Flyers top prospect Cutter Gauthier named to USA Hockey’s roster for World Juniors
The Boston College standout is one of seven returnees from last year’s bronze-medal-winning team.
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No surprises here.
Flyers top prospect Cutter Gauthier was named to USA Hockey’s 2024 World Junior Championship team on Saturday.
Among the 25 players on the roster, Gauthier is one of seven returnees from last year’s bronze-medal-winning team. He scored twice in the 8-7 overtime thriller against Sweden to seal the American’s seventh bronze — and 14th medal overall — at World Juniors. He finished with 10 points (four goals, six assists), tying him for seventh among all skaters and third on Team USA.
Gauthier has been a force in college hockey this season. In 17 games with Boston College, he has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists), including six power-play goals and five game-winners. He’s tied for second with Western Michigan’s Dylan Wendt for the most goals in NCAA and tied for eighth in points; Flyers prospect Massimo Rizzo is first with 31 points for the University of Denver.
Drafted fifth overall in 2002, the 19-year-old is expected to be a key cog in USA Hockey’s lineup as they aim for the top spot in group play against Norway, Switzerland, Czechia, and Slovakia.
» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk makes Canada’s World Juniors team; Denver Barkey misses out
Gauthier and Co. will play two exhibition games, including a game against fellow Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk and Hockey Canada on Dec. 23, before hitting the ice on Dec. 26 (11 a.m. , NHL Network) against Norway in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The team will play Switzerland on Dec. 28, Czechia the next day, and Slovakia — and the Flyers fourth-round pick from June’s draft, Alex Čiernik — in the New Year’s Eve tournament on the group stage. The tournament concludes on Jan. 5 with the medal rounds.
It has been two years since USA Hockey captured gold at World Juniors with current Flyers players Cam York and Bobby Brink leading the way. The Americans knocked off Canada, which had steamrolled its way to the grand finale, 2-0, to win the country’s fifth gold medal. York, who served as a captain, was named one of the top three players in the tournament for the U.S.