Tonight’s The Night – When Cole Hutson last played hockey on Saturday afternoon, he was a college kid finishing up his sophomore season at Boston University. Four days later, he is set to make his NHL debut tonight at Capital One Arena against the Ottawa Senators. Hutson will become the ninth-youngest player to suit up for the Washington franchise tonight.
“Try to shake the nerves off as quickly as you can,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery, asked what he would tell the 19-year-old blueliner ahead of his NHL debut tonight in DC. “Don't put pressure on yourself. Go work your butt off and utilize your skill set. That's the best advice that I can give him as to playing in his first game, that there's going to obviously be jitters and nerves in that. But as quickly as he can get into the game and don't put any pressure on yourself. Go have fun. Enjoy the moment.”
That will obviously be easier said than done for a young player who is less than two years removed from being drafted, and who has yet to experience an NHL training camp. And while hockey is hockey, playing in the world’s fastest league against its best and strongest players is no instant adjustment, no matter how old and how experienced a player might be when making that leap from college directly to the NHL.
All that said, the Washington room is teeming with players who debuted in the NHL as teenagers, so Hutson won’t have to look far for friendly and good advice.
Up front, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin was only a couple weeks past his 20th birthday when he debuted in this building just over two decades ago. Among the Washington forward group, we counted five players who debuted as teenagers.
Hutson’s Sunday signing and addition to the roster brings the number of blueliners in the Washington active roster to nine. Among that group, there are four who were first-round NHL Draft picks, two – including Hutson – who were second-rounders, two who were late round picks, and one who went undrafted. Including Hutson, there are four who debuted in the League as teenagers. Among all nine Washington defensemen, Roy was the oldest to debut in the League; he did so at age 23, less than two weeks before celebrating his 24th birthday.
“I would say that it doesn’t matter if you’re coming from major junior or college, the jump to play defense in the National Hockey League is significantly more challenging than playing forward,” says Carbery. “So, it’s going to be an adjustment and it’s going to be a learning process for Cole, so I can tell you right now to curb your expectations.
“It’s going to be a process, and he is going to have to get comfortable with the League, the speed, the size, the strength, the reads – all of the stuff that is really, really challenging for a defenseman. We always talk about how long to takes defensemen to truly develop into [bona fide NHL defensemen] and some people say it’s a couple hundred games. And that’s with stepping in with no American League experience.
“So, it’s going to be a lot, but we’ll help him along, and he’s earned this opportunity. I want to be clear with that, too; this wasn’t handed to Cole Hutson. He has played at an extremely high level over the last couple of years to earn an opportunity to start out in the National Hockey League.”
All six defensemen who suited up for the Caps’ most recent game have logged at least 300 games in the League, and all took different routes and experienced different challenges to get to where they are now, so Hutson will have a strong group to watch and learn from as he seeks to adjust to the NHL as a teenaged defenseman, at the peak of the stretch run of the season, and without ever having attended an NHL training camp.
“I think it’s about coming in and keeping that confidence that you had before,” says Caps defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who debuted in the NHL as a 19-year-old with Toronto in 2019. “It’s easy to say, but it’s just keeping that confidence. He knows what he is capable of doing, and it’s important not to let mistakes take you away from that game that you can play.
“Mistakes are going to happen; that’s how you learn. And don’t let mistakes take you away from your game, just keep at it. And every day that he is here, he is going to get more and more comfortable around the guys on the team, and also on the ice. I’m super excited to see what he can bring to the team. For sure it will be a big transition for him, but I think he is going to handle it fine.”
Ten-year NHL veteran Jakob Chychrun recently skated in his 600th NHL game, and he was an 18-year-old pup with Arizona when he debuted in 2016. Like Sandin and Hutson, Chychrun came into the League as a guy with an offensive reputation, and he had to work a bit at refining his game in his own end of the rink.
“It’s probably the consistency aspect of our League,” says Chychrun, asked for his most important takeaway from a decade in the NHL. “We play so many games, and it’s really hard to play your best every single night. That’s something I learned from a young age, that you’ve got to find ways to be consistent. And when you aren’t feeling it some nights, you’ve got to find ways to help contribute and not hurt the team. That’s still something that I focus on and struggle with at times.
“I think all of us go through our spurts and our games where we’re just not playing that good. And obviously when you’re young and it’s your first time playing in the League and it’s a long schedule for him, he is going to have those spurts, too. It’s a matter of learning ways around it and learning ways that you can keep those games to as few as possible and bring your best stuff a majority of the time. But it’s such a long year, and you’re always dealing with bumps and bruises and things at home, and you’ve just got to learn to be a pro.”
“I think everybody experiences it in a different way,” says Caps center P-L Dubois, another who debuted in the NHL at age 19. “Even something as small as coming in here to practice [Tuesday], I was nervous and shy my first year; I didn’t want to step on anybody. But everybody is different. I’m sure he had some of that, but then he makes that play in that 2-on-2 drill, and you’re like, ‘Okay, his talent is really coming out more and more.’ But it’s never easy.
