Frederik Gauthier

[WTFMAN99]

I don't think Gauthier was a reach to take in the draft. I just think there were better options available. Just not a fan of taking a guy who if all things work out you have a 3rd or 4th line centre.

The only problem Gauthier has is handling the puck and his shot, other then that he's a pretty good one. He's probably another year off?

 

[Stats01]

I think part of the hate on Gauthier was due to struggles by two other Leaf prospects - Brad Ross, and Tyler Biggs. Neither guy came close to making the NHL.

The good news is Gauthier has shown he can hang in the AHL and contribute right away at age 20... more than either of those guys could say

Gauthier can actually skate though...neither of those 2 could.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Gauthier can actually skate though...neither of those 2 could.

Biggs can skate pretty good actually.

 

[deletethis]

Gauthier can actually skate though...neither of those 2 could. Also Ross had his own personal issues to deal with that doesn't need explaining

There's nothing wrong with either's skating. Their skating was fully projectable to the NHL level. Their hockey instincts and puck skills aren't pro level.

 

[buttman*]

I don't think Gauthier was a reach to take in the draft. I just think there were better options available. Just not a fan of taking a guy who if all things work out you have a 3rd or 4th line centre.

The only problem Gauthier has is handling the puck and his shot, other then that he's a pretty good one. He's probably another year off?

He is a 4th line centre if he can win faceoffs. I doubt he will ever be anything more. Still a cost controlled 6'5", strong defensive center has a spot.

Yes, I agree there were far better picks on the board but that's no reason to throw a perfectly fine 4th line center to the scrap heap.

 

[WTFMAN99]

He is a 4th line centre if he can win faceoffs. I doubt he will ever be anything more. Still a cost controlled 6'5", strong defensive center has a spot.

Yes, I agree there were far better picks on the board but that's no reason to throw a perfectly fine 4th line center to the scrap heap.

Yeah, and as you noted, 6'5 centre. That adds some good size up the middle for us.

 

[thewave]

He is a 4th line centre if he can win faceoffs. I doubt he will ever be anything more. Still a cost controlled 6'5", strong defensive center has a spot.

Yes, I agree there were far better picks on the board but that's no reason to throw a perfectly fine 4th line center to the scrap heap.

He is probably looking more like a 3C that will be a 4C. The 4C of a contending team really. He will be important to the PK down the line.

 

[saltming]

I just find him to be such a mediocre, unremarkable prospect, likely a 4th liner, maybe a decent 3rd liner at best. I prefer tonnes of our other mid-level forward prospects, like Leivo, Kapanen, Leipsic, Brown, Andreas Johnson, etc., don't really get why this guy gets so much more discussion. He's not a top 10 Leafs project IMO, but seems to get talked about more than any Leafs prospect but Marner and Nylander.

Because there is more dispute on him amongst us. There is a general consensus about the other players you mentioned, but he Goat has bipolar fans. Haha

 

[saltming]

I don't think anyone is hugely making up the positive attributes they're attaching to Gauthier. Many of us love size mixed with some hockey skills because it can nullify seemingly better skill in the right schemes. Gauthier has some of that and he looks like he'll be able to skate at an NHL level in a few seasons. But his game is so passive and reactive, and it always has been, that I still have difficulty seeing him playing his shifts like anything other than a perpetual penalty killer at the NHL level.

As for draft position, I'm 100% confident that the Leafs thought his offensive production would have taken off from around a PPG in his draft year to something much more significant in Canada's weakest junior league. It's spin to consider no offensive maturation post-draft as anything other than a big disappointment. This is what dropped expectations from maybe a big defensively minded 2nd line center to hopes for a bottom of the lineup role player. At this point we should ignore the draft position and consider him a middling replacement level type of prospect and let him develop in peace.

What people call passive I call him being defensive. He positions himself to be able to watch the play develop then commits when he thinks it's the right time.
If people think he's passive in the corners or against the boards, I would humbly have to disagree. Just because he's not hospitalizing guy, which he would and then be penalized, doesn't mean he's passive. His board work is a thing of beauty imho