Ducks Acquire Gauthier from Philadelphia for Drysdale and 2025 Second-Round Pick

The Ducks have acquired left wing Cutter Gauthier (GOH-chee-AY) from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.

“This is a trade we felt we needed to make as a player with Cutter’s dynamic skill set are not available often,’ said Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek. “We see Cutter as a long-term, high-end player who produces in big moments. We also want to thank Jamie for his four years in Anaheim. It is a difficult trade to make as he has a great future in front of him both on and off the ice.”

Gauthier, 19 (1/19/04), has helped Team USA earn medals at numerous international tournaments. He led the Americans to a gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship, co-leading the tournament in points (2-10=12) and assists while serving as an alternate captain. He was named the Best Forward and to the 2024 tournament All-Star Team, leading Team USA in points and assists while scoring the game-winning goal in the third period of the Semifinal to help the U.S. advance to the gold medal game. He also represented Team USA at the 2023 World Championship, ranking tied for second in goals at the tournament and recording the most points by an under-20 player (7-2=9). He also helped the U.S. earn medals at the 2023 World Junior Championship (bronze, 4-6=10 points in seven games) and 2022 U-18 World Championship (silver, 3-6=9 points in six games).

Selected by Philadelphia in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Gauthier recorded 34-31=65 points in 54 games with a +33 rating at the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) U-18 team in 2021-22. He ranked second in goals and fifth in points among team leaders. He also scored 20-17=37 points in 44 games with the USNTDP U-17 team in 2020-21.

"Obviously, it was a difficult decision to trade Jamie Drysdale," Verbeek said on Ducks Steam. "He's an up-and-coming young defenseman, but when I've been watching our team the last month or so, we've had difficulty scoring goals. This opportunity presented itself, and we really started diving into it. As time went on over the last month or so, we pushed to make the deal happen. 

"I want to thank Jamie Drysdale for his hard work and dedication to the organization. He's got a great future ahead of him. It wasn't an easy decision, but in Cutter we're getting a terrific player and a very versatile player. We're excited to get him." 

Born in Skelleftea, Sweden and a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Gauthier has scored 13-10=23 points with a +6 rating in 17 games with Boston College (Hockey East) this season to lead the Eagles in goals and rank sixth among all NCAA leaders in goals. As a freshman in 2022-23 with the Eagles, the 6-3, 190-pound forward had a team-high 16-21=37 points in 32 games, leading Boston College in goals, assists, points and power-play goals (7) while ranking second in Hockey East in power-play goals and third in goals per game (.50). He was named a Hockey East Third Team All-Star and a unanimous selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

"We'll let him finish his season at [Boston College] and see where it goes from there," Verbeek said. "We'd like to get him signed and then get him playing with Anaheim."

Gauthier’s father, Sean, was a goaltender selected by Winnipeg in the ninth round of the 1991 NHL Draft. He appeared in one NHL game with San Jose in 1998-99, in addition to 97 professional games in Sweden (2002-05) and 10 professional seasons in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League from 1991-00. 

Drysdale, 21 (4/8/02), recorded 8-37=45 points in 123 career NHL games with the Ducks since making his debut in 2020-21. The 5-11, 185-pound defenseman appeared in 10 games with Anaheim in 2023-24, earning 1-4=5 points after missing 29 games due to an upper-body injury. He set career highs in points (4-28=32), goals, assists and appearances in 81 games in 2021-22, ranking second in points, assists, shots (137) and appearances among NHL rookie defensemen. 

Selected by Anaheim in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Drysdale recorded 16-71=87 points in 112 career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games with Erie. He was named an OHL First Team All-Star in 2019-20 after scoring 9-38=47 points in 49 games, and was also named to the 2018-19 OHL First All-Rookie Team after scoring 7-33=40 points in 63 games. 

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Drysdale represented Canada in back-to-back World Junior Championships (2020 and 2021), including a gold medal at the 2020 tournament and silver in 2019.