'He Knows How to Win': Gaucher Emerges as Future Leader of Young Ducks

Nathan Gaucher's life has changed quite a bit over the last 15 months.

In April 2022, at 18 years old, Gaucher was in the midst of his first Memorial Cup run, a three-month playoff journey that would ultimately finish just short of the ultimate goal.

Later that month, he was crowned the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Best Professional Prospect, a good omen for the upcoming NHL Draft.

A versatile forward seemingly closer than most to making the jump to pro hockey, Gaucher's name was called early on draft weekend, tabbed with the 24th pick by Anaheim.

Gaucher immediately impressed in Southern California, making a strong first impression at rookie camp, emerging as a leader among the Ducks of tomorrow, and then showing maturity beyond his years when skating alongside the NHL roster in September.

Once sent back to Quebec for another title run, Gaucher just picked up where he left off, emerging as one of the league's most dominant two-way players, winning the league's Best Defensive Forward award and this time helping the Remparts finish the job with a Memorial Cup title under the guidance of legendary NHL goaltender Patrick Roy.

In between all of that, he authored a key role in back-to-back World Junior Championships for Team Canada, the first as the youngest player on the entire roster.

Not a bad year, eh? You'd think squeezing all those accomplishments in before your 20th birthday would instill a sense of pride, but Gaucher doesn't work that way. Instead, he's already turned the page.

"It's hard to reflect on the season because I always just have a goal ahead of me," Gaucher said. "I'm always looking to what's next. Of course, if you reflect back, it's been a great year. These experiences are going to help me.

"I know how to win. I've grown up a lot in the last year, learning from my experiences and just looking forward to the next thing."

That maturity was again well on display at Ducks Development Camp at Great Park Ice, where Gaucher's infectious positivity, competitiveness and selflessness clearly made him a leader among the Ducks of the future.

"He's a wonderful kid," Ducks Director of Player Development Jim Johnson beamed of the first-round pick. "He's one of those guys you want to be around all the time. I see it with his teammates.

"That's what we're trying to create not only with Nate but with a lot of these guys. We've gotta try to get more out of them and help them become more of a vocal leader.

"Those are the guys that are eventually going to lead this organization forward in leadership roles. He's one of those guys. He's got the personality number one. He's got great communication skills. He's a real likeable guy and he knows what it takes to win. So you add that all together and, to me, that adds up to a real nice leader down the road."

Said Gaucher, "Even after one year, I can help the younger guys that just got drafted. Show them around, helping them see new faces and knowing the names of everyone...I want everybody to feel comfortable. I don't want anyone stressing about anything. Just get everyone to be comfortable and performing at their best."

While that sense of community in the locker room may quickly make Gaucher a favorite among his teammates, ironically it's his vastly different on-ice persona that could help accelerate his path to the big leagues.

In juniors, Gaucher was a something of a jack-of-all-trades. At times, he played in an offensive role alongside Quebec's most gifted scorers and showed his ability to complement their games, tallying 46 points in 44 QMJHL games. Other times, he slotted in the middle as a shutdown center, tasked by Roy to eliminate opposing top lines. He did that well, too, with a league-wide award to prove it.

"He can play any position and he did it all season long," Johnson said. "First-line center. He can go check and be the third-line center. He can play the wing. He's got unbelievable power. I think he's very effective on the forecheck, he's very physical there. He can finish his checks and he kills plays in the defensive zone.

"When somebody is that versatile, you can slide into that many spots and can help in so many areas, now we've gotta figure out what he's really capable of at the next level."

"For me, it's about the small details all around the ice," Gaucher said of the next stage of his development. "You come to your first pro camp and you see that, yeah you're a good player but you're missing this little edge. You're missing those details to make the next step. That's what I was trying to improve on as a junior player and I can bring it back here to the pro level.

"I know my role and it's really important for me that the coach trusts me and the players around me trust me. When I'm on the ice, I'm going to be good defensively and sharp. Winning faceoffs. I put pride on different things maybe other people don't and that's why I'm reliable defensively and offensively."

Gaucher will now shift his focus to his second pro training camp this fall, albeit a much different experience than his first go-round. This time, there is no returning to juniors. Instead, the Longueuil, Quebec native is staying in Southern California, whether with the Ducks or the American Hockey League's San Diego Gulls. One way or another, it's time for professional hockey.

"He takes information in and processes it very quickly," Johnson said. "But what I like most about Nate is he can then apply that information to the game, to practice, to hit habits and the details of his game. It bodes very well for him. He'll be ready to go."

Gaucher admitted, "It won't be perfect as camp develops. But there is such a great group of guys here that I have full confidence in the way they do things and the decision they're going to make."