TJ Oshie was between the benches during the Washington Capitals‘ 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. And not only did the former Capital unsuspectingly resume his pregame butt-taps tradition with Tom Wilson, but he also got a first look at some of the team’s newest players from center ice.
After the game, Oshie, a dazzling stick-handler in his playing days, was asked for his biggest takeaways from the contest, and he singled out Capitals rookie defenseman Cole Hutson for some high praise.
“Obviously, being a player, this is the vantage point that we have, so I see the plays developing a lot more down here,” Oshie said. “I will say Cole Hutson, from this level, is an elite player. His deception, his change of direction, his head’s always up, the way he’s able to make plays. We saw the play he made on Kyrou’s goal. He is a special player.”
Hutson, 20, is in his first full NHL season with the Capitals, after becoming one of the league’s top prospects with Boston University. Much like his older brother Lane, Cole is an incredible skater on the backend, with similar offensive flair.
After posting 10 points (3g, 7a) in 14 games to start his career last year, Hutson has continued that pace this season, recording 3 points (1g, 2a) in his first 5 games.
His latest point, a primary assist, came on Jordan Kyrou‘s first-period goal against the Kraken, when Hutson took a cross-ice pass from Ryan Leonard at the point and found Kyrou wide open near the far post for a layup.
The play showed off Hutson’s vision and knack for getting into hard areas of the ice using his skill and speed.
As for Oshie’s latest appearance as an analyst for Monumental Sports Network, he also had several special interactions with former teammates from the Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship team.
“It was a great weekend, and honestly having a couple of the 2018 team with Seattle here, it was so great to see Grubi (Philipp Grubauer), (Tim) Ohashi before the game, and then even Stevie (Chandler Stephenson) was asking Ovi if this is his last year of (eating) Subway. It was nice to be between the benches and see the boys have some fun.”
