Gauthier_Close Up (1)

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at forward Cutter Gauthier of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Cutter Gauthier
hasn't had the opportunity to meet Auston Matthews but feels as though he's known him his whole life.
Matthews, chosen No. 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, was born in San Ramon, California, but moved with his family to Scottsdale, Arizona, when he was 2 months old.
Gauthier (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), No. 3 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2022 draft, was born in Skelleftea, Sweden, and moved to Scottsdale with his family when he was 2 years old.
"There's not much recognition out there in the desert, so you are kind of just building your name, showcasing your skill from kind of the other side of the country where hockey doesn't really get looked at much," Gauthier said. "I actually started to really learn about Matthews when I moved out to Michigan [with the NTDP in 2020], so it's pretty cool to see Auston's path and how well he's doing in the National Hockey League.
"It's neat how our paths growing up have kind of aligned, whether it was playing for the NTDP or growing up in Arizona and playing hockey. It's great to see how hockey is expanding, especially in the desert."
The NTDP left wing not only has a body type similar to Matthews (6-1, 210) in his draft-eligible season, but also that same dynamic shot.
"I'm a two-way power forward with lots of skill and physicality and I love making plays," Gauthier said. "I love scoring goals and setting up my teammates as well as playing a physical game to create space and time for myself and my teammates."

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      NHL Draft: Best of Cutter Gauthier

      Adam Nightingale, who coached the NTDP the past two seasons, watched the progression and improvement in Gauthier's game and likes what he sees now in the 18-year-old.
      "It's a hard thing for players his age to understand what a power forward is," Nightingale said. "I think Cutter's a guy that's got a world-class shot, and when you're playing at the younger levels you might get some negative reinforcement as far as being able to score from the perimeter. So we offered him three things to work on.
      "One, are you playing physical? Two, are you moving your feet? Three, are you getting to the inside? If you want to be a power forward and want to produce at the NHL level, you have to be able to get to the inside. He improved the last couple months at the Program and really took another step in that process."
      Gauthier was second on the NTDP with 34 goals and was fifth with 65 points in 54 games. He also had nine points (three goals, six assists) and 30 shots on goal in six games for second-place United States at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
      He had 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 19 games against NCAA competition this season. Gauthier is committed to play at Boston College next season, where he anticipates he'll be playing center.
      "It's something I'm really looking forward to at Boston College," he said. "I felt pretty dominant over the past few years when I was at the center position, controlling the pace of play defensively as well offensively."
      His Canadian Hockey League rights are held by Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League, but Gauthier is committed to college hockey as the next step in his development.

      Gauthier_Skating (1)

      "The coaches at Boston College], the hockey ... BC has a great history and program, the coaches were great and I love the city," he said. "There's time outside of hockey that you can enjoy as well and I felt that was kind of a big reason I committed there too."
      Gauthier's father,
      [Sean Gauthier

      , is a former NHL goalie selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the ninth round (No. 181) of the 1991 NHL Draft. He played one NHL game for the San Jose Sharks in 1998-99 and concluded his career with Skelleftea in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second division, in 2004-05.
      "I wanted to play goalie originally, but I think I scored a few more goals than I allowed, so that's why I stuck with being a skater and I'm glad I made that decision," Cutter said.
      He seemed destined to reach this point in his career with the NTDP.
      "My dad played in Sweden, where I was born, and I kind of got into hockey over there," he said. "But then we moved to Arizona and that's where I really started my career, playing for the Junior Coyotes and kind of getting in the swing of things out there in the desert. I had the opportunity to move out to Michigan and pursue my dream with the HoneyBaked program up until I made the NTDP]. It's been a great path and I couldn't have asked for a better route."
      NHL Central Scouting senior manager David Gregory saw a significant improvement in Gauthier's game during the second half of the season. The 18-year-old moved up three spots from No. 6 in Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters in January.
      "As soon as you see him step on the ice, you see an NHL player," Gregory said. "He's a big, powerful guy who has deceiving speed, is a very good skater, gets by people with good hands or with power, and can really shoot the puck. NHL scouts are looking at this player and saying, 'Yeah, I want this guy on my team.'
      "He's been very consistent all year as a point producer and his game has really evolved into where he can play in all situations, so he can kill a penalty for you because he's got good reach, good positional play without the puck. Just a complete package."
      ***Photos:** Rena Laverty, USA Hockey NTDP*
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