“When you’re a smart player like him, and when you’re open to learning and taking advice from players and coaches, then usually the learning curve speeds up a little bit. He comes in with no pressure, but obviously he is probably going to feel some. But it’s never easy coming in at the end of the season like this, when we’re in the playoff push and your season just ended. But just seeing him at practice was really exciting.”
Dylan Strome is another Capital who began his NHL career as a 19-year-old. But he differs from Dubois in one sense; Strome believes it will be easier for Hutson coming in on the heels of his NCAA season, and that will help mitigate the fact that he has not participated in an NHL training camp as of yet.
“You can see what he's done in the previous leagues he's been in,” says Strome. “And the talent is obviously there. I think the NHL is a big jump, but I also think that coming in after your season is done is definitely an easier transition than starting through a training camp. I think that you're already into the season, and you're just going out and playing hockey. That's a big benefit for the college guys that they have, to come in right after their season is done and just step in and not have to worry about cracking the lineup or working your way up to a spot. I think he's proved that he's good enough player to play the NHL and I’m excited to play with him tonight.”
That’s the common theme from all the players. They’re as excited as the fan base is, and as excited the organization and the coaching staff is to have another difference-making player in the lineup.
“I think for him, it's just great to come in now and get a taste of the NHL here, with the 14 games that we’ve got left in the regular season here when we're making a push as well,” says Sandin. “It's crucial time of year for us, so I think it's perfect time. And we're super excited to have him. We can see him in practice right now, toe-dragging guys and stuff like that. So I think everyone's just super excited, and I'm super excited to see him [tonight].”
The 700 Club – Just under a decade after making his own NHL debut as a 19-year-old with the New York Islanders on Oct. 13, 2016 at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, Washington winger Anthony Beauvillier skates in the 700th game of his NHL career tonight against Ottawa.
Drafted in the first round (28th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Beauvillier cracked the Isles’ roster as a 19-year-old rookie in the fall of 2016, and he made his NHL debut two nights ahead of Chychrun.
“Definitely more comfortable, for sure,” says Beauvillier of the difference between getting ready for an NHL game, nearly a decade down the road from his first one. “It’s just feels like it’s part of me now; my first game, it felt like everything was new. I didn’t really know where to stand or what to do, and now it just feels like it’s part of my life, and part of me. I definitely feel more comfortable entering [game] 700 than I did the first game.”
Beauvillier singled out a trio of Islanders’ veterans of that era – John Tavares, Andrew Ladd and Josh Bailey – as guys who helped him navigate his way through that first game, like he and his teammates will do for Hutson tonight.”
“It feels like forever ago, but I think the best advice I got is that you only get one first NHL game, so you might as well just make the most out of it,” says Beauvillier. “Honestly, there's so much happening for the first game, and then I'm sure he's got his head full of stuff, trying to learn new system and everything. But at the end of the day, he's going to enjoy the game and enjoy what's around him, and it's obviously a pretty special day for him. So, it's going to be fun to be a part of it with him.”
In The Nets – Logan Thompson will be in net tonight for the Capitals. Thompson is starting for the 47th time this season, a single-season career high. He started 46 games for Vegas in 2023-24, his final season with the Golden Knights.
In his last eight starts – since the beginning of February – Thompson is 4-3-1 with a 2.26 GAA and a .915 save pct. Lifetime against the Senators, Thompson is 5-1-1 in seven appearances – six starts – with a shutout, a 2.55 GAA and a .923 save pct.
For Ottawa, we are expecting to see veteran Linus Ullmark between the pipes tonight. Ullmark took a personal leave of absence for several weeks midway through the season, but he has been excellent since returning to action on Jan. 31. Since his return, Ullmark is 7-1-2 in 10 appearances – all starts – with a shutout, a 2.40 GAA and an .897 save pct.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Ullmark is 7-5-2 in 14 appearances – all starts – with a 2.78 GAA and a .900 save pct.
All Down The Line – Here’s how the Caps and the Senators might look on Wednesday night in the District:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 72-Beauvillier
21-Protas, 29-Lapierre, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 34-Sourdif, 53-Frank
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 38-Sandin
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
44-Hutson, 3-Roy
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
27-Liljegren
47-Chisholm
52-McIlrath
63-Miroshnichenko
Injured/Out
64-Kampf (personal)
OTTAWA
Forwards
19-Batherson, 18-Stützle, 28-Giroux
7-B. Tkachuk, 24-Cozens, 71-Grieg
21-Cousins, 12-Pinto, 22-Amadio
37-Foegele, 89-Eller, 20-Zetterlund
Defensemen
72-Chabot, 2-Zub
43-Kleven, 10-Spence
6-Gilbert, 33-Matinpalo
Goalies
35-Ullmark
47-Reimer
Healthy Extras
23-MacDermid
60-Thomson
83-Halliday
Injured/Out
3-Jensen (lower body)
85-Sanderson (upper body)
