Hutson receives E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Our full draft coverage can be found here.

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Lane Hutson, a defenseman for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, received the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence, the NHL announced Monday.

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Hutson (5-foot-8, 158 pounds) is No. 25 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

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He was named the top defenseman at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship after having eight assists and a plus-12 rating in six games for the United States, which finished second behind Sweden.

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"It was a pretty special moment to earn that honor," Hutson said. "Obviously I had great teammates along with me. Unfortunately, we couldn't get what we all wanted there ... a gold medal."

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The E.J. McGuire Award, presented by NHL Central Scouting, is in honor of McGuire, who was director of Central Scouting from 2005 until he died of cancer April 7, 2011.

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It's given to the candidate who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism.

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NHL Central Scouting chose the E.J. McGuire Award winner in May after careful consideration of nominations from various leagues and the conclusion of the U-18 Worlds.

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A left-hand shot, Hutson led the NTDP U-18 team in assists (53) and was second among defensemen in the United States Hockey League with 1.19 points per game (32 points in 27 games).

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