Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier has played primarily center in his non-NHL career. With the Ducks loaded down the middle for the foreseeable future, will he see any time at center in his rookie season, and does it matter?
Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier has played primarily center in his non-NHL career. With the Ducks loaded down the middle for the foreseeable future, will he see any time at center in his rookie season, and does it matter?
Despite several highly anticipated prospects making their NHL debuts over the past half-decade for the Ducks, one of the most anticipated rookie seasons in recent memory in Anaheim belongs to Cutter Gauthier's 2024-25 campaign.
Following his sophomore season at Boston College in 2023-24, Gauthier (20) made his Ducks debut in their season finale in Vegas against the Golden Knights on April 18. In that game, he tallied his first NHL point, a no-look primary assist on defenseman Jackson LaCombe's game-winning goal.
Gauthier played his first game as the listed left winger alongside Leo Carlsson down the middle and Alex Killorn on the right wing to ease his transition to the NHL.
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Aside from his NHL debut and a ten-game stint during the 2023 IIHF World Championship, Gauthier has been listed at center and has primarily played a traditional center role.
During his sophomore season at Boston College, he centered the team's top line between Boston Bruins draft picks Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik, a line that was frequently matched up against opposing top lines. Gauthier was a 2024 Hobey Baker finalist and his 38 goals in 41 games were tied for the most goals in an NCAA season since 1993-94.
Moving forward, the Ducks are seemingly loaded down the middle. Players on the current roster who can or have primarily played center in their careers include Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, Ryan Strome, and Isac Lundestrom. Will Gauthier get an opportunity at center in his rookie season with a lineup that is full of potential centers?
“The beauty of it all is Greg (Cronin) is going to have a lot of options, so I think that he’s going to be able to do a lot of experimenting," Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek stated during his exit interview in April when asked about the future positions of Zegras and Gauthier. "I would look at some of this stuff to happen during training camp with a lot of the exhibition games that we’ve got. So he can explore and experiment with some of the line combinations, some of the chemistry that could get developed with guys playing in different positions. I think Greg has a lot of options at his hands and certainly, we’ll be able to discuss and watch and learn and see what combinations could work out.”
Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier speaks at development camp
Gauthier was the only top-ten pick from the 2022 NHL Draft to attend his team's development camp in early July. When there and on the ice with Ducks' legend Ryan Getzlaf, he didn't waste an opportunity to pick the brain of the franchise's greatest center and get some face-off tips.
With his blend of a powerful stride, the ability to change pace, cutback, read the ice, find soft areas, and already possessing one of the league's most lethal shots, Gauthier has proven effective anywhere on the ice and in any situation.
As a traditional center, he is consistently in position defensively while actively breaking up plays and engaging physically. He deftly times and supports pucks throughout the defensive zone, builds speed exiting the zone, and can adapt when attacking in transition.
With more traditional winger responsibilities, Gauthier uses his 6-foot-2 frame to establish body position along the walls, protect pucks with his reach, win battles in tight areas, and has proven to be a forechecking menace for opposing puck retrievers.
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The common theory remains if the Ducks can limit health issues that plagued them in 2023-24 and ice a somewhat consistent roster, Gauthier will likely play the majority of his rookie season listed on the wing.
Throughout the modern NHL and especially with the system the Ducks run, traditional forward positions are blurring together more than ever. Outside of defensive zone coverage, forwards weave, interchange, and support over the entire ice surface. Even in defensive zone coverage, the low forward assuming traditional center responsibilities isn't always that line's listed center, but the first forward into the defensive zone on the backcheck (F3).
If and when Gauthier finds himself on a line that doesn't include Leo Carlsson, who is the Ducks' most traditional center near the top of the lineup, he will all but certainly find himself in situations where he's low in the defensive zone, supporting pucks, and covering an opposing forward in coverage; for all intents and purposes, playing center.
Versatility is an underrated strength of Cutter Gauthier's game and his skillset seems a glove-like fit with the Ducks roster and play style as it's currently constructed as well as its outlook moving forward.
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