The NHL Draft is one month away and with that, we begin our look at some of the prospects the Flyers could select with the 18th overall pick.
The Flyers are not in the same position they were last year, where a Top 10 pick could net a Top 5 talent, so the breakdown of players individually will not be nearly as extensive as it was last year, but over the new few weeks, we have 10 players we will put some focus on individually and a few others who we will profile collectively just days before the Draft, giving you an idea of which names to watch for on draft night.
We start our series today with forward Julien Gauthier.
If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Flyers fans remember his uncle, Denis Gauthier, a defenseman who played briefly for the Flyers in 60 games over two seasons from 2006 to 2007. He finished his Flyers career with four points, all assists.
Julien, an 18-year old star with the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the QMJHL, comes with plenty of goal-scoring talent. In his 2015-16 season with Val-d'Or, he scored 41 goals and added 16 assists for 57 points in 54 games.
At 6'4", 225 pounds, Gauthier has all the makeup of the power forward the Flyers are looking for. He's a hard-working player, willing to go to the dirty areas for goals, but possesses quite the release on his shot from a distance, and it seems like it's always on point.
"He's a man-child. He's a great skater, obviously he's got an eye for the net," Buffalo Sabres scout Kevin Prendergast said of Gauthier. "A lot of people have knocked the point that he doesn't pass too well. He doesn't have to. He's that big and strong. In the National Hockey League, goal scoring is down. When you've got kids who are this big and that strong and skate like him who are natural goal scorers, they're at a premium."
As a big player, he is explosive on his feet. There are moments where it's off to the races with Gauthier. For a big player, he gains a ton of speed quickly and has a tremendous stride and motion to his skating.
Gauthier also is a strong forechecker, comes with a tremendous sense of hockey IQ and is very much a student of the game. He's certainly not free of mistakes on the ice, but is constantly learning and trying to better his game, which certainly already speaks for itself.
Gauthier doesn't come without his areas of improvement. His passing ability falls far below his ability to score goals and shoot the puck, but as Prendergast noted, some scouts don't see that as a major flaw, and his raw talent at making plays needs polishing but he's got all the makings of a Top-6 winger.
Gauthier was highly regarded as a potential Top-5 pick this season, but suffered an injury in the second half of his season that possibly hurt his rankings. He was at one point ranked fourth among North American skaters, and TSN's Bob McKenzie had him ranked 10th among all players on his mid-season rankings list. That said, he's gone from being among the Top-10 easily to being potentially more of a Top-20 or Top-25 pick. And it doesn't seem to be anything he's done.
"He's an elite skater who has all the physical tools to be a high-end goal score and power winger in the NHL," McKenzie said of Gauthier.
Auston Matthews was always regarded as the top prospect and assumed No. 1 pick. But as Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi emerged into the Top 5, Gauthier started to get bumped. He still ranks on some draft boards as high as 10th or 12th, but to some has fallen under the radar to be as low as 26th, usually averaging right around 21st. With the Flyers at picking 18th, this would not be a reach at all. In fact, in his latest mock draft, TSN's Craig Button had Gauthier going 19th to the New York Islanders. More on who he has going to the Flyers at 18th in just a few weeks.
For a player who at one point had Top-10 potential, and to some still does, this could be very similar to when the Flyers took Travis Konecny at 24th overall last year, when many had projected him to go just outside the Top-10.
You can check out some highlights from Gauthier playing with Val-d'Or from earlier this season.
Overall, Gauthier fits what the Flyers need, a goal-scoring power forward that can not only grind in the hard areas of the ice but shoot the puck with skill. There is so much to like about Gauthier's goal-scoring ability, it may be too good for the Flyers to pass up.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
