Could Lane Hutson Be Making The Switch From USA Hockey To Team Canada??

Could the USA Hockey be losing out on Lane Hutson and his brother for future international competitions? His dad hinted at it this past week when he joined the HabsCast with Grant Mccagg. On Aug 19th, USA hockey released their list of players who will be invited to their Olympic Orientation Camp, Hutson was not invited and it seems as thought the Hutson's are not happy.

A pretty confusing decision by USA Hockey. While the North Barrington, Illinois born defenseman likely wouldn't make the 2026 olympic team, it would be good to get him into camp and start preparing for the future World Cup or Olympics. The kid put up 66 points as a rookie defenseman in an incredibly difficult market to play in, in Montreal. He is going to be a top tier NHL dman for the next 10 years. That is why the decision to leave him off this list is so puzzling. We discussed on Spittin' Chiclets this past week. 

I love Jackson LaCombe too. I think he can be a future #1 d man in this league. But my point is, will LaCombe make the Olympics Roster? Will Alex Vlasic? They were brought in for the future. And if you are thinking about USA Hockey Dmen of the future, Lane Hutson should be towards the top of that list. 

But like Mr Hutson mentions, the Hutson boys are dual citizens of both the United States and Canada…

Now…do I agree with switching to the dark side? No, I do not. I think once you wear a USA hockey jersey you are locked in. We don't need any Benedict Arnold's in USA hockey. If you want to go, go. We will win without you. Will it hurt to watch Lane Hutson wear a Team Canada jersey? Absolutely. But America is the greatest country on earth, if you want to just throw in the towel and join Canada then we don't need you.

Minas Panagiotakis. Getty Images.

This also wouldn't be the first time a high caliber player made the switch. Most notably, Brett Hull, who was born in Belleville, Ontario switched from Team Canada to Team USA in 1991 after he was left off of the World Juniors roster in 1986. Hully joined the Cam and Strict Podcast to discuss: "Both Team USA and Team Canada came to watch me play. Dave King was the coach of Team Canada, and Dave Peterson was the coach of Team USA. Dave King basically said I was no good and wanted nothing to do with me. He told Team USA they could have me if they wanted --They came down after the game and asked if I’d like to play for Team USA at the World Championships, and I said, ‘Well yes, I would, thank you very much."

The NHL season is a month away and the drama is already eating up. The fact that this is an Olympics year just makes it so much more fun. I can't wait for February.