A day after losing Saturday’s NCAA men’s hockey championship game to the University of Denver, Boston College sophomore Cutter Gauthier signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks. Anaheim, the team announced Sunday.
Gauthier is expected to practice with the Ducks on Tuesday and make his NHL debut Thursday in the Ducks’ season finale against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Gauthier led the NCAA with 38 goals – which tied a BC single-season record – and was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft, won the award Friday.
Gauthier, 20, rose to the top of the Ducks prospect pool after Anaheim acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 8 in a trade for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. round in 2025. Gauthier was the Flyers’ No. 5 pick in 2022, but let club officials know he would not sign with them.
This decision to reject the Flyers – the talented forward and his representatives have yet to fully explain why he changed his mind – sparked an intense reaction from team officials, Philadelphia fans and of the hockey world in general. He will be welcomed in Anaheim, which anticipated his arrival. The Ducks regularly reposted Gauthier’s accomplishments this season on their official X account, formerly Twitter.
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Top prospect Cutter Gauthier didn’t want to be a Flyer. Now he won’t be
Although he played extensively at center, including during his time in British Columbia, Gauthier also often played left wing and said he was comfortable at either position. ‘other position. The Ducks already have visions of the 6-foot-2 forward finishing games created by rookie center Leo Carlsson and one day becoming the elite young scorer they’ve struggled to develop since Corey Perry. Troy Terry has had three straight 20-goal seasons and broke out with 37 in 2021-22, but is not the pure sniper Gauthier should be.
“He has elite, elite talent,” said Craig Button, a TSN hockey analyst who specializes in research for the network. “Cutter is really capable, in my opinion, of understanding how to get the best out of himself with those he plays with and getting the best out of them. It doesn’t matter who he plays with. It speaks to his hockey sense, his understanding.
“He’s a sniper, elite. Like elite precision. We can watch the world junior tournament. It was funny. People were like, “What’s wrong with Cutter Gauthier?” There is nothing wrong with Cutter Gauthier. It was barely a few centimeters missing. The looks he got, the opportunities he got were tight. You give him these opportunities, he will bury them more often than not.
Gauthier managed to stand out playing on a different line than BC’s trio of super freshmen, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault – all three of whom are top prospects. He played with them on the Eagles’ vaunted power play, scoring 13 times to tie Leonard for the team lead, but he also scored 24 even-strength goals and led BC with 10 game-winning scores.
The Ducks will expect Gauthier to make an immediate push for their 2024-25 roster. In addition to playing for the Eagles for two seasons, the Swedish-born, Arizona-raised scorer has already found success at the international level. Gauthier scored seven goals for the United States at last year’s world championships, then won gold at the world juniors in January with six BC teammates in leading the tournament with 12 points.
Gauthier has an edge in his game and boldness in his personality. In January, after the trade, the winger said he was already looking forward to playing his first game in Philadelphia. After Saturday’s title game, Gauthier spoke to reporters about the special group they were in a season in which British Columbia won 34 games and was the top-ranked team in the country almost the whole season. “We had a hell of a team,” he said. “They will be my brothers for the rest of my life. »
He later added: “It happens when it’s a one-game elimination, you’re playing a hot goalie and you’re playing (against) a strong defense. It’s just hard to end it like this. This is certainly not what we thought when we arrived. It is what it is and we can’t control anything now.
Now, Gauthier enters the next chapter. And he’ll be joining a Ducks team that once again sits at the bottom of the NHL with a 26-50-5 record, but shows plenty of promise for the future with an abundance of young talent.
That said, the Ducks are in their sixth straight year without playoff hockey. Right now, they’ll be celebrating bringing into the fold a pure scorer they couldn’t imagine becoming available to help end this playoff drought sooner rather than later.
“Thirty-eight goals,” Trevor Zegras said simply. “Good scorer. I’m delighted to have it.
(Photo by Cutter Gauthier: Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today)