Quinn Hutson's first callup with Edmonton Oilers well earned

He came, he saw, he scored his first NHL goal.

About the only thing more Quinn Hutson could have done to try and stick around longer on the Edmonton Oilers roster would have been to suddenly learn how to play in net.

But as it was, the 23-year-old forward filled in nicely for an Oilers squad with four players on long-term injured reserve prior to Jack Roslovic returning to active duty in a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

By that time, Hutson had made the journey back to California to resume his role with the Bakersfield Condors, where he not only led the team in scoring, but all American Hockey League rookies with 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games.

Make that ‘leads’ them in scoring, considering none of his teammates, nor fellow AHL freshmen surpassed him during his three-game stint with the Oilers

It wasn’t his NHL debut. That happened last year, when he parachuted in following his collegiate career at Boston University to sign a two-year entry level deal with the Oilers in April, and suit up for a pair of games prior to playoffs.

While it might have been easy to overlook him upon his arrival, Hutson has made himself tough to ignore when the Oilers came a calling after ending up in some injury trouble.

His goal was big, standing as the game-winner in a 3-1 result over the Bruins in his first visit back to Boston in skates.

His first NHL point stands as his lone tally in three games this season, but trying to compare that to his point-per-game pace down on the farm would be apples to oranges, if the oranges were NHL-calibre opposition.

Hutson knew he wasn’t going to get the same sort opportunities while playing way down on the Oilers fourth line.

“He can’t worry about being on the first power play, because that’s not happening,” said Condors head coach Colin Chaulk. “But you never know, things change quick.

“Did anyone think that Quinn would be called up before Christmas? I don’t know. I didn’t think that he would get called up before Christmas, but we’re going to let the players play. And the player decides and everybody ends up where they belong and he’s deserving of it.”

More chances will come, no doubt, and he won’t always be held to 7:34 minutes of ice time each game. But those seven-and-a-half minutes contributed more to his development than just in the stats line.

“He’s just got to make good decisions with the puck and be himself. If there’s an opportunity to make a play, make it. If there’s an opportunity to finish a check, do it,” Chaulk said. “If it’s eight minutes, make it a good eight minutes and gain the trust of the players and the coaches.”

It’s the same things he has been doing all along down in Bakersfield. And with the way things were going, he couldn’t have been too surprised when the phone rang for him.

“I think with (Isaac) Howard being sent down, and Max Jones being down and just getting a recall, I don’t know if he was expecting it,” Chaulk said. “I think he was in a really good place and was learning to play without the puck. We were focusing on his board work and his speed, jumping into areas to demand the puck back.

“I think when he’s got the puck, he’s dangerous and smart. He knows how to find holes. So, those are all things that he’s learned from his other coaches and his upbringing and hockey pedigree.”

In other words, keeping his nose to the grindstone.

“I think the best times are when opportunities in life come to you when you’re just doing things and you’re not hoping for it,” Chaulk said. “You’re just doing your thing and because of your body of work, it comes  your way.”

For now, the Condors get the top rookie in the AHL back in their ranks, and that’s never a bad problem to have.

“From a points perspective, we knew what he was going to be,” Chaulk said. “To put it frank, Stan (Bowman, Oilers general manager) and I had a conversation, and Stan said, ‘I’d be surprised if he wasn’t top three on your team in scoring.’

“So, we’re putting him in situations, he’s on the first power play, he’s on 5-on-3 power plays, he’s on the 4-on-3 power play, he’s playing 4-on-4, he’s playing overtime 3-on-3. All of those things are the coaches putting him in situations to have success. And he’s meeting us halfway by doing the things that he’s talented enough to do, then he’s also trying to grow in other areas. Not to mention, we’re also putting him on the penalty kill.”

Hutson does have an advantage over other AHL rookies.

“He’s 23, so he’s a little bit older as a rookie,” Chaulk said. “He should be amongst the leaders in rookie scoring. I think that standard expectation was sent from the general manager and the development staff, knowing that we had a good player.

“So, we’re happy that he’s producing and he’s in a good space and he earned his first callup.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On X: @StarkRavinMod

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