IRVINE, Calif. — Dozens of fans made it out for a midweek morning Anaheim Ducks practice that ordinarily would draw enough onlookers to be counted on one hand.
Dressed in a green jersey and lined up with Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn, Cutter Gauthier took his first strides in a Ducks career that he and the club hope will be bountiful in length and quality. Those fans who came out on Tuesday have high hopes. They let him know with applause as he left the ice.
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“Kind of seen both sides of it,” Gauthier said of the greeting, with an allusion to the ill feelings he’s created in Philadelphia and elsewhere. “It’s pretty special. I wasn’t expecting a bunch of people to clap after a practice. That feels really good. Feels really nice and welcome. With the coaches, the players but also the fans as well.
“I really appreciated that there, that small gesture. That went a long way. Feels good to be here.”
There was a lot of love thrown toward the 20-year-old as he prepared for his NHL debut Thursday, when Anaheim visits the Vegas Golden Knights. Gauthier signed his entry-level contract with Anaheim on Sunday. Until now, other than the cocoon that his family, friends and Boston College teammates and supporters provided, there was plenty of hate.
And there will still be hate. There probably will be some form of it for the rest of his days in the league. Essentially forcing a trade — as Gauthier did from the Flyers in January — because making it known you won’t sign for the team that drafted you will get any fan base heated, but when it’s one as passionate as those who love the Philadelphia Flyers, that’s a forever membership in enmity.
Any mention of his name gets the blood boiling for some. Just look at any response to a social-media posting about anything he achieved, of which there were many given that he led all of NCAA men’s hockey with 38 goals and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist. Many are wishing Gauthier well as he begins his NHL career. Many others are hoping he will fail and, to put it lightly, fall flat on his face.
Here is a suggestion that he should consider: Embrace the scorn. Wear it.
And all along the way, Gauthier should do the things that made him the No. 5 draft pick in 2022 and a hot prospect of the Flyers — and now a potential top-flight scorer for the Ducks. Grudging respect from those who dislike you the most, paired with love from the home crowd, is a combination as nice as a full-bodied glass of red wine with a porterhouse steak.
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This isn’t to say “embrace it” so much that Gauthier goes the full heel direction and does something dumb enough to get himself suspended and hurt the team. Or worse, such as getting in trouble off the ice. But it’s highly unlikely that Gauthier will ever change the minds of those furious with his decision, so perhaps he should just be comfortable wearing the black hat.
That can take some getting used to. But if Chris Pronger or Brad Marchand or Corey Perry could do it …
“I don’t want to be a villain,” Gauthier told The Athletic on Tuesday. “That’s kind of messed up. I don’t think that’s my type of personality. If people think of me like that, it is what it is. I can’t really change people’s opinions or anything like that.
“Hopefully, the guys don’t think I’m a villain at all. I’ve had a pretty good smile on my face and had a good time with it.”
His new teammates have opened their arms. Long before they got together as potential linemates, Carlsson reached out with text messages. Troy Terry — a proud University of Denver product and NCAA champion in 2017 — sent him well wishes on his championship journey, though it’s safe to say that Terry’s Pioneers winning on Saturday mattered a little more.
“He gave me a ‘good luck’ before the Frozen Four, but he said if I play the Pios, then not so much,” Gauthier said, smiling. “No, he’s great. He’s been great. Him and I have been in touch these last couple of months with everything happening. It’s been great to connect with him.”
And that is what should matter most to Gauthier. Anyone who saw his “a lot of tears for that team over there” comment on an ESPN interview before the title game can tell that he doesn’t have a problem speaking his mind, even if he now calls it “a little backfire there.” That did him no favors, and there has been a lot of mocking. But ultimately, what will also define him in the years going forward is how hard he is willing to work, how much he is willing to learn, how committed he’ll be to his teammates and, well, how many goals he’ll put in the net.
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Otherwise, what’s been said about his decision to spurn the Flyers will continue to be said, whether he plays five years or 15. Good and bad, that’s part of what makes up fandom. He’ll get booed when he plays his first game in Philadelphia, without a doubt mercilessly. And the best thing that could happen to him that night would be to score and leave the ice with a win and a grin.
He might as well embrace it, because the hate isn’t going away. But if this isn’t the right bit of advice, then listen to Radko Gudas. He’s fast become a fan favorite with the Ducks, as he was in stops with Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Washington and Florida. But a well-earned reputation as a big hitter with multiple suspensions earlier in his career made him a fixture on “most-hated player” lists.
Semi-jokingly, Gudas said “any publicity is publicity.” No matter the reason, Gauthier makes waves, and the veteran defenseman doesn’t envy how Gauthier has been vilified before playing his first game. Gudas’ advice is something he learned from his father, Leo, a former player and coach in their native Czechia.
Put the negativity behind you. And stay off social media.
“You are (stupid) if you dig into it yourself and you’re beating yourself down,” Gudas said. “Maybe some guys like that. Maybe it motivates them. But for me personally, it’s like, don’t worry about it. Don’t even open it. Why would you read something about yourself that you didn’t even write? Somebody else’s opinion that doesn’t matter to you on a personal level.”
What should be a focus point for Gauthier, Gudas said, is “just showing that he can be the best player possible he can be for us and becoming a stud in the NHL for our organization.”
“For myself,” Gudas said, “I don’t really give a damn what’s being said about you in the outside world. I know what I stand for and what kind of person and human I am. What kind of hockey player and teammate I am. I know the guys enjoy being around me. That is what’s important for me. I don’t really care about anything else.”
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Gauthier said all the right things on Tuesday. Like every other player that has made it, he’s thrilled at fulfilling a lifelong dream. He’s eager to play against Jack Eichel and take on the defending champion Golden Knights. He’ll get a look on the top line with Carlsson and Killorn — a preview of a pairing with the playmaking Carlsson that the Ducks have salivated over. “It was pretty special playing with two sick guys,” Gauthier said.
But the best feeling might have come when he left the ice to cheers Thursday.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” he said. “I saw a guy in a Boston College Eagles jersey, so that was pretty special. Great, warm welcome my first day here. I can’t be more thrilled to be a Duck.”
Many fans clearly are. Many others will still look at him with disdain. Gudas isn’t sure if Gauthier will want to embrace villainy. He’s been through the Philadelphia experience as an opponent and one of its own, musing, “They loved to hate me, too. They had to love me.”
“It’s a very special city and very special organization to play in,” he continued. “It was his decision. I’m glad that we are having him right now and hopefully he can be the player that everybody is saying he can be. Can’t wait to see what he can do out there.”
The black hat is there for Cutter Gauthier to own. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as some of the game’s stars and Hall of Famers before him have shown.
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(Top photo of Cutter Gauthier at Tuesday’s practice: Courtesy of Anaheim Ducks)
