April 13, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

Multiple reports on Saturday evening indicated that the Edmonton Oilers would sign Boston University forward Quinn Hutson. They made the official announcement on Monday. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects was the first to report the impending signing.

Hutson led Boston University with 50 points in 37 games this season. The 23-year old improved in each of his three seasons at Boston University. According to a recent piece on the 25 best available NCAA free agents from Elite Prospects, Hutson really turned it on in the second half of the season by scoring fifteen goals and 31 points in an eighteen game stretch. Also from that piece:

“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. Returning to the NCAA to continue his development as a play-driver, as well as improving his physical game, might be the best call. But in terms of upside, there aren’t many on this list that compare.”

He seems like an intelligent player that has some finishing ability. Size will be an issue at 5″11″, 176 lbs though. Hutson sounds similar to Matthew Savoie, but with a lower ceiling.

The Oilers had plenty of reasons to watch Boston University games this season while monitoring the progress of prospects Shane LaChance (who was traded to the New Jersey Devils for retaining some of Trent Frederic’s salary because he was not going to sign with the Oilers) and Matt Copponi. Copponi has until August 15, 2025 to sign a contract with the Oilers along with Luca Munzenberger (University of Vermont), Joel Maatta (University of Vermont), and Tomas Mazura (Mlada Boleslav BK, Czechia).

Related: Oilers acquire Frederic

We know Hutson has good genes. He’s the eldest of the three Hutson brothers. Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens is a top candidate for the Calder Trophy this season. He has had an unbelievable rookie season with the Habs. He’s tied with Chris Chelios for the Canadiens’ all-time record for points by a rookie defenceman with 64 points. Ironically enough, the Candiens acquired the pick they used to draft Hutson (62nd overall, 2022) from the Oilers in the Brett Kulak trade (sigh). Cole Hutson, who was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the second round last year, was the NCAA rookie of the year while playing with Quinn for Boston University this season.

Their father, Rob Hutson, was born in Manitoba, but he grew up in Edmonton. He played NCAA hockey for the University of Illinois-Chicago, and he had an eight-year minor pro career. He now coaches AAA minor hockey in Illinois.

The scouting report and the bloodlines for Hutson look good, but we also have to remember that he was never drafted. He just became an intriguing option for NHL teams now at the age of 23. He’s a late bloomer. It’s an exciting signing, but expectations should be tempered. Jonathan Willis pointed out that Hutson’s production in his final college season was similar to that of Drake Caggiula (51 points in 39 games), who has 289 NHL games to his credit. Hutson is a higher profile signing with a higher ceiling than Caggiula, but their production in their last college seasons is comparable. Caggiula moonlit in the top six during his first stint as an Oiler, but he has always primarily been a bottom of the lineup player in the NHL, and he has spent most of the last three seasons in the AHL. That would be a fine outcome for Hutson, but I wouldn’t rule out a slightly more prolific NHL career either.

Robinson reported that Hutson’s deal will be a two-year entry-level contract. Hutson will not be eligible to play for the Oilers in the playoffs because he was not on the team’s reserve list prior to the NHL trade deadline. The plan is to burn the first year of that contract by having him report to the Oilers for the final two games of the regular season, so it’s essentially a one-year deal for next season. According to Bob Stauffer, Hutson will play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. PuckPedia has Hutson’s cap hit as $875,000 for next season, $87,500 of which is a signing bonus. This is a signing for next season, but the organization needs healthy bodies to play some games before the playoffs start in both Edmonton and in Bakersfield. I personally don’t understand burning a year off a contract for the kid to play in two games right now, but that’s the plan.

The Oilers also signed Finnish defenceman Atro Leppanen. Leppanen led Finland’s Liiga in scoring with 62 points in 60 games for Vaasan Sport. Not only did that mark lead the league, it was an all-time record for points by a defenceman in that league. Yes, he’s a defenceman. The previous record was 53 points, which was achived by Pekka Rautakallio in the 1978-79 season. Leppannen was voted as the best player in the Liiga this season. The 26-year old signed a one-year entry-level contract with a cap hit of $975,000 for next season, $97,500 of which is a signing bonus according to PuckPedia.

Leppanen is clearly a dynamic offensive defenceman. The scouting report from Dobber Prospects reads as follows:

“A dynamic, late-blooming, left-shot depth defenseman who plays a high-risk, high-reward game style. He struggles defensively, but his offensive game is intriguing.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that there are question marks around an offensive defenceman’s ability to defend. The 6’0″, 182 lb defenceman isn’t exactly hulking, so he might need to put on a little bit of weight to withstand the physical rigours of the NHL game. Having said that, smaller dynamic defencemen are having more and more success in the NHL these days. Leppanen hasn’t played on the smaller North American ice, so we don’t know how he will adjust to having to make decisions that extra little bit faster.

