Penguins goaltending prospect Taylor Gauthier is eager for more opportunities
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The drive from Pittsburgh to Wilkes-Barre is a little more than four hours, give or take a battery or two of PennDot barrels.
And it’s just over an hour between Pittsburgh and Wheeling, W.Va.
So, the trek from the Poconos to the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia can take upwards of six lengthy hours.
For Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender prospect Taylor Gauthier, that’s not a large investment of time.
“It’s nothing compared to what I did here,” Gauthier said Thursday at the team’s facility in Cranberry. “I drove 31 hours (from Calgary).”
The Alberta native is entering his second professional season after splitting the 2022-23 campaign between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.
And while he has nothing but good things to say about Wheeling, Gauthier isn’t eager for a return visit in 2023-24.
“Last year, when I got sent down, I was a little disappointed,” Gauthier said. “I set a goal to play (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) last year, start the year. Made it my goal that if I was to get up there, I’d do the best I can to take advantage of it. There was a two-week stretch there where I went from being the starter in Wheeling to the starter (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). It just goes to show how quick things can change in pro hockey, especially in the goalie position. You’re never too far away from getting a big break like that.”
Gauthier opened last season with Wheeling and posted unspectacular numbers. In 16 games the 22-year-old posted had an 8-7-1 record, 3.09 goals against average, .896 save percentage and one shutout.
In late December, he was summoned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as a result of an injury to fellow prospect Filip Lindberg. And in January, when Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry suffered an injury that never seemed to heal, that triggered a domino effect as veteran reserve goaltender Dustin Tokarski was frequently shuffled between the NHL and AHL rosters. As a result, Gauthier spent the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
And while the AHL Penguins struggled badly in the final months of the season, the right-catching Gauthier — something of a rarity in hockey — enjoyed plenty of individual success.
In 20 AHL games, he had an 8-3-6 record, 2.71 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
“He’s really, really competitive,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “Never gives up on anything. He was really solid for us. He was our best goalie down the stretch there. Gave us a chance every night even when the situation was difficult for him sometimes. He’s a gamer. He’s got the ability to read the play and he’s a big kid. Then, he’s got his glove on the other side so he always throws (opponents) off.”
At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Gauthier is one of the larger goaltenders in the Penguins’ net. And he’s not short on self-assurance that he can take another step forward this season. Even as an undrafted player who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins in March of 2022.
“Obviously, if you’re a first-round pick, you might get a few more opportunities right out of the gate,” Gauthier said. “But you’ve still got to earn everything you get. Once you get your opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it at some point. (Being drafted) doesn’t mean a whole lot if you’re letting opportunities go to waste. As an undrafted guy, you just go in every day, do the best you can and put in the effort on and off ice. And make sure you don’t necessarily miss a chance when it comes.”
Tokarski and Lindberg are each gone, having left as free agents. But there might be even more competition in net as the Penguins signed veteran reserves Magnus Hellberg and Garrett Sparks (to an AHL contract) this past offseason while Joel Blomqvist, one of the top prospects in the organization, will be making the jump from his native Finland to North America this upcoming season.
Gauthier is fully aware of the numbers in net. But he’s not focusing on it.
“I kind of know what to expect a little bit more this year,” Gauthier said. “Last year, coming into camp, all those big boys in the (NHL) dressing room there, I might have been a little start struck of the first couple of days. Didn’t know what to expect coming into camp. This year, I’m a little bit more prepared for the competition.
“I look forward to building in camp and hopefully having a good season, wherever it is.”