Player Discussion Julien Gauthier

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I'm not all that impressed by his AHL or QMJHL resume either. Brian Boyle had more offense than him at this point. :dunno:
And I'd say a lot of the same things about Boyle at that age. A lot of the time they don't pan out, and I think it's more likely Gauthier doesn't than does, but there's reasons why I have hope.
 
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Right now Howden is okay as a bottom 6 player. Not sure what Gauthier is yet other than a pretty good AHL goal scorer. The things that will help him is to use his size and strength and be a 200' player and a guy who can do some penalty killing.

Returning to Howden--the guy made the jump to the NHL straight from the WHL more than less because of our depleted roster. He would no doubt have benefitted from some time in the AHL. To me he's a guy who was thrown in at the deep end through no fault of his own. It particularly has shown up in being weak for his size but he's getting older and I expect that strength component is going to get better. In some respects it's Malhotra 2.0.
Have to agree....all Gauthier has to do is bump the living crap out of a few defenders and he will soon gain some attention and the points will follow as will his ice time . Hit , hit and hit....it is that simple . Give a few guys an extra shove or so in crease or corner scrums and let them know you are around and they best keep their heads up . Big guys who hit are watched for and that can lead to cough ups and turn overs/forced errors and stuff our quick fellows can take advantage of . A successful season for him would be 12-15 goals and many forced turnovers....and about 5 scraps LOL ....he will soon get noticed with his speed and size. He does not have to kill anybody...just be a physical presence ...something we lack a bit of up front at this stage ....the opening night spot is right there for him if he wants it bad enough . I see many saying he has the tools.....well maybe he just lacks a toolbox...and he would not be the first one .
 
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At 22 years old, Gauthier had 26 goals in 44 games in the AHL prior to his trade. I know we like to limit our expectations of players but that's a hell of half season in the AHL. That's on pace, over a full AHL season, to score 44 goals. Again, at age 22.

Different organization. It's a lot easier to do it on a team not called the Hartford Wolf Pack :laugh:
 
Gauthier put up very good goal scoring numbers in Charlotte last year. He played 5 games for the Hurricanes--got an assist. Played 12 games for the Rangers got two assists and played all three play-in games and was shut down. He didn't get a ton of ice time with the Rangers and most all of his minutes were 4th line minutes. He's not going to be a top 6 winger for us. Winning two straight lotteries and drafting wingers with both kills any chance of that. So Julien's going to have to do grunt work and he's going to have to be reliable at both ends of the ice. For now he's played 20 NHL games overall--regular season and playoffs and has 0 goals and 3 assists in limited ice time. It's not a lot to make projections on IMO.

He's got excellent size and strength and is a really good skater with pretty good hands. His physical play and defensive awareness from my limited view of him could get better. He's not really a fighter--he isn't. I think he's only got one or two fights listed at Hockeyfights.com in like 6/7 years. It is what it is--being big doesn't mean you fight a lot or are good at it or that you fight at all. Not fighting a lot or at all doesn't mean you don't have a physical game. I'm just saying don't expect him to be dropping the gloves very often or at all. A lot of players that kind of game isn't really in them.
 
Most likely he gets traded fairly soon, don't think he is known for a strong 2 way game or PK ability.

Reminds me of Marcel Hossa.
 
Most likely he gets traded fairly soon, don't think he is known for a strong 2 way game or PK ability.

Reminds me of Marcel Hossa.

I'm afraid you may be right about him being traded...but i couldnt disagree with that more, esp if its a howden the team sticks with over him. I sort of get the marcel hossa comparison...esp in how they look on the ice, but ultimately do think they are very different players. hossa was just a little too slow in like everything...but he definitely looked the part and watching him in warmups you'd think he was a superstar. the thing with gauthier is his hockey iq isn't great, but he's huge, can fly, and has good puck skills / shot, will play physically though i think that will be something he has to bring more of to break through...but whereas for a lot of the all the tools no toolbox guys who try to play a finesse game when they can't process fast enough at this level to do much - this kid knows who he is, esp w/ the puck. he's got those cy young stats for a reason. he gets the puck going up ice hes challenging the d man wide almost every time, although he does have pretty good hands one on one when he does mix it up, but he's fearless dropping that shoulder, a beast of a kid, and he just takes the pile to the rack and can finish...i'll take one of those guys all day every day. the fact he's so willing to engage physically in protecting the puck and driving through contact it makes me confident he'll have no problems adding more of that and becoming more involved on the forecheck. as a final note...should mention, granted small sample size, one of the most overlooked things to come from the bubble flow was how much better gauthier looked. kakko got all the attention and rightfully so for his improvement, but gauthier was right there with him. i'd say they were probably our two highest impact forwards in terms of driving and creating offense...obviously a low bar in those 3 games, but it was a small positive. we'll see how it plays out. funny seeing who becomes the lightning rod guys for the fanbase...gauthier appears to be securely in that camp with the split on opinions.
 
