Frederick Gauthier looks good as the 4th line center

[Willy Styles]

Been a fan of Gauthier lately. He’s gotten a lot quicker and he understands where to be on the ice, which helps him use his size a lot more effectively.

I don’t think we need an upgrade at that spot, and dubas can hopefully look him in long term at a number starting with 1.

 

[LeafSteel]

Someone needs to slip him some mean pills, and force him to binge watch “Rocky”.

Hopefully he can be our 4C.

 

[Stephen]

Yeah if he was mean he would be quite valuable if everything else was the same. Would just make him such a wild card to throw out there.

 

[mcleex]

I seriously don't know how he doesn't throw out massive hits with his giant frame

 

[Razz]

Really happy for the goat. Been in his corner from day one he is our perfect 4c.

 

[Maplebeasts]

The progress is noticeable from last year. I'm proud of the goat.

 

[thewave]

Really happy for the goat. Been in his corner from day one he is our perfect 4c.

Same, am one of the few that said he was a good pick. Could have been better but it's still a good pick. I think he is settling in nicely.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

he's been much better than Lindholm. Hopefully Babcock sees it too

 

[thewave]

he's been much better than Lindholm. Hopefully Babcock sees it too

He is 10x better than that guy. Lindy is not good for this team.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Goat needed NHL minutes to progress. He wasn't going to get any better toiling in the AHL. Facing NHL competition on a regular basis has allowed him to adapt his skills to higher competition. The team giving him an extended look was a smart move, and we may now have a long term 4C and won't be forced to trade more picks for such a low level spot.

I do agree with the overall sentiment about wishing he was meaner. He could definitely crush guys if he wanted to.

 

[Mr Hockey]

If he would just become aggressive and use his size more, he could be force out there, he has decent hands and nice shot

 

[SoCal Leafs]

Goat has come a long way. I've been rooting for him, especially after his injury, and he's worked hard to prove that he belongs in the NHL. He's starting to show some confidence on the ice and maybe as he gets more mature he'll throw his body around a bit more to take advantage of his size.

 

[TopCheese]

As others have said, not sure why he doesn’t at least try act tough out there. Surely as a borderline NHL player for the past few years he must have realized that with his size if he played more of a pest/ rough and tumble game he could increase his value by about 50%. Even if it’s not in your nature you would think the prospect of millions of dollars would be enough to get you to face wash somebody once and a while

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

he's been much better than Lindholm. Hopefully Babcock sees it too

I also thought Goat had some chemistry with Ennis earlier this year. They seem to cover each other's flaws nicely. Would like to see the two together on the fourth line if Ennis gets brought back into the lineup.

 

[member 300185]

Hopefully we won’t have to trade a 2nd at the deadline this year again. In his limited ice time he looks faster and stronger on the puck. What do you think long term?

Freddy Anderson looks pretty good too.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I also thought Goat had some chemistry with Ennis earlier this year. They seem to cover each other's flaws nicely. Would like to see the two together on the fourth line if Ennis gets brought back into the lineup.

Drop Lindholm for Ennis, roll Brown-Gauthier-Ennis as the 4th line.

 

[Dog]

Center is not a concern but defense is. Gauthier should be safe!

 

[Duke16]

If he used his size more and shows that he can effectively PK, I would lock him up for 3-4 years at >1.5M

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Could be a masterton candidate if he becomes a successful NHLer?

 

[Martin Skoula]

He's never going to get mean IMO, all we can hope for is a Sundin-style physical game where he consistently takes the puck to the net while getting slashed and hooked.

He's probably been half a foot bigger than his peers for 75% of his hockey career so far. No coach is going to tell the 6'0 14 year old to hit a 5'4 kid as hard as he can. He's probably been conditioned to play carefully since Timbits.

 

[HomerJLeafs]

Finally hes getting it together. Good for him good for the Leafs.

 

[Battle Lin]

our 4th line center and wingers, and our 3rd pairing D is where we really need to cheap out on to support our top lines and pairings

gauthier is a nice cheap option, hes a big body, he moves well, he covers the ice and he doesnt get scored on much, just comes on and by time til our top 3 lines jump back on

near perfect for his role...just like lindholm, they are defensive responsible and are cheap cause they dont score much, pretty much just what we need

 

[Leafs1993]

Gauthier looked good tonight... spezza, not so much.

 

[Battle Lin]

he improved his skating and speed and is now exactly what we need...hes big and strong and long and gets his stick on and disrupts a lot of plays...and most importantly we need him to be cheap cause our top 9 is very pricy, lets just hope he doesnt start chipping in a few more points

 

[Antropovsky]

Would like if he learned to tip pucks and puck up alot of garbage goals ala antropov/andreychuk.

He just needs to improve those hands a itty bitty bit to go from maybe disposable to indispensable. Could stand to be a tiny bit more physical too of course (as mentioned).