Cole Hutson seems to have found another level in his game, but he’s not satisfied. And that may explain a lot, actually.
Hutson is gaining confidence with each passing game and has become an increasingly relied-upon player. Over his last two outings, he has been all over the scoresheet.
In Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, Hutson recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season, near single-handedly delivering two standings points for the Washington Capitals. First, he provided the no-look primary assist on Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ game-tying goal.
Cole Hutson game-tying assist vs. Senators
He then followed that up by scoring his first career overtime goal to end the game, skating confidently around the perimeter in the offensive zone before cooly snapping an unsuspecting shot to the far side of the net.
Cole Hutson scores first career overtime goal vs. Senators
Two nights later against the New Jersey Devils, Hutson authored another highlight-reel play. After making a controlled solo entry into New Jersey’s zone, Hutson cut back and sent a pass through two Devils penalty killers to Ryan Leonard, who backhanded the puck past Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game 1-1.
Cole Hutson finds Ryan Leonard for game-tying goal against Devils
The assist was Hutson’s fourth in five November games and his seventh point (3g, 4a) in his last seven games, tying Dubois and Aliaksei Protas for the team lead in scoring over that stretch.
But after the Capitals’ 5-2 loss to the Devils, Hutson was openly dejected with where his game’s at.
“I’m just not playing well enough,” Hutson said. “Simple as that. (You) can make some plays offensively, but it doesn’t matter when you’re making mistakes defensively constantly. So it’s got to be a little bit better, but yeah.”
Hutson was on the ice for two Devils goals in the third period, Vladislav Kolyachonok‘s game-winning tally and Stefan Noesen‘s insurance marker, though neither came due to any direct mistake or action of Hutson’s. He finished with a minus-2 rating, taking his season rating to plus-3.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was also asked postgame to evaluate Hutson’s recent play. Carbery is playing Hutson more average ice time per game (19:23) this season than any other rookie in the NHL.
“Young player, Cole, that’s just part of learning to play in the National Hockey League, especially as a defenseman that spent no time in the American Hockey League,” Carbery said. “There’s going to be great nights, and there’s going to be not-so-great nights. It’s about him learning and continuing to develop, and that’s what he’s done a tremendous job of thus far this season.”
After Thursday’s contest, Hutson is now tied for second in overall rookie scoring this season, just one point behind the leader, Toronto’s Gavin McKenna, despite playing in four fewer games, and is tied with Boston’s James Hagens for the freshman lead in points per game (0.71). He is also five points ahead of the next rookie defender, Philadelphia’s Oliver Bonk.
Hutson has also matched his older brother, Montreal’s Lane Hutson, in scoring through the first 30 games of their NHL careers. Lane, who recorded 78 points (12g, 66a) in his sophomore season for the Habs last year, took home the 2025 Calder Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.
While Hutson is excelling from a production standpoint early in his career, there is some credence to his personal concerns at the other end of the rink. With Hutson on the ice this season at five-on-five, the Capitals have seen 54.9 percent of shot attempts, 52.1 percent of expected goals, and 54.7 percent of scoring chances, but just 44.5 percent of high-danger chances.
Given those numbers, it’s clear that if Hutson cleans up some of those defensive miscues, the Capitals will have a truly dominant force on their backend. And it sounds like he’s well aware of where he needs to improve.
Most importantly, he has the desire to do so.