My gut tells me that Leppanen will be in Bakersfield next season because all of Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, and Jake Walman are lefties that will be ahead of him on the depth chart next season; but I won’t rule anything out. We don’t know how bad Ekholm’s injury situation is yet, and Walman can play the right side.

Hutson and Leppanen are two of the five to seven upcoming NCAA or European signings that Bob Stauffer recently suggested would be coming. The list is up to five and counting so far. David Tomasek (Farjestad, SHL), Josh Samanski (Straubing Tigers, Germany), and Damien Carfagna (Ohio State University, NCAA) were all signed by the Oilers recently as well.

Tomasek’s $1.2 million contract for next season makes him the most likely to crack the Oilers roster next season. The 29-year old centre led the SHL in scoring this season with 57 points in 47 games. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic said that Tomasek has been one of the better players in Europe over the last couple of years. He also said that Tomasek is a “Good-sized center who has produced at the to plevel of the SHL, but is also really reliable defensively. Excellent in the faceoff circle. Drove play. Competitive. Should add to the Oilers’ depth down the middle.”

Corey Pronman of The Athletic said that “He’s a center with good size, very good hands and the ability to make plays. He’s able to play inside and competes fine off the puck. The production is impressive. Tomasek’s skating is the main area of concern in his NHL projection.”

Samanski is a big right-handed centre with a dash of skill, but he seems like more of a project that will be Bakersfield bound next season. Carfagna, a left-handed defenceman, has already reported to Bakersfield on an amateur tryout as his entry-level contract begins next season; but he has not played a game for them yet. He will likely stay in the AHL next season as well.

I’m not certain if Stauffer meant that those NCAA and European signings would all be external signings or not. If not, then we can count goaltender Samuel Jonsson on that list as well. The Oilers signed Jonsson to an entry-level contract on Saturday. He was named the Goalie of the Year in Sweden’s second league. He compiled a 17-6-0 record with a .922 save percentage, 1.88 goals against average, and six shutouts in 24 games for BIK Karlskoga.

Oilers GM Stan Bowman also recently said that the organization will be making an effort to sign 2020 fifth round pick Maxim Berezhkin while appearing on Stauffer’s show, Oilers Now on April 11. “He’s had a very good season. We’ve been in touch with his representatives and when his season finishes, we’ll buckle down on that.”

Berezhkin has 42 points in 66 games for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL this season, which is good for second place on that team. The 6’4”, 211 lb winger has a tantalizing skill set, and he’s only 23 years old. He would be an exciting addition without question.

Savoie will be in the mix for a roster spot next season as well. There are a lot of intriguing young forwards that will be in the mix for roster spots next season. The most interesting thing about all the forwards I’ve mentioned here is thay they’re all right-handed.

Viktor Arvidsson wasn’t exactly a rousing success in his first season as an Oiler, so maybe there’s a decision to be made there in the summer. Connor Brown will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Corey Perry is going to be 40 years old by the time next season starts, so who knows whether he will be back or not (although he would be welcome in my opinion). It seems unlikely that Derek Ryan will return. Noah Philp was a nice comeback story this season, but he doesn’t have a contract for next season and the additions of Tomasek and Samanski specifically (they’re both centres) will give Philp competition next season if he’s offered a contract.

Regardless of where all these new NCAA and European free agent signings end up playing, there’s been a concerted effort to acquire players and prospects through alternative avenues. The Oilers are in a “win now” mode, and they have been trading draft picks in search of immediate gratification ever since Ken Holland’s first trade deadline as Oilers GM in 2020. Holland’s drafting record while with the Oilers was not fruitful in the least, which has left the cupboards essentially bare. That makes NCAA and Eurpean free agents more intriguing.

The Oilers have dabbled in these markets in recent years with minimal success. Caggiula was an example of a successful NCAA signing, but there hasn’t been much to write home about beyond that one signing. Johann Auvitu played 33 games for the Oilers in the 2017-18 season. Joakim Nygard was highly touted before coming over from Sweden in 2019, but he played just 42 games over two seasons with the Oilers. German forward Gaetan Haas played 92 games over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, but was nothing more than a fourth line checking forward. Joel Persson played in thirteen games for the Oilers in 2019-20. Theodor Lennstrom only played in 19 games for the Bakersfield Condors in 2019-20.

Let me be clear in saying that Hutson (second highest points per game average in the NCAA this season), Leppanen (all-time single season points record by a defenceman in Liiga), and Tomasek (leading scorer in the SHL) are all superior hockey players to the likes of Caggiula, Auvitu, Nygard, Haas, Persson, and Lennstrom. There is more reason to be excited about these players than NCAA signings and European imports of years gone by; but there’s also a certain level of risk with late-developing undrafted players succeeding in lower leagues. I have some trepidation about these players being impactful long-term NHL successes, but they are certainly worth a try given the Oilers’ weak prospect system.