HERNING, Denmark -- Cutter Gauthier hasn't had the opportunity to talk to Joel Quenneville yet, but that hasn't diminished the anticipation he and the Anaheim Ducks have for their new coach.
Quenneville was hired on Thursday to replace Greg Cronin, who was fired on April 19 after two seasons.
"Obviously, a lot of excitement toward Joel," Gauthier told NHL.com from the 2025 IIHF World Championship on Friday.
"I haven't got the chance to talk to him at all yet, but everyone I've heard that has played for him or heard about him has only said great things. As a young guy that's exactly what you want to hear. I'm super excited to get out there and meet him face-to-face. It'll be exciting."
Quenneville (969-572-150 with 77 ties) is second in NHL history in wins, behind Scotty Bowman (1,244), after coaching tenures with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers. He won the Stanley Cup three times with Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015) with a young core that featured Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Toews was 22 and Kane was 21 when Chicago won the Cup in 2010.
"It's exciting for us, obviously," Anaheim defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. "He's done it in the past. He's had so much success. For us, just to just be able to pick his brain ... he's going to be teaching us every day. We're just really excited to get a guy like that. We can't wait to get going with him."
The Ducks (35-37-10) have a similar young core to what Quenneville inherited with the Blackhawks four games into the 2008-09 season. It includes forwards Leo Carlsson, 20; Gauthier, 21; Mason McTavish, 22; and Trevor Zegras, 24; defensemen Olen Zellweger, 21; Pavel Mintyukov, 21; and LaCombe, 24; goalie Lukas Dostal, 24; and 19-year-old forward prospect Beckett Sennecke, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
At the World Championship on Sunday, Gauthier scored twice and LaCombe was plus-2 in 16:31 of ice time for the U.S. in a 6-0 win against Hungary.
"We've got to continue to mature," LaCombe said. "I think there were moments this year where we were really good in stretches and we saw our team come together, which is awesome. I think for us, we just have to take that next step.
"Obviously, we're still really young. I think this year we got a taste of what it takes to compete and what it takes to win toward the end of the year and going into playoff hockey. For us, we all need to take that next step this summer and be ready to go next year."
Anaheim is Quenneville's first coaching job since resigning from the Panthers on Oct. 27, 2021, the day after he was named in an independent investigation into the Blackhawks for allegations by former player Kyle Beach of sexual assault by then-video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.
"Over nearly four years, I've taken time to reflect, listen to experts and advocates and educate myself on realities of abuse, trauma and how to be a better leader," Quenneville said Thursday. "I hope others can learn from my inaction. I've spoken to Kyle more than once, including this morning. I've apologized to him and expressed how much I regret not following up and taking action."
Quenneville inherits a team that finished sixth in the Pacific Division and 16 points behind the Blues for the second wild card from the Western Conference, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. However, they improved by 21 points after finishing 30th in the NHL in 2023-24 with 59 points.
The internal growth and external addition of Quenneville raises expectations.
"All the young guys that we have in the locker room we see bright futures in, and a great group of guys that just love coming to the rink every single day and love competing with each other," Gauthier said. "It's a super exciting time to be in southern California. We obviously all see the momentum we have moving forward, but it's all up to us to go out and put it all together.
"I'm excited. I have these next few months to get ready and hit the gym and come back strong for next season and hopefully do a lot better."
