Jayden Perron, Cole Hutson and Marcus Brannman Earn Weekly Honors
October 19, 2022 – United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Wednesday the Players of the Week for Week 4 of the 2022-23 regular season. Another trio of players earned their first Player of the Week awards as Jayden Perron, Cole Hutson and Marcus Brannman were awarded for their outstanding performances on the ice last week with the Forward, Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week awards, respectively.
Forward of the Week: Jayden Perron, Chicago Steel (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Perron’s Forward of the Week performance last weekend, which saw the Winnipeg, Manitoba native collect five points (2-3-5) and jump out to the USHL league lead amongst skaters with 13 points (2-11-13) in eight games this season. The University of North Dakota commit has found himself on the scoresheet in all eight of Chicago’s games this season and opened last weekend with a two-goal performance in an 8-3 Friday night win over the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP). Perron’s first goal of the season came in the latter half of the first period and was followed by his first powerplay goal early in the middle frame. On Saturday night, Perron picked up a trio of assists, a USHL career-best, and made it seven of the first eight games of the season in which he recorded a helper. Perron is further proving why the Steel tendered him ahead of the 2021-22 season, picking up four points (0-4-4) in the first four games of the season before exploding for nine points (2-7-9) in the last two weeks of play. Last season, Perron put up 45 points (17-28-45) in 60 appearances with the Steel, ending with an appearance on the USHL All-Rookie Second Team. Perron also added three points (1-2-3) in three Clark Cup Playoffs games last season and is currently on pace for more than 100 points this season. Perron is 2023 NHL Draft eligible.
Defenseman of the Week: Cole Hutson, USA Hockey NTDP (Barrington, Ill.)
Hutson and the NTDP split the weekend against Perron and the Steel, picking up the Program’s first Under-17 win in USHL action this season. The Saturday night 5-4 win was spurred largely by a three-assist (0-3-3) performance from Hutson as the Boston University commit picked up the primary assist on the powerplay early nit he second, and an even strength helper in each of the second and third periods. The Barrington, Ill. native opened the weekend with an assist in Friday night’s matchup with Chicago. That assist marked Hutson’s first point of his USHL career after being held off the scoresheet in his first two League appearances. Cole is the younger brother of former USHL skaters Lane Hutson (USA Hockey NTDP, 2020-22) and Quinn Hutson (Muskegon Lumberjacks, 2020-22). Lane, a fellow defenseman, was a Second Round pick of the Montreal Canadiens (#62 overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft and Cole will try to beat the mark set by his brother when he’s eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft.
Goaltender of the Week: Marcus Brannman, Dubuque Fighting Saints (Bromma, Sweden)
Brannman has been solid for the Fighting Saints this season but was perfect on Saturday night, turning aside all 35 shots the Des Moines Buccaneers sent his was en route of his first USHL shutout. The Bromma, Sweden native faced an increasing onslaught of Des Moines chances as the game went on, making 26 saves in the final 40 minutes, including 12 in the final frame. Brannman’s shutout improved Brannman’s statline for the season to a 2-1-0-0 record in four appearances with a 1.82 goals against average and 0938 save percentage. His marks are second and third, respectively among goaltenders who have appeared in four games this season. The netminder is in his first USHL season and backstopped Team Sweden (U20) earlier this year, appearing in two games with a 1-0-0-0 record, 1.96 goals against average and 0.925 save percentage.
The USHL season continues with 13 games this week, beginning with a Thursday night matchup between the Tri-City Storm and Fargo Force live on FloSports.
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