Cult of Hockey prospect series 2025: #5, Quinn Hutson
23 years old, 5’11″, 170 lbs., signed as free agent
There have been many famous brother acts in professional hockey, legendary ones even, more of them I reckon than in any other major sport. One day the Hutson boys may be one such famous group of hockey-playing brothers.
The Oilers have made a bet on one such brother, the eldest Quinn, now 23, who had an accomplished college career but is more of a long-shot for long-time NHL glory than his younger brothers Lane, 21, already a star with the Montreal Canadiens, and Cole, 19.
Cole ripped up college hockey in his first year at Boston University and is considered one of the best players in his age group. A fourth brother Lars, 16, plays in the USHL, but is also more of a long shot.
To qualify as one of the great brother acts of hockey, in my books at least, two brothers have to be solid and long-time NHLers, so that eliminates the Howe brothers, for example, where Gordie Howe played 1767 NHL games and scored 1850 points, but his younger brother Vic played 33 games with just 10 points.
At the top of the NHL’s brothers acts is the Conacher boys, Lionel, Charlie and Roy, all three of them in the NHL Hall-of-Fame.
Other top brother acts include Maurice and Henri Richard, Tony and Phil Esposito, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Max and Doug Bentley, and Georges and Frank Boucher, all of those men in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And then there’s the Sutter brothers, with six brothers making the NHL and having good-to-great careers, Brent Sutter being the best of them.
brothers
As for the Hutson brothers, their biggest games are yet to come and their hockey heroics still largely unwritten, but much is expected from Lane and Cole. Quinn is more of an unknown.
Prospect guru Bruce Curlock had this to say about him: “Quinn is a high IQ right winger with a penchant for scoring… He has a unique ability to find the quiet spot on the ice and his finishing is strong…The concern with Hutson is he’s a smaller winger that is not a speedster. His skating is good enough for certain to help carry him out of trouble. It is not dynamic like either of his brothers, but his stride does allow him to generate really good straight line power and acceleration…Where I think the battle will be determined with Hutson is on the walls…. Hutson will need to show an ability to absorb physical play along the walls in all three zones.”
And Dobber Hockey reports: “A responsible, fast-paced winger with good defensive instincts, he is an above-average skater with an excellent set of hands and a pro-level shot. Unlike his younger brothers Cole and Lane, he has limited upside but could become a valuable bottom-six forward.”
Quinn
And Elite Prospects: “Always open and ready to fire instantly. Hutson is a goal scorer. What separates him from other NCAA goalscorers is how he’s constantly moving to become the perfect option and seems to read the play far in advance… Though a shooter first, Hutson is becoming increasingly dynamic at this level. He prefers the give-and-go, quick possession game, but he shows deception, pace, and creativity doing it.”
Allan “Lowetide” Mitchell ranked Hutson as the Oil’s 12th best prospect and has speculated a career arc to Oilers hero Fernando Pisani is possible. Curlock ranked him fifth.
The Oilers have Hutson for one year on an Entry Level Contract. He played two games last spring, but made little impression. It was garbage time for the Oilers, playing out the string in nothing games. At Oilers development camp, Hutson looked smooth and sharp on the ice, excellent with the puck.
Reasonable expectations for 2025-26: Hutson is slated to play in Bakersfield but can he make the top line and top power play unit? Lots of competition down there with Roby Jarventie reportedly now healthy, Josh Samanski, Viljami Marjala, James Hamblin and rugged Max Jones pushing for playing time, along with assorted AHL vets. But I see Hutson cracked the Top Six and maybe getting two points for every three games played.
Roster
At the Cult of Hockey
Cult of Hockey prospect series 2025
Forwards: Maxim Berezkin (3rd), William Nicholl (9th), Roby Jarventie (11th), Viljami Marjala (12th), Connor Clattenburg (13th), Tommy Lafreniere (14th). David Lewandowski (15th)
Dmen: Beau Akey (7th) Atro Leppanen (10th) Paul Fischer (16th), Nikita Yevseyev (18th), Asher Barnett (19th)
Goalies: Samuel Jonsson (7th), Nathaniel Day (17th), Eemil Vinni (20th)