2019-20 New York Rangers report card: Julien Gauthier

Julien Gauthier went from long-shot prospect to potential break-out player for the New York Rangers

We continue our series of New York Rangers report cards.  Today, we take a look at 23-year-old winger, Julien Gauthier

Julien Gauthier: Grade C-

You have got to give the young winger a break here, he didn’t have much playing time at the NHL level in 2019-20, bouncing back and forth between the Carolina Hurricanes, the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, and finally, the New York Rangers.

Julien Gauthier was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.  Gauthier spent his first two seasons in the AHL with Charlotte, the Hurricanes’ top farm team.  He improved to 27 goals and 41 points in 75 games in his second campaign, and when Gauthier didn’t make the NHL club the following season, he says he was hurt by the decision.  In an interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Gauthier had this to say:

"“It was hard, because I was ready to make the team; I felt like I was ready for it.  It was hurtful, but I had two choices: You complain or you put your head down and you dig deeper.”Julien Gauthier, via ESPN’s Emily Kaplan"

His season

On February 18th, the promising young prospect was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for defensive prospect, Joey Keane.  Gauthier had scored 26 goals in 44 games for Charlotte and that production had earned him a brief five game trip to the NHL where he notched one assist.  Once with the Rangers, he played all twelve games with the NHL squad, going scoreless but adding two assists.

Scouts have tagged Gauthier as a promising prospect who’s best strengths could be his size, speed and special team’s presence, specifically on the power-play.  At 6’4″, 227 pounds, Gauthier is one of the biggest players on the Rangers and he has to use that size if he wants to make an impact.  With only 11 hits in 12 games, he didn’t use it.

The numbers (Between AHL and NHL)

Games: 44 (AHL),  17 (NHL)
Goals: 26 (AHL),  0 (NHL)
Assists: 11 (AHL), 3 (NHL)
Points:  37 (AHL),  3 (NHL)
PIMs: 34 (AHL),  8  (NHL)
Plus/Minus: -5 (AHL),  +1 (NHL)

Postseason: Gauthier had a lot to prove in the Stanley Cup Qualifier, playing the team that didn’t give him a shot in the NHL. He didn’t do much,  playing on the fourth line, seeing barely seven minutes a game and not being able to score.  He finished with a plus/minus rating of -1, but did throw the body, registering seven hits.

Why the grade?

Gauthier did what he could with the time he was given in the NHL, but when you put all of his totals together, AHL included, he had himself a pretty solid season for how young and inexperienced he is.  Jeff Gorton has already showed that he has an eye for great, underrated prospects, so let’s hope that Gauthier is one of those diamond in the rough type players.

Expectations

Expectations for Julien Gauthier aren’t too high going into the 2020-21 season.  There is a possibility that he doesn’t spend the entire year at the NHL level with the amount of top prospects that the Rangers have coming up the charts, but as long as he keeps developing the right way, and working hard to hone his craft, I can see Gauthier as being a top-level goal scorer for many years to come.

His AHL numbers suggest that he has the talent to put the puck in the net on a consistent basis.  Gauthier’s NHL status all depends on how he performs at training camp, he has a lot of competition, especially at the winger position.