Prospect Info: Round 1, Pick 5: Cutter Gauthier, LW, USNTDP -> Boston College

[GKJ]

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[snoop88]

The list of NHL team's who have fans that suffer more than us is growing dangerously thin.

I firmly believe the Flyers are destined to be the next Chicago Cubs of sports, 50 year drought is already here, what's to stop this drought from another 30 years?

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

 

[Magua]

Can they ever just say: "This is a player with phenomenal skill"?

No one knows upside like Chuck Fletcher. Aim low, it's all upside, baby.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

Can they ever just say: "This is a player with phenomenal skill"?



No one knows upside like Chuck Fletcher.

Guy drafted Kaprizov.

The Flyers despise skill. It is undeniable. Just like the people around the league hating the Flyers because they “ruined” the league with their goonery… the Flyers think the rest of the league have ruined the sport with skill.

 

[Pantokrator]

I firmly believe the Flyers are destined to be the next Chicago Cubs of sports, 50 year drought is already here, what's to stop this drought from another 30 years?

I also think we will set the record for longest drought by the time all is said and done. Over the past 13 years, most of the teams that were ahead of us have won - 2010 Chicago (hadn't won since '61) , 2011 Boston (hadn't won since 1972), 2012 LA (hadn't won since inception, 1967), 2018 Washington (hadn't won since inception, '74) and St Louis 2019 (hadn't won since inception, '67).

The only teams left are Toronto, Vancouver, and Buffalo. That is why I am convinced Toronto will win soon - we have to become the biggest failures: it is our destiny. Vancouver doesn't look like much, but I can see Buffalo in the next five years.

 

[deadhead]

The 3 biggest boondoggles in drafting high are 1.) reaching on centers 2.) reaching on size 3) reaching on shoot-first players. Re-drafts are littered with the skulls of these archetypes, because teams want the good versions desperately, and Chuck Fletcher is an unimaginative GM who obsesses over certain traits and certain players. In a gallows humor way, it was always the obvious pick for this team.

Without saying Gauthier can't be a useful player, the Flyers possibly pulled the trifecta, and that's if Gauthier can even play center. I'm slightly more open to it than some -- I think he operates better in space, his puck control is fine, he's a utilitarian passer, and he already gravitates towards 3rd man high (so much for that PWF label, eh?) -- but it's assuming added risk, without a reward in keeping with 5th overall. If he can't make the switch, it's that much worse. It's hard to escape the idea they drafted your garden variety 15th overall type at 5th.

This isn't a gigantic swing, like it's being portrayed. That's the stuff that dreams are made of. It's a middle 6 floor pick. I'm skeptical he projects as a top end player, without anything resembling high-end skill or creativity; he'll probably always be a complimentary player, at ES/PP (flank?....trigger?). I'm a believer in this level pick needing to be used on real impact line drivers with a path to stardom. They painted themselves into a corner, colored by daydreams and (alleged) fit, to all but guarantee it looks bad from a future value/evaluative standpoint. The Flyers talking about needing elite talent, while not wanting to rebuild, and making this pick are totally incongruous. I'll gladly eat my words, but this will be one of those "what could've been" picks. It's the exact type of pick that prevents this organization from achieving escape velocity from the bubble.

It easy to say trade down, but in practice it's often difficult, especially when there's no one that someone below you falls in love with and are willing to pay a premium to move up. It's not like other teams were trading down.

One reason Roseman started making some of these deals pre-draft was getting burned on draft day.

It takes two to tango.

 

[Magua]

It easy to say trade down, but in practice it's often difficult, especially when there's no one that someone below you falls in love with and are willing to pay a premium to move up. It's not like other teams were trading down.

One reason Roseman started making some of these deals pre-draft was getting burned on draft day.

It takes two to tango.

I don't disagree, but Jiricek was also on the board. God knows where the Flyers ranked Gauthier (top 3?), so I'm going to guess this is a scenario that had more to do with how they valued the pick rather than a lack of viable offers. The Flyers don't exactly talk within the Cone of Silence either; everything they are going to do is advertised on a blimp. They were peeing themselves to take Gauthier.

 

[deadhead]

I don't disagree, but Jiricek was also on the board. God knows where the Flyers ranked Gauthier (top 3?), so I'm going to guess this is a scenario that had more to do with how they valued the pick than a lack of viable offers.

Well, weren't there a lot of question marks about Juricek?
He might have been the "safer" pick, but isn't that what we don't want, Fletcher playing it safe?

Like I said, as long as their scouts concurred that this was the BPA, so be it.

And yes, given the absence of uber-skilled players at that point in the draft, size has value, a skilled but not special smaller center will have limitations - look at Frost struggling after a great D+1 campaign. If they were taking size over skill that would be one thing, but this is more about a guy who athletically is the prototype center - but they have to project him at center, which is risky. Because center emphasizes different skill sets than wing, and until you see him there for a season, you won't know if he can grow into the job.

It's not a thrilling pick, but neither would the next "Domi". There are a lot of smaller skilled 3Cs in the NHL.
That is, on paper it's neither a great pick nor a mistake, like most of the picks from #5-12 or so in this draft, roll the dice.

 

[trostol]

again..Cuter was always gonna be the pick unless Wright fell to them..and even then i am not sure they would have chosen him

 

[Rich Nixon]

This dude is a total douche and I kinda f*** with that.

