Flyers select American center Cutter Gauthier with the No. 5 overall pick in NHL draft

MONTRÉAL — After the second-worst season in franchise history, the Flyers “earned” their top-five draft pick. On Thursday, they used it to bring in a bright young talent by selecting power forward Cutter Gauthier with the fifth overall pick.

Gauthier, who comes via the U.S. National Team Development Program (U.S. NTDP), brings size, versatility, and a scoring touch to an organization that lacked all three of those things last season. Chuck Fletcher, who is in his fourth draft as the Flyers’ general manager, said it was a combination of many factors that led them to choose Gauthier.

“Obviously, his size, strength, his speed, very athletic,” Fletcher said. “His testing was off the charts. On the ice, he is physical, and he scores goals. He has good hands. So it’s really hard to find a player that can be a potential power forward in the National Hockey League, and he has a lot of those attributes.”

At 6-foot-2 and 189 pounds, the 18-year-old Gauthier already is bigger than all but four of the Flyers’ forwards — Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, and Zack MacEwen. The Flyers have emphasized that they want to become “harder to play against,” and one way to do that is to get bigger and stronger. Gauthier told The Inquirer at the NHL combine that he plays his best hockey when he is using his size and playing with physicality.

New Flyers coach John Tortorella emphasizes physical play and defense, a style Gauthier said he fits in with. His defense is a big part of the game, and he likes to “take control of the defensive zone.”

“I think it plays a big role in winning hockey, and I don’t think you’re gonna get to the next level if you’re lazy on defense,” Gauthier, who also killed penalties with the NTDP, said.

After being selected by the Flyers, Gauthier met with the media and expressed his excitement at being selected. Fletcher said his energy is another attribute that stood out to them.

“It’s such a surreal moment,” Gauthier said. “It’s everything I dreamed of growing up, hearing my name called someday, and I’m so happy that the Philadelphia Flyers are the ones to do it. So I’m super excited for the future, and I’ll see what it holds.”

In the past, Gauthier has played both center and left wing. He plans to play center next season at Boston College, and center is an area where the Flyers lack organizational depth behind Couturier and Hayes. Gauthier’s flexibility to play on the wing could come in handy if the Flyers have another season full of injuries like they did in 2021-22.

Fletcher said the Flyers think he plays well at center and hope he can contribute there, but that they’ll “let the process play out” at Boston College. Gauthier said he is open to playing wherever the team wants him and that the Flyers hadn’t told him yet where they see him contributing.

“I’m extremely versatile where I can play, left and right wing or center, if that’s the case,” Gauthier said. “You know, I displayed my message to the Philadelphia Flyers that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. If that’s on the wing, if that’s in center, I’m willing to do whatever.”

This past season, Gauthier played 54 games with the NTDP and finished second on the team in goals with 34. He added 31 assists for a total of 65 points. While scoring is much more difficult at the NHL level, Gauthier is among an elite group of players, including Auston Matthews, a fellow Arizona native he looks up to, and Patrick Kane, who have scored more than 30 goals in a season with the NTDP. If he continues to develop, he would be a major asset to a Flyers team that didn’t have a 30-goal scorer last season. van Riemsdyk led the way for the Flyers last season with 24 goals, followed by Cam Atkinson’s 23.

Gauthier said he knew the Flyers were interested in him, but he wasn’t sure if it would come to fruition.

“I had a really good interview with them over the course of the combine and yesterday,” Gauthier said. “So it was nice talking to them and catching up, and I thought we had a really good bond in those meetings. I definitely thought they were interested in me, for sure.”

During his interview with The Inquirer at the combine, Gauthier listed his shot, his skating ability, and his hockey IQ as his best traits, which Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting, and Logan Cooley, his linemate and with the NTDP and the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s draft, confirmed. He showed off his athleticism with top-10 finishes in five tests at the combine: the 5-10-5-yard shuttle run (4.46 seconds), the Wingate mean power output (11.6 watts/kg) and peak power output (combine-best 18.3 watts/kg), the standing long jump (112.0 inches), and consecutive pull-ups (15). Gauthier’s shot was widely considered to be among the best in the draft and is the biggest reason why he projects as a goal scorer at the next level.

Although Gauthier grew up in Arizona and currently lives in Michigan, he has connections to the Flyers organization through both of his parents. His father, Sean Gauthier, was a goalie for the Reading Royals for one season and also played in the Florida Panthers organization when Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher was an assistant general manager. He said his dad was critical in teaching him the mentality needed to get to this level.

His mother, Kim, is from Reading, and Gauthier spent summers in the area. His aunt lives close by, and he said it will be great that his family won’t have to move to be close enough to watch him play games. His mom said “nothing but the best” about Philadelphia fans.

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At No. 5, Gauthier is the Flyers’ highest draft pick since Nolan Patrick was selected No. 2 overall in the 2017 draft.

Gauthier plans to continue his development next season by playing for Boston College, where Hayes, Atkinson, and Patrick Brown also played their college hockey. He said he anticipates leaving early to join the Flyers organization. Gauthier has high hopes for the future and said he can’t wait to see what it holds.

“I think one year in the NCAA, and then I’ll be ready to play in the National Hockey League and hopefully help the Flyers win a Stanley Cup in the near future,” he said.

Fletcher’s response was that he would be heading to Boston College, and then they would see how it goes from there. He emphasized that Boston College has a good program that does a great job with developing young players.