Cole Hutson will not raise the 2025 NCAA National Championship this year. Hutson’s Boston University team fell in the title game 6-2 to Western Michigan at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Hutson earned an assist on BU’s second goal in the game to bring the Terriers within one goal, 3-2, at the end of the second period, but the Broncos scored three unanswered goals in the third to pull away for the win. The 18-year-old defenseman helped filter possession around the team’s power play, eventually leading to a Shane Lachance net-front jam goal.
Hutson made several incredible feeds to try and bring the Terriers back into the game in the third, but Broncos netminder Hampton Slukynsky stoned each of his teammates’ attempts. The star rearguard was double-shifted by head coach Jay Pandolfo, but couldn’t drag BU back into the fight by himself.
New York Islanders first-round pick Cole Eiserman received a particularly ridiculous spinning pass from Hutson early in the final frame that could have tied the game 3-3, but he couldn’t beat Slukynsky.
With his assist in the season finale loss, Hutson recorded eight points (2g, 6a) in his first four NCAA Tournament games. The point in the losing effort also gives him 48 points (14g, 34a) in 39 total games this season.
Hutson’s older brother, Lane Hutson, only recorded four points in his six career tournament games for BU. He also finished his freshman season in 2022-23 with 48 points (15g, 33a) in 39 games. The elder Hutson is the favorite for the 2024-25 Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year with 64 points (6g, 58a) in 80 games for the Montreal Canadiens.
Cole, a 2024 second-round pick of the Washington Capitals, was named the 2025 Tim Taylor Award winner as NCAA Rookie of the Year on Friday. He can now sign an entry-level contract with the Capitals if he chooses to forego the rest of his college eligibility, but most analysts expect him to play one more season with the Terriers.
The Terriers are adding several high-ranked commits to their roster next year, including NHL draft picks Jonathan Morello and Jack Pridham. Fellow NHL draftees Hutson, Eiserman, Aiden Celebrini, Mikhail Yegorov, and Brandon Svoboda are also all likely to return for another season.