 

[The Rage Kage]

I know nothing about him other than the fact that Flyers management chose him, which is enough of a reason to be concerned about this pick.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

From yesterday (July 6):

Meet Cutter Gauthier, the prospect who could blow up the 2022 NHL Draft order

Big, strong and athletic, the uber-confident Gauthier has as much helium as any prospect heading into Thursday’s first round.

www.dailyfaceoff.com

MONTREAL – One thing you don’t expect to hear from a teenager, with dozens of microphones and recorders thrust in his face, one day before the biggest moment of his hockey life to date: a sales pitch.​

​

A confident and convincing one, too. But Cutter Gauthier felt more than comfortable delivering it Wednesday morning at the Montreal Science Center one day before he’s expected to be a top-five pick, give or take, in the 2022 NHL Draft.​

​

OK, Cutter. Over to you. Tell us what makes your game appealing.​

​

“I’m a two-way power forward with lots of skill who loves throwing the body, is extremely versatile, whether it’s playing left wing, right wing or center, power play, penalty kill,” he said. “I’d say I’m a complete package. I can play any role in any situation.”​

​

Gauthier, 18, has surged up mock draft boards in recent weeks for two reasons: (a) he displayed arguably the best all-around set of athletic tools at the 2022 NHL Draft Combine, with a 6-foot-3, 201-pound build to boot; and (b) it became clear that, while he experimented with playing left wing as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program, he’s comfortable being drafted and deployed as a center, and he’ll play center next season as a freshman at Boston College. Given his raw physical strength and power forward skill set, he’s one of the more unique specimens projected to go in the top half of the first round. If there’s a ‘Mock Draft buster,’ it’s Gauthier, who could rise as high as the top three depending on what the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes decide to do. It’s reminiscent of the late run big center Pierre-Luc Dubois made in the 2016 Draft season, culminating in him shockingly leapfrogging the ballyhooed Jesse Puljujarvi to go third overall.​

​

If Wednesday’s top prospect media availability was any indication, Gauthier is at peace with whatever hype comes his way. Missing were all the forgivable ticks you often see in a top prospect facing more media attention than he’s ever seen: shifty eyes, stuttering, “ums” and the like. No, Gauthier was all eye contact and conviction, closer to holding court than weathering the storm of a scrum. And instead of viewing the team interview process, which he participated in with roughly half the NHL’s teams, as a pressure cooker, he says he soaked it in and enjoyed it as a once-in-a lifetime experience. He’s not easily fazed by much, it seems.​

 

[Beef Invictus]

It was him or a RHD with a bad knee (why would the Flyers shy away from a top pick with an injury history?).

Gauthier is a risky pick, so was everyone else left on the board.

If he can play center, he fills a big need - if not, he'll still be a solid fit at LW, which after JVR leaves is basically Farabee, Lindblom, Laughton and Cates, and Desnoyers (if he moves from center). Unless you think Ratcliffe has top 9 potential or Lycksell is going to emerge as a major offensive force.

Once thing I like about big centers, as we've seen with Couts, is it's easier to fit smaller wings around them - and you can find smaller scoring wings well into the second round, big centers rarely are found past pick #20. So from roster construction, IF he pans out at center it's a big win. At LW, it's more a high ceiling pick. WIth his size, skating and shot, he could be a solid PF at LW, but unlikely to be a star.

He's basically BPA at the point in this draft where the only better player had injury concerns, after that, throw names into a hat.

Flyers got screwed again, if they stay at #4, they have a no-brainer pick.

No actually there were many other choices available.

 

[trostol]

chuck has a look of "i was told there would be cookies/ice cream/FroYo(most likely one)"

and aside from Danny..i have no idea who any of these people are lol

 

[Beef Invictus]

Just remembered that the Hakshell cost the Flyers the #4 pick by blowing a 2 goal 3rd period lead in that make up game against Winnipeg.

Would the Flyers have taken Wright at #4, or would Fletcher's connection have still won out?

Fletcher's connection wins out. Easily.

 

[Magua]

This is how I picture Fletcher conducting the interview:

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

This is how I picture Fletcher conducting the interview:

He's the spitting image of Flahr at half the size.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Can they ever just say: "This is a player with phenomenal skill"?



No one knows upside like Chuck Fletcher. Aim low, it's all upside, baby.

Oh good. Energy pick in the top 5. Awesome. These guys definitely understand hockey in 2022.

 

[Magua]

He's the spitting image of Flahr at half the size.

Brent Flahrkonnen

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Well, weren't there a lot of question marks about Juricek?

You're generally not going to get a team to come up to 5 unless they love a guy. It's not like there are ever 20 teams looking to come up that far.

Whether there were 1 or 3 teams gung ho about it, you're not going to end up with packages different enough that you keep the pick because of it. Or at least you shouldn't.

 

[trostol]

seems the Flyers subreddit loves the pick

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Brent Flahrkonnen

That is horrifying. The bottom one, I mean.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I’ve tried to talk myself into loving the pick.

I don’t love the pick.

I wouldn’t love Nemec or Jiricek, either. But I don’t love the pick.

 

[TheKingPin]

This pick was dead in the water. It’s more annoying we don’t have a 2nd and more important we don’t lose future firsts. Being so close to the consensus #1 is tough.

 

[freakydallas13]

Nothing like taking a high floor low ceiling pick at 5th overall. Is he even our best prospect at this point in time?