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

