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Lane Hutson’s Olympic Snub Triggers Father’s Canada Talk as Rules Shut Door on 2026 Switch

Eligibility requirements and deep U.S. blue-line competition frame the omission, leaving any change of national team out of play for the Milan-Cortina Games.

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Overview

  • USA Hockey left the Calder Trophy–winning Canadiens defenseman off its 44-man Olympic orientation roster that included 16 defensemen.
  • Rob Hutson, a Manitoba-born father of the player, said his sons are also Canadian and floated the idea of representing Canada in the future.
  • IIHF rules require citizenship plus a multi-year transfer or residency window, and Hutson’s recent IIHF play for the U.S. makes a 2026 switch impossible.
  • Insider reporting points to Hutson skipping the 2025 World Championship and the U.S. surplus of left-shot puck-moving defensemen as key factors.
  • Selection remains open into the fall, and while Hutson focuses on his NHL season, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes declined to discuss any contract extension talks.