One of the things working in Hutton's favour is that he's spent the last 3 years playing against teams with an average age of well over 20 and, in some cases, almost 23, the bodies are a lot bigger in the NCAA.
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/almanac/funfacts-ageavg.php
This runs in contrast with someone like Subban, who's been playing against 16-20 year olds during the same time frame.
Benny the Hut also got some pro experience with the Comets last year. I'm okay with him going back to Utica but he's really starting to look like he can help the big club now. It is preseason though.