Ducks' Gauthier Speaks at NHLPA Rookie Showcase
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski caught up with Ducks' prospect Cutter Gauthier at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase
369 days following his trade from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Anaheim Ducks, Cutter Gauthier will make his return to the City of Brotherly Love when the Ducks take on the Flyers on Jan. 11, 2025.
Gauthier (19) had requested a trade from the Flyers sometime between when he was selected with their fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and when he was eventually traded to Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on Jan. 9, 2024.
Gauthier participated in the annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Arlington, VA on Sept. 4, donning a different orange jersey than the one he put on while on stage at the 2022 Draft. The event's main objective was to collect video and images of the next wave of young stars across the league for promotional material and trading cards.
At the Showcase, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski spoke to Gauthier, who offered some of his thoughts as his first season approaches as a member of the Ducks as well as what he's expecting when he takes the ice for the first time at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
"It'll be a fun game," Gauthier said. "Obviously, lots of excitement and lots of buzz around it. I'm not really too worried about it. Just go out there and play my game and do my thing and we'll see what happens."
Following a sophomore season at Boston College, where he scored 38 goals and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, he signed his three-year ELC with the Ducks on April 14 and made his NHL debut in the team's season finale in Las Vegas on April 18, collecting his first career assist.
He is expected to compete for the 2025 Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition" in the NHL. He will be part of a rookie class brimming with elite talent like San Jose Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, among many others.
When reflecting on his exit from the Flyers organization, Gauthier only offered his enthusiasm for his rookie year in Anaheim.
"I don't think that (situation) has any pressure on me whatsoever," Gauthier told Wyshynski. "Things didn't work out. I'm excited to be a Duck now and move forward with them and hopefully do whatever I can to help them win."
In his lone NHL game, Gauthier started alongside Duck's potential franchise center Leo Carlsson and veteran Alex Killorn. Gauthier is expected to assume a role at or near the top of the Ducks' forward depth chart throughout his rookie season and receive ample power play time.
Gauthier scored the most goals in a single NCAA season in nearly 20 years and will look to translate some of that success to Anaheim, where the Ducks have desperately needed a player with Gauthier's natural finishing ability for some time now.
The Ducks have seen their fair share of talented rookies make their NHL debuts and many rookie seasons have enthralled those who support the team, but Gauthier's 2024-25 season is among the most highly-anticipated rookie campaigns in recent memory for Anaheim.