Gauthier, eyeing Ducks roster spot, displays new physique at Rookie Faceoff

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Cutter Gauthier does not want to get pushed around in his first professional season.

So, the 20-year-old Anaheim Ducks forward prospect put on 20 pounds during the offseason and has been using his reworked 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame to push others around, at least at the 2024 Rookie Faceoff at Toyota Sports Performance Center.

Gauthier scored a power-play goal against the San Jose Sharks in a 7-2 loss on Sunday. He also handled himself physically during the chippiest game of the tournament to date.

The forward also scored a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-3 win on Friday.

“I’m feeling a lot better on the ice, feeling more dominant, more controlled going into the corners for puck battles and stuff,” Gauthier told NHL.com. “I didn’t want to come in the League and get tossed around by all these big defensemen they have in the NHL now.

“I wanted to be physical, play my game and not be timid of anyone else out there. It feels good so far, I’m not too slow right now.”

So far, so good for Gauthier, who often looked like he was on a different level than many of the prospects here during the past three days.

“First of all, good human, that’s the first place we will start,” said Matt McIlvane, the coach in San Diego of the American Hockey League who has worked with Gauthier this week. “He loves hockey, he cares about the game, he cares about performing really well all the time.

“His ability, in my opinion, is undeniable. He has tremendous puck skills, his shot is a huge weapon, he’s got good vision and tenacity, and he has a big frame with it. He’s an impressive player with a very promising future.”

The future starts in earnest when main training camp starts Thursday.

That’s when Gauthier’s new physique will be tested and the work he put in during the past four months will be on display.

Gauthier didn’t spend his offseason gorging on pizza and ice cream, which is the usual path to rapid weight gain. He ate good foods and lots of protein, increasing his workouts and concentrating on recovery.

It was hard work.

“I kept it tight all summer,” he said, with a laugh.

Now, he is ready to put his best foot forward to make the Ducks, 10 months after his controversial trade from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Gauthier, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Flyers, said he did not want to play for Philadelphia and did not show up for development camp in 2023. He was heavily criticized for the stance, especially by fans of the Flyers.

Like his work in the weight room, Gauthier believes the vitriol that came his way in the wake of the trade will make him stronger.

“I still get messages here and there, but I can’t change other people’s opinions, nor do I want to,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and play my game, do my thing and control how good I am on the ice.

“At the end of the day, I don’t really care what other people think. It’s what I think and feel as a person and what my family thinks. I can’t let all the outside noise distract me or else I’m going to go nowhere.”

Many believe Gauthier is going places -- and quickly -- with the Ducks.

He played for them in the final game of last season and had an assist after leading NCAA hockey with 38 goals for Boston College during the 2023-24 season.

Gauthier, who was the Anaheim captain Sunday, says one NHL game -- while mostly uneventful -- whetted his appetite for more.

“Playing in the National Hockey League is something you dream of and just getting a feel for the guys and what it’s like in the locker room and obviously playing in your first NHL game you get to see what it’s like, what the pace of play is like, how physical guys are,” he said. “I know it was the last game of the season, but I feel like I got a pretty good sense of what the tempo is going to be like for this upcoming year.”

He says if he can make the team, he is excited to join a young core that the organization is hoping will accelerate the rebuild for a team that hasn’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since a first-round sweep by the Sharks in 2018.

Anaheim went 27-50-5 last season and missed the postseason by 39 points.

Promising youngsters like 19-year-old center Leo Carlsson, 21-year-old center Mason McTavish, 23-year-old forward Trevor Zegras and 20-year-old defenseman Pavel Mintyukov suggest that brighter days are ahead.

He wants to be part of that journey.

“There is a lot of talent in this room,” Gauthier said, “a lot of youth in this room and it’s just pretty cool to see what the next few years are going to hold for all the guys and hopefully have them all grow into superstars and have a great team.

“That’s the goal at the end of the day and to win Stanley Cups, and I don’t think we are too far off from that in the near future with all the development and resources we have with the Ducks. I think it’s definitely attainable.”