D-man Hutton hopes to thrive on new, uptempo system
Blueliners Hutton, Stecher aim to be more effective with less ice time this season
Indifferent play. A mumps scare. A hand injury.
You name it, and Ben Hutton experienced it last season. He never meshed with Erik Gudbranson, struggling to handle major minutes and displaying indecision in his game that smacked of a sophomore slump.
Still, Hutton scored five goals on a back end that couldn’t stay healthy and couldn’t find the net with Canucks defencemen scoring a collective 23 goals. And he never lost his trademark, glass-half-full approach to the game and to life.
“There wasn’t a lot of time where you were playing 10 or 15 games with the same partner,” Hutton said Thursday before facing the Winnipeg Jets. “I learned you have to make chemistry with every player and there are going to be nights when you’re feeling it and the puck is always on your stick and you’re making great plays.
“And there are other nights when you just have to play a chess game, chip (the puck) out when you can because there’s not always going to be a play. It’s give and take.”
A new, uptempo system and new defensive deployments should mean more production from Hutton, 24, and his new partner Troy Stecher, 23, who both like to jump up into the play and create odd-man rushes.
Hutton finished second in rookie blueliner assists (24) and was third in points (25) in 2015-16, while Stecher is coming off a 24-point rookie season in which he also had ample power play time.
“Last game (Tuesday), I was going to jump up and I look to my right and Stecher is right there,” Hutton said. “He was half a stride ahead of me, so I just checked my shoulder and there were a couple of players behind me, so I just laid off.
“We’re both mobile and can jump up and move the puck and we can both go at any given time. But one of us needs to lay off a little bit. Our chemistry is getting better and we’re learning each other’s tendencies and it can only get better from here.
“It’s today’s game. You watch the highlights and it’s defencemen jumping up and making a two-on-two a three-on-two, or a three-onthree a four-on-three, with more options. That’s going to create a lot more offence for us.”
That’s where it’s going to get interesting for the third pairing.
Fewer minutes can mean more effectiveness when you’re still learning the game and don’t have a seasoned NHL partner to lean on and feed off of. Hutton logged 17:09 and 17:13 of ice time in his first two regular-season outings, a far cry from the 23:09 and 20:00 he played in the first two games a year ago.
Stecher played 13:40 and 12:41 in the first two games this season compared to 22:35 and 19:49 in his first two games last year after being recalled from the AHL’s Utica Comets and becoming a fixture with Alex Edler on the first pairing.
The challenge for Hutton and Stecher is to be as good in their own zone as they have the potential to be out of it. Against the Ottawa Senators, who forecheck ferociously and employ the 1-3-1 trap, Hutton tried to play the puck behind his net in a crucial third-period sequence. He was stripped and it resulted in the tying goal en route to a 3-2 Senators shootout win.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty game,” Hutton said. “They set the trap and sit back and wait for you to make mistakes.”
Canucks coach Travis Green is a believer in the high-risk, high-reward approach because it forces the opposition to play in its own zone. And if Hutton and Stecher can take care of business in their end, the offensive chances will come.
“They can both defend well and Hutton has worked on his defensive game,” Green said.
“They didn’t have their best games (Tuesday), but that’s all right. That’s part of being a young player, learning how to manage your minutes. It’s different than playing 24 minutes. A young player gets eager when he’s playing less than he’s used to. And when things don’t go well, he presses a bit. Hutton and Stecher are capable of defending hard enough to win puck battles, which is another component of getting out of your zone.”
The Senators made that transition harder, and other teams will take notice.
“There has to be a balance between the two of us,” Stecher said. “If one goes (up ice), the other can’t. We have to understand we were fine against Edmonton and weren’t good against Ottawa. We’re not happy about it and we’re not dwelling on it.
“But if that doesn’t change, changes will be made.”