Cole Hutson is the future of the Washington Capitals defensive corps.
By the Numbers
3
Goals
7
Assists
14
Games played
17
Minutes per game
On-ice percentages
48%
Shot attempts
49%
Expected goals
43%
Actual goals
Isolated Impact by HockeyViz
About this visualization: This image by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows how the player has impacted play when on the ice. At the top of the image is the team’s offense (even strength at left, power play at right) and at bottom is the team’s defense (with penalty kill at bottom right). In each case, red/orange blobs mean teams shoot for more from that location on the ice, and blue/purple means less. In general, a good player should have red/orange blobs near the opponent’s net at top, and blue/purple blobs near their own team’s net at bottom. The distributions in middle show how the player compares to league average at individual finishing, setting up teammates to score, and taking and drawing penalties. The number at center is Synthetic Goals: a catch-all number for the player’s impact.
Player Card by Evolving Hockey
About this player card: This card from Josh and Luke of Evolving Hockey compares the player to league averages based on their impact on on-ice statistics. GAR means “goals above replacement,” where “replacement” means an average player called up from the AHL. xGAR is the same figure but assuming league-average goaltending. The numbers at top are the player’s percentile ranks overall and then for offense and defense alone.
Player Overview by NHL Edge
About this visualization: The NHL’s advanced statistics program, Edge, tracks player and puck movement. The player’s shot speed, skating speed, and skating distance are at top along with percentile rank. At bottom left is a shot location map, and at bottom right is zone time per zone.
Gratuitous Generative Art by Peter
Peter’s Take
The spring was rough for the Caps – what with a sad trade deadline and plummeting playoff chances. Signing Cole Hutson after his college team got eliminated was a jolt of excitement when we needed it most.
First and foremost, kid’s got wheels. He’s one of the fastest skaters in the league already, and he’s going to get even faster once he eventually hits puberty (he’s 19). He fit in immediately, he had points in eight of his 14 games, and five of his seven assists were primary assists.
With just 203 minutes of five-on-five play, I’m not very concerned about his underlying numbers, which were just below even. When Hutson arrived, my only concern was getting a wild-card slot or third in the Metro. Come fall, there will be a lot more scrutiny on this kid. My gut says he’s ready for it.
Hutson on RMNB
Start here:
Introducing Cole Hutson: What Capitals fans should know about the team’s top defense prospect
- On what he was majoring in at Boston University: “Hockey.” Stay in school, kids.
- Hutson was in ‘no rush’ to end his college career, but Capitals had their plan in mind all year long.
- BU coach Jay Pandolfo knew Hutson would be ready to play in the NHL.
- Hutson was one of Boston University’s alternate captains in the 2025-26 season.
- 6-7.
- An OTGWG over Northeastern
- He was named Hockey East Defender of the Month for second time in first two months of 2025-26 season
- Hutson might have been involved in the negotiations to get Quinn Hughes from Vancouver. Chris Patrick later said they were not willing to deal Hutson.
- Hutson and Ryan Leonard texted every day.
- In December, Hutson took a puck to the head at World Juniors and had to be hospitalized.
- He came back. He become the US’s all-time scoring leader for defensemen, but Team USA lost to Finland.
- Shortly after Boston got eliminated…
Cole Hutson signs three-year, entry-level contract with Washington Capitals
- Wearing the Orpik jersey.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois invited Hutson to live with him, replacing the evicted Ryan Leonard.
- On his NHL debut: “I’m obviously really excited to get the opportunity, but I’m definitely really nervous.”
- How he thinks he’s different from his older brother Lane.
- He became first teammate of Alex Ovechkin born after Ovechkin’s NHL debut.
- And then he took a pie to the face from Tom Wilson.
- Someone explain the black ‘sock’ tape job to me.
- “Great Balls of Fire.”
- Spencer Carbery on Hutson: “He is a very intelligent, high-hockey-IQ young man.”
- He boards the battle bus with Ryan Leonard and they drop in on Tilted Towers.
- His cooking skills are way better than Ryan Leonard’s.
- Reviewing a Biscoff latte in Salt Lake City for ‘Coles Coffee Review’ TikTok.
- He got benched on April Fool’s Day.
- Took a few attempts but he finally got a goal against an actual goalie.
- He became the highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history after 10 games.
- On Ilya and that play: “I feel like I owe him one now.”
- Leonard and Hutson will be roommates next season.
Your Turn
How many goals next season? Twenty?
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