ANAHEIM, Calif. — Late in the 17th game of his NHL career, Cutter Gauthier finally scored a goal for the Anaheim Ducks.
Gauthier’s teammates and coaches don’t expect he’ll have to wait so long for the second goal in what’s already been a tumultuous year for a gifted rookie learning all about the multifold challenges of pro hockey.
The 20-year-old forward finally found a net with his 36th shot of the season, beating Detroit’s Alex Lyon low off the rush. After 15 straight goalless games this season — and a goalless debut in Anaheim’s season finale last April — Gauthier celebrated with both excitement and relief.
Even better, his goal broke a tie in what turned out to be a 6-4 victory over the Red Wings.
“Wasn’t due to a lack of opportunities, but it was a dream come true,” Gauthier said. “Against (my) hometown team, Detroit, it was a surreal moment, and I’m just so pumped.”
Gauthier has been through plenty in 2024 already, but he hasn’t slowed down.
His year began with the end of his awkward standoff with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him fifth overall in 2022. After Gauthier refused to join the club for reasons that still remain unclear, Philly gave up and traded him to the Ducks in January for promising defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
Gauthier then finished his final season at Boston College, where he was named a Hobey Baker Award finalist and reached the Frozen Four championship game. He joined the Ducks for a one-game NHL debut in April and then rejoined them in September for training camp, earning his ticket straight to the big leagues.
And then the goal drought began. Gauthier started out on a line with Leo Carlsson, the Ducks’ teenage Swedish playmaker — but after a promising preseason, they couldn’t turn their formidable talents into goal-scoring chemistry once the regular season began.
“Obviously, it’s the best league in the world, and you don’t have a lot of time and space,” Gauthier said. “I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed is when to manage the puck, when to make the right play when I have some time, and when I’ve just got to keep it simple and get it deep, or get on the forecheck. I think a little bit of just adjusting to the speed and how good guys are has been the biggest transition for me.”
Ducks coach Greg Cronin also grew concerned about the habits that would be created by that fruitless partnership, so he moved Gauthier up and down the lineup. Gauthier began Friday night on Anaheim’s putative fourth line before Cronin moved him to another group during the game.
Through it all, Gauthier hasn’t stopped working or shooting the puck — the two things Cronin requires of his forwards.
“He’s been pounding pucks,” Cronin said. “To his credit, he’s been moved down the lineup to try and simplify his game and get a little bit more fourth-line habits and more of a checking kind of commitment. We always talk about changing the value system to give the guys a reset on what they’re focusing on instead of just scoring goals, and I think he fed off that. And the whole time he’s been doing this, he’s been positive, supporting his teammates, no sulking, practicing hard. I love talking about stories like that, because they’re a reflection of the culture we’re trying to create here.”
The first goal had an extra bit of meaning for Gauthier, the son of a well-traveled goalie who played only one NHL game in a lengthy professional career. Although he was born in Sweden and then grew up in Arizona, Gauthier spent his adolescence in Michigan, playing in the state’s vaunted youth systems.
With his historic puck secured, Gauthier can look for more. The Ducks are counting on him to be a key component of their young core as they chase their first playoff berth since 2018.
“We have a highly skilled young team who can make plays like that night in and night out,” Gauthier said. “It’s just about having the confidence to do that consistently. It’s a super-young group, but it’s a confident one as well. The more we build our confidence, the more we’re going to be doing that moving forward.”
