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Cutter Gauthier is ‘pumped’ to play the Flyers in Philadelphia this season

The Flyers sent the 20-year-old center, who requested a trade, to the Ducks. He'll make his return to Philadelphia on Jan. 11, 2025.

The Flyers traded Cutter Gauthier, who they selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, to the Anaheim Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. Gauthier will make his return to Philadelphia on Jan. 11, 2025.
The Flyers traded Cutter Gauthier, who they selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, to the Anaheim Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. Gauthier will make his return to Philadelphia on Jan. 11, 2025.Read moreGiana Han

The 2024-25 NHL schedule is officially out. There are a number of games Flyer fans should be excited for, thanks to the arrival of top prospect Matvei Michkov. But one game shot to the top of the list — former Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier’s first matchup in Philadelphia.

The game, set for Jan. 11, has been highly anticipated since Gauthier, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, shocked fans by requesting a trade out of Philadelphia. Just over a year later, Gauthier will make his debut in Philadelphia in orange — for Anaheim, which acquired Gauthier in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on Jan. 8.

At the Ducks’ development camp, Gauthier shared his thoughts on the matchup.

“It’s going to be an exciting game,” Gauthier told The Hockey News. “I’m pumped for it. With everything that happened, obviously want to play well and do my thing.”

» READ MORE: Top 10 Flyers games to circle ahead of their 2024-25 season

General manager Danny Brière said pulling together a deal was a multi-month process, and Gauthier requested to be traded shortly after the 2023 World Championships. He made his NHL debut in the Ducks’ final game of the season, against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 18, tallying one assist.

Gauthier still hasn’t publicly shared his reasons for requesting a trade.

“It wasn’t one specific reason why I asked for a trade,” Gauthier told local media after the deal went down. “It was multiple, [recurring] issues that I’d seen over the past year and a half, two years of being under the Flyers organization. It kind of hit me all at once, thinking, ‘I can’t move forward with this, and I really need to step up for myself and see what’s best for my future,’ and that’s what I did.”

He’s right about one thing — with Philadelphia fans in the building, it’s sure to be a tense and exciting game.