ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Cole Hutson likely will return to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury for the United States when they play Finland in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship at Grand Casino Arena on Friday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
The 19-year-old defenseman, selected by the Washington Capitals in the second round (No. 43) of the 2024 NHL Draft, was removed from the ice on a stretcher at 11:01 of the second period after being hit in the back of the head by a puck of an eventual 2-1 win against Switzerland on Dec. 27.
"I feel pretty good just kind of waiting it out to see if I'm fully ready to come back," Hutson told NHL.com Thursday. "Obviously, a pretty scary situation so just want to make sure I feel 100 percent before making them jump back into play."
Several medics came to the aide of Hutson, the brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, before he was strapped to a backboard and stretchered off the ice.
"It was terrible. You don't want that to happen to anyone," Hutson said. "I just got knocked out cold and woke up and for a few minutes, I couldn't move anything on my body, so it's never a good feeling when you wake up after you get knocked out so I was obviously terrified and just praying that I was healthy again."
Hutson took regular line rushes with Adam Kleber (Buffalo Sabres) and was working the point on the first power play unit at practice Thursday.
"He's a guy that can play 28 minutes," U.S. cach Bob Motzko said of Hutson. "He puts Kleber on his right side, he's one of the more gifted defensemen in the world so it's a positive."
Prior to his injury, Hutson had two assists, four shots on goal, a plus-5 rating and was averaging 18:42 of ice time in four-plus periods at the tournament.
The sophomore at Boston University has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) with a plus-8 rating in 18 games with the Terriers this season. He won the Tim Taylor Award as the NCAA's top collegiate rookie after scoring 48 points (14 goals, 34 assists) with a plus-5 rating in 39 games in 2024-25.
Hutson has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in nine career games at the World Juniors and needs one point to tie Erik Johnson for most career points by a U.S. defenseman at the tournament. He also needs one assist to pass Ryan Suter (10) for the all-time lead among U.S. defensemen at the tournament.
"It's going to be a dogfight," Hutson said of playing Finland. "They're an unbelievable team, and playing them in the quarterfinals is kind of crazy how that works out, but it's a game that can go either way, just a matter of discipline and bounces."
Hutson had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games at the 2025 WJC to become the first at his position to be the outright leader in scoring at the World Juniors (three defensemen had previously tied for the scoring lead).
The United States has won two straight gold medals at World Juniors and looks to become the first country to win three in a row since Canada's run of five straight from 2005-09.