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You want production out of your bottom 6 particularly your third line. Other things from your bottom 6 are at least as important. Defensive awareness and play away from the puck--penalty killers--physical play as in winning puck battles and grinding ability and wearing down opposition defenses and getting pucks deep in the opposition's defensive end and disrupting your opposition from moving up the ice.

I don't think we're going to have to worry about goal production with the players we can put on our top two lines and really all you ever have to do is score one more goal than your opposition.

Speaking of guys who might end up on our 4th line--I haven't seen enough of Gauthier right now to make a judgement whether he's going to work out or not. Howden I expect will get better--that doesn't mean he won't get moved at some point. Lemieux needs to correct a few things as well. There's a pretty good chance that Rooney sticks as a 4th liner--size and penalty killing. What happens with Blackwell or Di Giuseppe we'll see.
 
I go into next season giving Julien every chance to be the third line right wing. His to lose. Drop him to the 4th line if you have to if he floats. He has to know its make or break for him with the Rangers in perhaps as little as 20 or so games out of camp.
 
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I go into next season giving Julien every chance to be the third line right wing. His to lose. Drop him to the 4th line if you have to if he floats. He has to know its make or break for with the Rangers in perhaps as little as 20 or so games out of camp.

Agreed, but he has to really improve his overall game and hockey IQ to be effective.

Being French Canadian, I think it would be a good idea to have him play with Lafrenierre for first part of the season. Either Strome or Howden or Chytil at center.
 
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Most likely he gets traded fairly soon, don't think he is known for a strong 2 way game or PK ability.

Reminds me of Marcel Hossa.

disagree here. I doubt he gets dealt. Rangers took a chance for a reason. stick Kreider with him to help him raise his game. .
 
Rangers are likely going to take a prolonged look at Gauthier and try a number of situations to see where he fits.

Whether it works out is another question, but I'll be very surprised if he doesn't get multiple chances with different combinations.

Even if he sticks as more of a tweener, I think the Rangers will gladly take that as a return on their investment.
 
Rangers are likely going to take a prolonged look at Gauthier and try a number of situations to see where he fits.

Whether it works out is another question, but I'll be very surprised if he doesn't get multiple chances with different combinations.

Even if he sticks as more of a tweener, I think the Rangers will gladly take that as a return on their investment.
I could see him in a camp competition with Kakko as to who gets to play on Panarin & Strome's line
 
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Rangers are likely going to take a prolonged look at Gauthier and try a number of situations to see where he fits.

Whether it works out is another question, but I'll be very surprised if he doesn't get multiple chances with different combinations.

Even if he sticks as more of a tweener, I think the Rangers will gladly take that as a return on their investment.

we did not get him free, Keane is a very solid prospect who put up 37 points in 58 AHL games in his 1st pro season as a Dman
 
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keane was never playing for the rangers with the depth of defensive prospects we have
And he may never play in Carolina either. They have the depth at the NHL level and in the farm system. He may be an NHL player but that might not be for another 2-3 years if it does happen and a good chance it is with his 3rd organization. Gauthier is at the NHL level right now. He is further along and has a better chance of being something in the NHL in the near future. The ROI would be huge from the Rangers standpoint even if he ends up topping out as a 3rd line winger
 
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And he may never play in Carolina either. They have the depth at the NHL level and in the farm system. He may be an NHL player but that might not be for another 2-3 years if it does happen and a good chance it is with his 3rd organization. Gauthier is at the NHL level right now. He is further along and has a better chance of being something in the NHL in the near future. The ROI would be huge from the Rangers standpoint even if he ends up topping out as a 3rd line winger

he is their top RD prospect I think, they are loaded with LD.
 
he is their top RD prospect I think, they are loaded with LD.
Unless Dougie Hamilton walks, they are set on the right side. I dont see a clear path for him to the NHL there either. He is an injury call up option.

The value of Gauthier and where he currently is at in his progression was higher to the Rangers than where Joey Keane is at and the position he plays. This was still the right move and I believe Gauthier will be a solid 3rd line RWer for us, which is a homerun in a trade like that plus we need depth at the forward position
 
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