Player Discussion Julien Gauthier

[BKGooner]

If gault's game takes off, having him and Kreider as bookends with Mika centering should put fear in D-men all over the league. The hit totals might not be want fans want to see but just the size and speed would force turnovers.

 

[Savant]

Gauthier might be a quadruple A guy (Canes thought so), but certain worth a dice roll. I’d not boost my expectations too high though

 

[RGY]

Im all in on Gauthier. I see flashes of Kreider in him. Not as fast but he can still move and he is big. And he is not afraid to go towards the net. He has the hands. When you play like that, the goals will come. He is physically mature enough for his skills to pierce through at the NHL level.

Kreider-lite. Having those two coming down the wings is going to be a wet dream, possibly as soon as next season.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Im all in on Gauthier. I see flashes of Kreider in him. Not as fast but he can still move and he is big. And he is not afraid to go towards the net. He has the hands. When you play like that, the goals will come. He is physically mature enough for his skills to pierce through at the NHL level.

Kreider-lite. Having those two coming down the wings is going to be a wet dream, possibly as soon as next season.

Kreider lite I dunno. he does not have a mean streak and isn't physical at all at least not yet

 

[Harbour Dog]

Kreider lite I dunno. he does not have a mean streak and isn't physical at all at least not yet

These are the knocks that people love to cite about Kreider...

 

[RangersFan1994]

These are the knocks that people love to cite about Kreider...

I dont think that's true with Kreider. I'd love if Gauthier can be another Kreider lite. He needs the grit and aggressiveness not the passiveness in his game

 

[haveandare]

Even if he can be a reliable third line player who is big and has a nasty shot, that’s a fine win by me. The bottom 6 needs to improve in a big way.

 

[n8]

Did Kreider have a mean-streak prior to getting tripped into Price by Emelin?

 

[nyr2k2]

Did Kreider have a mean-streak prior to getting tripped into Price by Emelin?

I've always thought Kreider was a bit chippy. He'll mix with up after the whistle, then give you that bemused, goofy look. I think he's always been like that.

After the Price thing, I think he stopped going as hard to the net and it made him less effective. And then he'd find his game again but then crash into another goalie, and have to do the reboot.

 

[RGY]

Kreider plays in a very calculated way. He altered his game a bit after the collisions with the goalies. He picks his spots to engage. He picks his spots to mix it up after the whistle. He will always stick up for his teammates if needed even if its just stepping in between. He is smart about things imo.

Gauthier isnt afraid to go to the net. He has the size and speed. He has the shot. Its very similar to Kreider. Maybe he isnt as physical but ive seen him go to work along the boards and the corner.

He has the potential to be a very good Kreider-lite

 

[Edge]

Gauthier might be a quadruple A guy (Canes thought so), but certain worth a dice roll. I’d not boost my expectations too high though

I like him at the price we paid. It was/is a fair roll of the dice.

But I will admit there’s part of that feels about Gauthier the way I did about Marcel Hossa and Josef Balej back in the day. In other words, I’ve never been quite as wowed by the overall package, or optimistic about the potential payoff, as some.

 

[usekakkorightquinn]

Comparing Gauthier to Hossa and Bajek is absurd. Those two guys were lazy. Gauthier is not. Right now much like all our young forwards, he's been buried on a line, gettting no icetime by Quinn. Quinn doesn't commit to developing young forwards. Something he needs to change or he won't be coaching in the NHL.

 

[RGY]

Comparing Gauthier to Hossa and Bajek is absurd. Those two guys were lazy. Gauthier is not. Right now much like all our young forwards, he's been buried on a line, gettting no icetime by Quinn. Quinn doesn't commit to developing young forwards. Something he needs to change or he won't be coaching in the NHL.

I would hardly call Hossa and Balej lazy. They just didnt have enough to bring it all together at the NHL level. Balej was not that good period.

Its not an absurd comparison by any means. That outcome is very possible. But for what the Rangers paid, it was the right move to make. Good gamble.

 

[nyr2k2]

Balej sucked.

Hossa wasn't lazy. When he stopped trying to play like his brother and instead chose to play to his strengths, he was quite effective as a third liner. He was really good on the boards and one-on-one battles.

