While we discussed our 10th player in Brad Lambert in yesterday’s community draft board, the poll was actually a tie, meaning we’re not quite finished with our top 10. Also coming in at 10 on our community board is Cutter Gauthier, who fits nicely in this range, with available mock drafts placing the left-handed forward anywhere between 6 and 20 but mostly hanging around the top 10. Gauthier is a big guy, 6-foot-3 and 194 pounds, but most reports list his agility among his positive attributes. Gauthier was born in Sweden while his father, Sean, was playing goalie in Allsvenskan, but raised in Michigan at the ankles of the United States National Team Development Program, where he has played his junior career. Gauthier is committed to Boston College for next year after a 64-point final season with the USNTDP.
BSH 2022 Community Draft Board, T-No. 10: Cutter Gauthier
2021-22 Season:
Team: USNTDP
Statistics: 34 G, 31 A in 65 GP
Pre-Draft Rankings
No. 3 (NA skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 13 by McKenzie/TSN (midseason)
No. 11 by Dobber Prospects (April)
No. 20 by Wheeler/The Athletic (midseason)
What’s there to like?
There’s a reason that there’s talk of some scouts slipping Gauthier into the top 5 in the upcoming draft; he’s big but an excellent skater, plays the wing but can also play center, and has a strong shot but skill with the puck as well. He’s a goal-scorer, with 34 in 65 games in USDP this season and 19 in 28 games in the USHL.
Plus, his name is Cutter Gauthier. If the Mad Max franchise ever makes it to Wasteland France or French Canada, there’s sure to be a badass there name Cutter Gauthier.
What’s not to like?
While Gauthier is big, he’s not the most physical presence on the ice. This is not the worst thing in the world, but some fans see someone over six-foot on the ice and expect them to toss their body around. It’s the same kind of knock we saw frequently against another (semi-)recent top Flyers pick in James van Riemsdyk.
Scouts have not poked many holes in Gauthier’s game as much as they have expressed that he may not end up a top line player once he’s fully developed. Gauthier projects as a top-6 player with potential to hit it big, but his path towards becoming an elite first-liner is not as clear as some of the guys in the top-5 range. This is certainly not a problem, but with the Flyers making a rare top-5 pick and hoping to not be here again next season (we’ll see about that, though), you’d hope they can take this opportunity to add a true high-end talent.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Spend three minutes on Flyers Twitter or any Flyers-related internet forum and you’re likely to find at least a few comments clamoring for what the Flyers have been missing for most of the last decade: high-end goal-scoring. Or at least someone who shoots the puck. It’s the same logic behind acquiring Cam Atkinson last offseason and Owen Tippett at the trade deadline. Gauthier fits that bill, too. Corey Pronman’s report lists his shot as his main offensive weapon, with an ability to “pick corners from distance with a powerful wrist shot.” With a pick this high, teams are most likely looking to pick the best player available, but if the Flyers brass deems Gauthier that player, then it seems he’d be a nice fit with a very pass-heavy Flyers roster.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Most likely yes. While the consensus on the back half of the top 10 is a little muddled among scouts and writers, the top 4 seems pretty set, meaning it will probably come down to the Flyers making the first choice of the second tier of guys at no. 5. Gauthier is certainly an option for them, and if they don’t grab him, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go in the next few picks. Unlike Lambert yesterday, Gauthier feels like a lock to go in the first round and will probably be off the board before the first half of the first round is over.
Since we had a tie at 10, we’ll be adding two new players to the poll today:
Danila Yurov — LW/RW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) / Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL) — 0 G, 0 P in 21 GP, / 13 G, 36 P in 23 GP:
Yurov’s one of my favourites in this draft class. He is already a proven dominant player in the MHL, where he drives play, chances, and results at both ends. He’s got an impressive track record (in part because of his December 2003 birthday but mostly because of his well-rounded skill level) both domestically and internationally. He’s a kid who has really impressed me almost every time I’ve watched him against his peers. If you were to fill up two buckets with his tools (one for the strengths, one for the weaknesses) and place them on a scale, the bucket with his strengths in it would be overflowing and the one with his weaknesses would be near-empty. — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
Pavel Mintyukov — LHD, Saginaw Spirit (OHL) — 17 G, 62 P in 67 GP:
Mintyukov, who was a top prospect in Russia growing up, was supposed to make the jump from to the OHL last season before it was shut down. It took me some time this year to warm up to him as a result, but he has made a fan of me and of the scouting community at large with his play in Saginaw (though I’m a little lower than the consensus I gather). — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
Who should be no. 12 on the 2022 BSH Community Draft Board?
| Ivan Miroshnichenko | 27 |
| Jonathan Lekkerimaki | 20 |
| Danila Yurov | 4 |
| Pavel Mintyukov | 2 |
2022 BSH Community Draft Board
1. Shane Wright — C, Kingston (OHL)
2. Juraj Slafkovský — LW, TPS (Liiga)
3. Logan Cooley — C, NTDP (USDP/USHL)
4. Simon Nemec — D, HK Nitra (Slovakia)
5. Matthew Savoie — C, Winnipeg (OHL)
6. David Jiricek — D, HC Plzeň (Czechia)
7. Joakim Kemell — W, JYP (Liiga)
8. Conor Geekie — C, Winnipeg (OHL)
9. Frank Nazar — C, NTDP (USDP/USHL)
T-10. Brad Lambert — C, JYP/Pelicans (Liiga)
