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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
Cutter Gauthier, who helped lead the United States to a world junior championship, was traded Monday from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
The Flyers had selected Gauthier with the fifth pick of the 2022 NHL draft with the expectation that the hulking forward would be part of their future once he left Boston College, where he is a sophomore.
Gauthier, 19, scored two goals and had 12 points over seven games as the U.S. won its sixth gold medal at the IIHF world junior hockey championship last week. Gauthier finished tied with Buffalo Sabres prospect and Czechia center Jiri Kulich for the most points in the tournament.
Gauthier gives the Ducks another prospect forward as part of a youth movement that has been centered around Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. Gauthier has 13 goals and 23 points in 17 games for BC this season.
As for Drysdale, there were questions around his future. The sixth pick of the 2020 NHL draft played one full season with the Ducks back in 2021-22, when he had four goals and 32 points in 82 games, before sustaining injuries that have limited him to 18 games the past two years.
Those injuries, along with an acclaimed farm system led by defensemen such as Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov, who are both newcomers with the team this season, created a scenario in which the Ducks (13-25-1) could move on from Drysdale.
Drysdale is joining an organization that also has young defensemen such as Cam York along with prospects Oliver Bonk and Emil Andrae as one of the selling points of a rebuild that appears to be ahead of schedule. The Flyers (20-13-6) entered Monday in third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Drysdale’s arrival also gives the Flyers another top-four option in addition to what they have with Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Sean Walker and York.
One of the characteristics that made Drysdale a coveted prospect was his puck-moving ability. That was on display during his first full season, with 12 of his points coming in the power play.
It’s possible the Flyers could use Drysdale to address a power-play unit that has been a concern. The Flyers entered Monday with the worst power play in the NHL at success rate of 10.2%.