A
dd another Jewish ath-
lete to Central Michigan
University’s sports
rosters.
Lucas Hutten, captain of
the Novi High School hockey
team last season, has joined
Central Michigan’s club hockey
team, which has played in the
American Collegiate Hockey
Association national tournament
five straight years.
Central Michigan basketball
recruit Noah Adamczyk, a 6-foot
guard who is the all-time leading
scorer in Bloomfield Hills High
School basketball history and a
two-time All-State honoree, also
is a newly minted Chippewa.
“Central Michigan is a good
school where I can pursue a
career in physical therapy, it’s a
big school, and it’s close to home.
Only two hours from Novi,
”
Hutten said.
“I wanted to play club hockey
in college because there are club
teams at big schools. I didn’t want
to play for a Division III hockey
program because it would be at
a small school, probably some-
where out East.
”
The Central Michigan club
hockey team, the university’s
only hockey team, plays its
home games at Martin Ice Arena
in Mount Pleasant and in the
Michigan Collegiate Athletic
Conference, so all of its confer-
ence games are in-state.
The Chippewas will make their
semi-annual trip to southwest
Florida this season, facing Florida
Gulf Coast on Dec. 1 and 2.
A big enticement for Hutten
to go to Central Michigan was
Brennan Martin, the Chippewas’
coach.
Like Hutten, Martin is a former
Novi defenseman who served
as the team captain as a senior
(that was in the 2015-16 season)
and went on to play at Central
Michigan.
Martin became Central
Michigan’s interim coach late last
year after being an assistant coach
for Eastern Michigan University’s
club hockey team. He was pro-
moted to Central Michigan coach
this spring.
“You could say the Novi hockey
team is a pipeline for our team,
”
Martin said. “We’ve had six guys
from Novi play on our team in
the last 10 years or so, including
four on this season’s team.
”
Hutten sent an email to the
Central Michigan club hockey
coaching staff expressing his
interest in the team a few weeks
before the annual Novi-Northville
rivalry hockey game held during
Thanksgiving break.
The game is always played in
front of a packed house at the
Novi Ice Arena, where both Novi
and Northville play their home
games.
Novi hockey alumni are known
to return home en masse for the
game, so Martin was there that
night last November. He also was
there as a scout for the Central
Michigan hockey team.
“I saw Lucas play and talked to
him after the game,
” Martin said.
Hutten said he didn’t know
Martin was coming to the game.
A few months later, on April
23, Hutten attended an open try-
out for the Central Michigan club
team in Mount Pleasant. He was
offered a roster spot and accepted
it that day.
“We’re glad to have Lucas,
”
Martin said. “Like the other
Novi players, he’ll provide great
leadership for us. He’s a stay-at-
home defenseman with offensive
capabilities. That’s a great combi-
nation.
”
The minimum age for a col-
legiate club hockey player is 18.
Hutten won’t turn 18 until Nov.
7, so he’ll miss Central Michigan’s
September, October and early
November games.
He’ll finally be eligible for a
Nov. 17-18 series against Adrian.
Sitting out that time is both
a positive and a negative for
Hutten.
“Lucas will be able to practice
with us during that time, and
he’ll sit with our coaches during
games,
” Martin said. “He’s a fresh-
man. There will be growing pains
for him moving up to this level
of hockey. He’ll get a good look
at it while he’s sitting out without
being thrown into a game.
”
Hutten acknowledged those
positives, but he’
d rather play.
“It sucks, but it’s only a couple
months out of four years,
” he said.
Unlike many other club sports
in college, there is a high level of
skill in club hockey and a major
time commitment is required.
“Hockey is the furthest thing
from a collegiate club sport that
you can imagine,
” Martin said.
“Our guys are on the ice four to
five days a week during the sea-
son, and we play on weekends.
We’ll play 30-40 games, including
the post-season.
“The guys will get a degree,
which is the most important
reason why they’re here, but they
won’t have as much personal time
as other students.
”
Central Michigan club hockey
players can receive only academic
scholarships, and each player is
responsible for annual team dues
that help fund the student-run
program.
Hutten played hockey for
Detroit last summer in the JCC
Maccabi Games in San Diego,
joining with players from other
delegations to form a team.
This summer, he was on
one of four teams that played
in Michigan Elite Hockey’s
Junior Prospects League at the
Kensington Valley Ice House in
Brighton.
His team, which also included
Jewish defenseman Clay Hartje
from Detroit Country Day, made
it to the league championship
game, but lost.
“The competition in that
league was great,
” Hutten said.
“There were college and junior
players and guys who want to
play the next level.
“I tried out for the league last
year, but I wasn’t drafted. So I was
a sub. I really wanted to play in
the league this summer and made
it this time.
”
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STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
36 | JULY 20 • 2023
Ex-Novi High School hockey team
star Lucas Hutten is headed to Mount
Pleasant to play for Central Michigan.
SPORTS
Lucas Hutten
was captain of
the Novi High
School hockey
team last
season.
HUTTEN FAMILY