SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks rookie forward Will Smith saw what his good friend and former Boston College teammate Cutter Gauthier experienced over the weekend – with boos and vulgar chants directed his way — when the Anaheim Ducks faced the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
Smith also saw how Gauthier responded in the Ducks’ next game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Gauthier was selected fifth overall by Philadelphia at the 2022 NHL Draft but, at some point, made it clear to the organization — for reasons he’s kept private — that he would not sign with the team. Members of the Flyers front office and some of the club’s alumni tried to meet with Gauthier to try and change his mind but were unsuccessful.
Ultimately, on Jan. 9, 2024, the Flyers traded Gauthier, then a sophomore at Boston College, to the Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
In his first visit to Philadelphia as an NHL player on Saturday, Gauthier felt the wrath of a spurned, sellout Flyers crowd, which booed and hurled R-rated chants the 20-year-old’s way. The Flyers went onto a 6-0 win over Anaheim, with Drysdale finishing with a goal and an assist amid chants of “Jamie’s better” from the crowd.
The next night, though, Gauthier responded with the first two-goal game of his NHL career, with the second goal coming at the 1:52 mark of overtime as the Ducks beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in Raleigh.
“I’m really happy for him,” Smith said of Gauthier, his Boston College teammate during the 2023-24 season when the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division I title game. “Obviously it was tough going into Philly and getting the boos and stuff like that. But he’s a tough kid and bounced back well. I knew he’d do that.”
Anaheim Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier skates during warm-ups prior to an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
In 43 games with the Ducks this season, Gauthier entered Tuesday with 20 points, tied for fourth most among all rookies. In 37 games, Smith enters Tuesday with 14 points, ninth-most among this year’s rookie class.
Smith was benched for the third period in the Sharks’ 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and has one assist in his last seven games. For the Sharks’ game against the Detroit Red Wings, Smith will start the game on a line with Luke Kunin and Alexander Wennberg.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he wants Smith to “Just try to find his swagger and simplify his game, and if he’s skating, his legs are into it, I think his skill will come out. So, he’s got to skate tonight and simplify his game so we can start working and building up his confidence.”
LINEUP CHANGES: Wennberg returns to the Sharks’ lineup Tuesday after missing Saturday’s game due to illness. Wennberg has four assists in his last 11 games and hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 14 against Utah. With Wennberg returning, Carl Grundstrom will come out of the lineup, and Barclay Goodrow will start on the fourth line with Nico Sturm and Ty Dellandrea.
Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic will also re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last three games. He will replace Henry Thrun.
Goalie Alexandar Georgiev will start Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings looking to snap a personal six-game losing streak. Georgiev, though, has played better of late, stopping 62 of 67 shots in games last week against the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club.
WINGS ON FIRE: Since former Sharks head coach Todd McLellan took over as Detroit’s bench boss on Dec. 26, the Red Wings are 7-1-0 and entered Tuesday on a seven-game streak and two points out of a playoff spot. A major reason for the Wings’ success has been their power play, which is 14-for-28 during the team’s streak.
“I just notice how connected they are,” Warsofsky said of Detroit’s power play. “They read off each other extremely well. They’re dangerous off the rush; they’re dangerous off of faceoffs. They have one of the best in Patrick Kane on one flank, that, if you give him time and space, he’ll make a play. If you pressure him, he’ll make a play.”