IIRC Slovakia was better back then than they are currently, and he was a fixture on those teams. In the Olympics, WCs, etc. He was a good player who just had a hard time playing in the shadow of a brother who was one of the best players in the NHL for 15 years.

Lazy? Not as I remember it.

 

[Crease]

Probably not accurate but I get Brian Boyle vibes from Gauthier. Big guy, former high pick, scoring touch at lower levels that hasn't translated to the NHL yet. Still very early for the kid, but Boyle wouldn't be a bad result anyway.

 

[Mikachu93]

Probably not accurate but I get Brian Boyle vibes from Gauthier. Big guy, former high pick, scoring touch at lower levels that hasn't translated to the NHL yet. Still very early for the kid, but Boyle wouldn't be a bad result anyway.

He is way faster than Boyle but could see the style comparison in terms of skill and play away from the puck.

Personally, I think Gauthier has the potential to be a 25-25 player in the right situation but I think he also has a strong chance of becoming an effective third line winger who puts up 30 points and can play special teams.

I really like that acquisition and I think he played rather well even if it wasn't reflected on the scoresheet.

 

[mas0764]

Even if he can be a reliable third line player who is big and has a nasty shot, that’s a fine win by me. The bottom 6 needs to improve in a big way.

Not even sure it's likely there is room for more than that.

Panarin, Kakko, Kravtsov, Kreider, possibly Chytil, Buch is only 24, plus we have a first round pick coming.... where's Gauthier playing in the top 6?

 

[ecemleafs]

If gauthier cant put together the scoring touch maybe he can be a chimera? Very fast and big players who contributed effectively. Be nice if hes got a bit more handle with the puck tho.

 

[TominNC]

Gauthier isn't a 25 year old, last chance guy. He's just 22. The same age Kreider was in his first full season. I don't think we know what Gauthier can do.

 

[Thirty One]

Gauthier isn't a 25 year old, last chance guy. He's just 22. The same age Kreider was in his first full season. I don't think we know what Gauthier can do.

And Kreider struggled mightily in that season.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Keep in mind we haven’t seen him play in Florida, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Tampa, San Jose, Vancouver, etc yet. They call him Sea Level Goat for a reason. According to altitude analytics in his Rangers stint he’s played at an alt/60 of 3,188ft, which is the highest of any player who isn’t on the Avs.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Gauthier isn't a 25 year old, last chance guy. He's just 22. The same age Kreider was in his first full season. I don't think we know what Gauthier can do.

And Kreider struggled mightily in that season.

Gauthier has significantly outproduced Kreider in pretty much every comparable season so far. Kreider stepped up and scored 37 point in 58 games in what is Gauthier's upcoming season though. Kreider has pretty much hit his absolute ceiling as a player these past couple of seasons though (weird cold streaks aside), it remains to be seen if Gauthier can apply his skillset as well as Kreider has.

Keane for Gauthier is pretty similar to trading Kreider for Theodore (if Theodore was two years older) at the 2013 deadline.

 

[dshea19]

The only thing I think stood out as a negative to me was his board play. Guy is crazy strong but lost too many board battles. I think he needs to learn the nuances leverage and positioning. After that, I like the rest of his game just fine.

 

[Levitate]

I like him at the price we paid. It was/is a fair roll of the dice.

But I will admit there’s part of that feels about Gauthier the way I did about Marcel Hossa and Josef Balej back in the day. In other words, I’ve never been quite as wowed by the overall package, or optimistic about the potential payoff, as some.

I liked what I saw of him in the limited viewing we got. He's fast, would go to the net, isn't creative with the puck in a passing sense but tries to attack the net instead of dinking around. The question to me is whether he's a guy who always looks like he's on the verge of getting it or not. He was doing the right things but does the skill that allowed him to be a good goal scorer in the AHL translate enough to the NHL

 

[B17 Apricots]

I'd still say his ultimate ceiling is probably not that far from what Anthony Mantha has been so far in his career. If he stays healthy I think Mantha still has another tier he can hit. I'd say Gauthier's upside is a notch lower than that