Gauthier resumes development at World Junior Summer Showcase

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Cutter Gauthier believes passing on the chance to pull on a Philadelphia Flyers jersey in July will make him better equipped to wear one in April.

The 19-year-old, who was the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, played 49 games last season between his freshman season at Boston College, and the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2023 IIHF World Championship with the United States.

And with the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase starting July 27 and his sophomore college season on the horizon, the forward opted to skip Flyers development camp, which was held July 2-6.

"It was a little bit too much hockey after Worlds," Gauthier said after practice at USA Hockey Arena on Sunday. "It was just too much for me. I wanted time with the family. So, I figured it was best to stay home.

"After talking to (general manager) Danny (Briere), obviously it wasn't his favorite thing, but it was best for me."

Gauthier led Boston College with 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 32 games as a freshman. He also had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games at the 2023 WJC and tied for the U.S. lead with seven goals in 10 games at the WC.

"Learning from the pros, it was awesome," Gauthier said. "It was a super surreal experience and I'm glad I went."

If all goes well this season, he'll have more time around pros in Philadelphia.

"That's definitely the plan," he said. "After this year, hopefully we get done pretty late there in April with the group we have (at Boston College), but overall, that's the goal.

"I feel like I could play in the National Hockey League tomorrow, but my decision to come back for another year was lots of time and hours talking to family, talking to coaches and all that stuff for the best decision for me."

Mannisto gets edge on roommate Augustine

U.S. goalie Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) had an idea something was going to happen when his USA White team played against Tommi Mannisto (2024 draft eligible) and Finland on Saturday.

Augustine and Mannisto are roommates at Michigan State University.

"I kind of have a bad rep going where whenever I play some of my buddies, they always score on me somehow," Augustine said. "I told him before the game, 'You're probably going to get one tonight. It's just going to happen somehow.' And then, obviously, it happened that way."

What happened was Mannisto picking up a loose puck, breaking in alone and beating Augustine for the game-winning goal in Finland's 4-2 victory.

"I see the green stick and I kind of knew right away it was him," Augustine said. "He came down flying, made a nice shot, so a lot of credit to him. I'm sure I'll be hearing it throughout the season."

Mannisto (5-11, 191) was passed over in the 2023 draft after he had 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in 40 games for Tappara's team in Finland's junior league.

However, the 19-year-old is confident college hockey will give him a chance to further develop his game and give him options he wouldn't have had staying in Finland.

"You'll get like a degree, you can be in school and you're going to always have a plan B for if you are injured or something," Mannisto said. "Also, it's a good league to play, good teams and everything.

"Mainly it's that I want to maximize my development as a hockey player and be in school. So now I got everything here."

Mannisto said there was some good-natured trash talking between him and Augustine after the game, and Augustine knows there's likely more to come.

"After Friday's game (to close the Summer Showcase), we're probably driving him back up to school, so I'm sure that'll be a fun car ride," Augustine said.

Carle changing things up

U.S. coach David Carle said the plan for practice Sunday was to focus on the more offensive elements to the game. It worked out nicely that that's where the emphasis was needed after USA White lost 7-0 to Finland and USA Blue lost 4-2 to Sweden on Saturday.

"Today it was more offensive minded, a little bit less strenuous physically on the body," Carle said. "I think scoring two goals in two games leads to going into that as well, so I thought it fit well. I think the guys were excited to play some games, work on some offensive type drills and put the puck in the back of the net.

"We're in summertime, so you try and knock off some of the summer habits, cobwebs, over-handling pucks, not one-timing pucks, those types of things. So, just tried to address some of that today."

Carle said he did see some positives and a bit of chemistry among some of the forwards and the defensemen. However, he said to expect different looks when USA Blue plays Finland and USA White plays Sweden on Monday.

"You want to make sure you're giving different looks, giving guys different opportunities," Carle said. "I think that's a big thing. So, we'll see a lot of different line combinations tomorrow, and [defensive] pairings. There's some things that we know that have worked in the past for certain players and we know that we can come back to those things if needed, when the time is right."

Sandin Pellikka to make Sweden debut

Axel Sandin Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings) will get the chance to play Monday after sitting out Saturday. Sweden coach Magnus Havelid said with eight defensemen at the camp, two are going to sit out each game, barring injury.

Having seen what Sandin Pellikka can do at the 2023 WJC, Havelid doesn't need to focus too much on him.

"The way he sees the ice, moves the puck, makes the right decisions," Havelid said. "You can use him on every special teams, penalty kill or power play. He's a really talented player."

Sandin Pellikka had one assist and averaged 19:54 of ice time in seven games for Sweden, which finished fourth. He is expected to make a bigger contribution at the 2024 WJC.

"I want to be a threat on the ice, and I want the other team to know that when I have the puck something creative can happen," he said.

Sandin Pellikka's offensive gifts are what convinced the Red Wings to select him with the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He had 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 31 games with Skelleftea's team in Sweden's junior league, and 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in seven games at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.

But Sandin Pellikka wants to be known as more of a two-way defenseman.

"I want to help the team as much as I can in every zone," he said. "Especially in the [defensive] zone, I want to just pick up my players in time and box them out. I'm not the biggest defender, but I still want to be smart and pick up my players early so I can box them out easily."