NHL teams have until Tuesday at 5 pm ET to make their final roster cuts for Wednesday's opening night. Gaudette, the 22-year-old Hobey Baker winner who played 56 games with the Canucks last season, had a fantastic training camp and pre-season. He was second on the team in pre-season points with four goals and two assists in six games, and was noticeably stronger and faster than last year.
Gaudette saw an opportunity and he seized it. But he knows the work has just begun.
"It's awesome," said Gaudette, following practice Monday at Burnaby 8-rinks. "That's step one and now step two is going to be getting into the line-up and sticking there. This is definitely not over. I can't settle down now, I've got to keep going and keep working."