disappointing sophomore season.
“I definitely wasn’t happy with my whole result last year,” he says. “I want to be harder to play against, more physical in front of the net.”
At the same time, Hutton knows that his calling card is offence, ruefully commenting that he could “maybe shoot the puck the odd time a little more.”
It’s an odd comment, as Hutton’s 130 shots was actually second among Canucks defencemen in shots on goal and just outside the top-50 in the NHL. It was an improvement on his 104 shots from his rookie season, but if he is aiming to get even more shots on net, that will be a welcome progression for a Canucks team that has struggled to get offence from the defence over the past few season.
What is true is that Hutton didn’t get many opportunities to unleash his shot off the rush, a result of both the coaching style of Willie Desjardins and the issues his usual defence partners, Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Tryamkin, had with moving the puck up ice.
That might get fixed by an intriguing possibility that has made its way into the rumour mill heading into training camp: newcomer Michael Del Zotto could partner with Erik Gudbranson, while Chris Tanev and Alex Edler reunite on a shutdown pairing,leaving the two youngest defencemen on the roster to partner together.
Hutton brightens at the possibility of playing with Troy Stecher.
“If I got the opportunity to play with Troy, that would be awesome,” he says with a smile. “Troy’s obviously a very talented, skilled player. I feel like we have some good chemistry. We were road roommates last year, we hang out all the time.”
That off-ice chemistry is key, says Hutton. “You get to know the guy and you want to go to war, into battle with him.”
That would give the Canucks a mobile, offensively-capable second or third-pairing at even-strength, but the two friends are also in serious competition for each other on special teams. Stecher led all Canucks defencemen in power play ice time last season, while Hutton led all Canucks in power play points per hour.
Hutton seems to be very aware of the competition heading into camp.
“Everyone needs to come into training camp and earn their spots,” he says. “Obviously, for myself, I would like to be in that power play role, but who wouldn’t?”
“I want to come into camp and show the coaching staff and everyone that I should be on the power play,” he adds, then seems to rethink his words: “or that I want to be on the power play, I guess I should say.”
“Should” seems like the right word. His scoring rate on the power play is hard to argue with, even if he doesn’t possess that precious commodity: a right-handed shot. His mobility on the blue line, vision, passing, and shot all paint the picture of a capable power play quarterback.
His new head coach, Travis Green, is playing his cards close to his chest when it comes to Hutton taking a larger role this season.
“A lot of these questions get answered by the players,” he says. “I hope they all become All-Stars. We’re going to find out if Ben Hutton is ready to take a step or not. I definitely hope he is.”
Green has made it clear that players will be given opportunities to prove themselves, at which point it will be up the player to take advantage. Hutton seems ready and eager to rise to that challenge.
And, if he and Stecher are unleashed to use their mobility and creativity this season, Canucks fans will be able to agree with Hutton: “Hockey is fun.”
