Hutson to make NHL debut with Capitals against Senators

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Cole Hutson is still getting used to the idea his days at Boston University are over, but the 19-year-old defenseman will make his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals against the Ottawa Senators at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET MNMT, SN, TVAS).

“I’m super nervous,” Hutson said after the morning skate. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like yet, but I think once I get the first shift out of the way, I’ll be all right.”

Hutson, who was selected in the second round (No. 43) of the 2024 NHL Draft, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Washington on Sunday.

He was paired during practice Tuesday with veteran defenseman Matt Roy and worked at the point on the second power-play unit. Coach Spencer Carbery said Hutson will take a regular shift and get a chance to utilize his offensive skills on the power play.

"Absolutely," Carbery said. "No sense in putting the restrictor plates on. Like, 'Let's go.'"

It's been a bit of whirlwind for Hutson since his sophomore season at BU ended with a 5-3 loss to the University of Connecticut in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. He decided to turn pro less than 24 hours later and was in Washington by Sunday evening.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound St. Louis native's 80 points (24 goals, 56 assists) in 74 games during his two seasons at BU were most in the NCAA among defensemen.

"I really didn't want to leave BU at all," Hutson said. "Loved that place, love all my teammates, the coaches are the best ever. I'm really sad I had to move on, but I think now's the right time for me.

"... “I’m feeling a little bit of pressure, but it’s good pressure. It means that they want me to be here. I just don’t want to make any costly mistakes and be able to play free.”

Hutson joins the Capitals (33-27-8) when they are desperate to make up ground in the Stanley Cup Playoff race. They entered Wednesday eight points behind the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with 14 games remaining.

Perhaps, Hutson's arrival could provide a spark.

“We just felt comfortable with him turning pro and putting him right in the lineup and getting his journey as an NHL player started immediately,” Carbery said. “Did we feel like maybe easing him in against New Jersey on Friday, did we talk about that? Yeah, we did, to maybe give him a couple extra days of preparation and factor the opponent, Ottawa, heavy forecheck, they’re playing as good as anybody in the League right now. So, it’s going to be a difficult game for him to play in from an opponent standpoint, but when we weighed all of the different factors, we felt like why not get him in the lineup as quickly as we can and get his journey as an NHL player and as a member of the Washington Capitals started right now.

“And he can help us. He can help us. That’s the reality. He could make a play that could be the difference in the game offensively, a little bit of power play. Maybe he makes a play at the offensive blue line, that’s his skillset, and we’ve been a little bit scoring challenged of late at 5-on-5, so let’s go.”

The Capitals had the day off Monday, so Hutson spent much of it with forward Ryan Leonard, his United States teammate when they won the gold medal at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Leonard followed a similar path to Hutson when he signed with Washington a year ago after completing his sophomore season at Boston College. He jumped directly into the lineup. Leonard said his advice to Hutson was, "Just go out there and have fun. He knows the player he is and how he's done at multiple levels, and I'm sure he'll fit in right away."

Hutson can also lean on his older brothers: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson and Edmonton Oilers forward prospect Quinn Hutson. Cole said he had a long phone conversation with Lane on Monday, picking his brain about his NHL experiences.

Like Cole, Lane turned pro two years ago after his sophomore season at BU. He played two games for Montreal at the end of the 2023-24 season before winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie last season, when he had 66 points (six goals, 60 assists) in 82 games.

"I was on the phone with Lane for three hours yesterday, just talking about how I've got to play and just what to do and what not to do," Cole said. "And 'Leno' obviously going through it last year, I'm at a head start with the advice from him, for sure."

Having never attended training camp, Hutson met most of his Capitals teammates Tuesday, including captain Alex Ovechkin, the NHL record holder with 921 career goals. After Ovechkin greeted him with a welcoming handshake in the video room before practice, Hutson was still in awe of him when they hit the ice.

"It was awesome," Hutson said. "Just watching his shot out there, he had a one-timer on the power play that was unbelievable. He's just a legend. Still kind of starstruck by it."

Hutson didn't look out of place, though; during a 2-on-2 small-ice drill about 15 minutes into practice, he flashed his offensive skill with a no-look pass through two defenders on the tape of forward Ivan Miroshnichenko for a goal.

"We all definitely noticed it," Roy said. "He was getting some love there. It was really fun to see for us."

Center Pierre-Luc Dubois said, "The majority of players, they come in today, be a little shy and keep it simple, and I'm sure he did in some ways, but not on that rep. But you can see he's got a lot of talent. At this point in the year, it's never easy coming in and jumping into practice and jumping into games, but when you're smart and when you're talented like that, you get the hang of things pretty quick."