Cutter Gauthier
Cutter Gauthier with Team USA in 2023
Born (2004-01-19) January 19, 2004 (age 20)
Skellefteå, Sweden
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NCAA team Boston College
National team  United States
NHL Draft 5th overall, 2022
Philadelphia Flyers

William Cutter Ruel Gauthier[1] (born January 19, 2004) is a Swedish-born American ice hockey player for Boston College of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a prospect to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. He was drafted fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.[2][3]

Playing career

Gauthier competed at the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game.[4]

In his Freshman season at Boston College, he was the Eagles' leading point and goal scorer, with 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 32 games. Gauthier earned All-Rookie team and Third-Team All-Star honors in Hockey East.[5][6]

On January 8, 2024, Gauthier's NHL rights were traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.[7] Shortly after the trade announcement, it was reported that Gauthier had refused to sign with the Flyers,[8][9] and Gauthier had stated in an interview the previous month that he did not think being drafted by the Flyers was going to "roll over well," because his favorite team as a child was the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.[10] Later that evening, in response to questions from the press on the matter, Flyers management confirmed that Gauthier had informed the team in May 2023, that he did not intend on signing with the Flyers; although the franchise had waited in hopes that Gauthier would change his mind, the trade was spurred after Gauthier and his representatives had repeatedly refused or ignored Flyers management attempts to contact him for the past few months, including skipping on the team's summer development camp.[11][12] Gauthier received death threats after the trade amid speculation that his decision was related to Flyers head coach John Tortorella or former Flyer Kevin Hayes, but he denied those rumors and stated that it was a "private matter."[13]

International play

Medal record
Representing  United States
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Canada
World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Germany

Gauthier represented the United States at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and earned a silver medal.[14] He was then selected to represent the United States at the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded three goals and six assists in six games and earned a silver medal.[15]

On December 12, 2022, Gauthier was named to the United States junior team to compete at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[16]

On December 16, 2023, he was again named to junior team's roster to compete at the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was named alternate captain of the gold medal-winning team.[17] He led the team in scoring, recording two goals and ten assists in seven games, tying Czech player Jiří Kulich for top scorer in the tournament.[18] He was named the Best Forward in the Directorate awards.[19]

Playing style

Gauthier models his game after Mark Scheifele, Auston Matthews, and Pierre-Luc Dubois.[20]

Personal life

Gauthier is the son of professional goaltender Sean Gauthier, whose career included a brief appearance with the San Jose Sharks. He was born during his father's playing stint in Sweden.[21] Growing up, Gauthier's favorite team was the Pittsburgh Penguins[10] and his favorite player was Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby.[22]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2020–21 U.S. National Development Team USHL 45 20 17 37 33 — — — — —
2021–22 U.S. National Development Team USHL 54 34 31 65 49 — — — — —
2022–23 Boston College HE 32 16 21 37 37 — — — — —
NCAA totals 32 16 21 37 37 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 United States U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 3 6 9 6
2023 United States WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 4 6 10 2
2023 United States WC 4th 10 7 2 9 2
2024 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 2 10 12 4
Junior totals 20 9 22 31 12
Senior totals 10 7 2 9 2

Awards and honors

Award Year Ref
College
Hockey East All-Rookie Team 2022–23 [23]
All-Hockey East Third Team 2022–23
All-Hockey East First Team 2023–24 [24]
International
World Junior Championships – Best Forward 2024 [19]

References

  1. ^ "Why would the Flyers trade one of their top prospects? Inside the Cutter Gauthier trade". ESPN.com. January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Little, Devin (July 8, 2022). "Philadelphia Flyers Draft Cutter Gauthier 5th Overall". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Cutter Gauthier at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Robinson, Tom (January 15, 2022). "Top U.S. Prospects Ready to Display Their Talents in BioSteel All-American Game". biosteelallamericangame.com. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "Hockey East Names 2022-23 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team". Hockey East Association. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Hockey East Names 2022-23 Men's All-Star Teams". Hockey East Association. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "TRADE: Flyers acquire Jamie Drysdale and a 2nd round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft from Anaheim in exchange for Cutter Gauthier". NHL.com. Philadelphia Flyers. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Quigley, Ryan (January 8, 2024). "Flyers trade Cutter Gauthier as reports surface of prospect's refusal to sign". broadstreethockey.com. Broad Street Hockey. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Ignudo, Tom (January 8, 2024). "Philadelphia Flyers trade former first-round pick Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim Ducks". cbsnews.com. CBS News. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b @eliteprospectshockey (December 19, 2023). "Get To Know Team USA's 2024 World Juniors Team 👀 from how they describe their game, to their favourite NHL players and teams 🔥 • #NHL #Hockey #USA #USAHockey #WorldJuniors #WJC #2024WJC #2024WorldJuniors #IIHFHockey #GoJetsGo #GoHabsGo #LetsGoFlyers #NJDevils #GoBolts #ALLCAPS". Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ Kurz, Kevin (January 8, 2024). "Top prospect Cutter Gauthier didn't want to be a Flyer. Now he won't be". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Douglas, Kayla (January 8, 2024). "GM Briere: Gauthier told us he 'didn't want to be a Flyer'". TheScore. Score Media and Gaming. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Staff, TSN. "Gauthier speaks on trade fallout: 'A 19-year-old kid getting a lot of death threats'". TSN. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ^ Scheder-Bieschin, Gabrielle (January 22, 2020). "Men's Ice Hockey Team Secures Silver At Youth Olympic Games". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Scheder-Baracchini, Peter (May 4, 2022). "5 Prospects Who Improved Draft Stock at World U18 Championship". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  16. ^ Kimelman, Adam (December 12, 2022). "2023 World Junior Championship rosters". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Spiegel, Jackie (December 26, 2023). "Five things to know about World Juniors from Cutter Gauthier to Matvei Michkov". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  18. ^ "Scoring Leaders".
  19. ^ a b Podnieks, Andrew (January 5, 2024). "Lekkerimaki named MVP". IIHF. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  20. ^ "Flyers Mic'd Up: Cutter Gauthier". Philadelphia Flyers. July 25, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cutter Gauthier Follows Father's Advice On The Ice". usahockeyntdp.com. August 26, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "NHL Draft 2022 Prospect Profile: Cutter Gauthier". WKBW.com. July 5, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  23. ^ "Hockey East names 2022-23 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team". Hockey East. March 8, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  24. ^ "HOCKEY EAST NAMES 2023-24 MEN'S ALL-STAR TEAMS". Hockey East. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.

External links

Awards and achievements Preceded byTyson Foerster Philadelphia Flyers first round draft pick 2022 Succeeded byMatvei Michkov
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