If there's one prospect who has drawn the short end of the stick this season, it's Taylor Gauthier.
Gauthier, 24, is in his third season in the Penguins' organization after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. And for much of his time in the system, he's struggled to see AHL opportunity despite playing well enough to do so.
Gauthier actually spent most of his rookie 2022-23 season in the AHL, playing 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that year and 16 with Wheeling. He was backstopping a team that finished dead last in the AHL's Eastern Conference that year, but still managed to perform well with a .907 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.
Gauthier played well enough that year to take the next step and see more AHL time in his sophomore season, but there just wasn't a spot for him. Joel Blomqvist came over from Finland, and Magnus Hellberg was the veteran No. 3 brought in to share the net with him. So Gauthier spent almost all of that season in Wheeling, where he dominated.
Despite playing through injury for almost all of last season season, Gauthier won the award for ECHL goaltender of the year and was the goaltender on the first all-star team for the regular season. His .923 save percentage led the league among qualified goaltenders over 42 games. He tied for the league lead with four shutouts, and ranked second with a 2.23 goals-against average. Over the course of the season he won the ECHL's award for goaltender of the week four times, tied for the most in a single season in league history.
And still, Gauthier found himself back in Wheeling. He was injured in the Prospects Challenge before training camp and was sidelined until the end of November. And then with Blomqvist still in the fold, Filip Larsson being signed after being one of Sweden's top goalies, and Sergei Murashov unexpectedly coming over from Russia, Gauthier was often relegated to Murashov's backup in Wheeling.
It's hard to imagine anyone could have blamed Gauthier had he been unhappy with his situation. But he understood it, accepted it, and just focused on controlling what he could.
"You know, it's hard competition," Gauthier told me after Wilkes-Barre's practice on Thursday. "I feel like I've done a lot of good things this year. And I thought I went down there and just put my head down and worked, and put my best foot forward every day. And the results started coming."
Gauthier's results in Wheeling were better than his award-winning season the year before. He appeared in 30 games, recording a .928 save percentage and a 2.06 goals-against average. But he was undoubtedly his best toward the end of the year when the opportunity presented itself to be the No. 1 again. Blomqvist was injured in Wilkes-Barre, and Murashov came up to the AHL as a result. Gauthier had his net back, and thrived.
Murashov's recall came on March 4. From then until the end of the year, Gauthier made 12 starts for Wheeling and had an insane .949 save percentage and 1.42 goals-against average.
"While (Murashov) was up here putting up record-breaking numbers and performances, I felt like I was playing really well down there," Gauthier told me of that stretch. "It always feels good whenever you're the guy, and if you have a not-so-good start, you're able to get right back in there the next night. It was just all the hard work, dedication and a little bit of adversity I faced this year, it all just clicked at the right time."
Gauthier, really, only had one not-so-good start in that period, allowing three goals on 21 shots in a 3-1 loss. And he followed that up with an 18-save shutout the very next game.
Gauthier was happy to be the No. 1 again, but that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy -- and benefit from -- his time sharing the net with Murashov.
"Having him down there, it bred so much healthy competition between the two of us," Gauthier said. "We pushed each other every day. We supported each other. And I think you kind of saw, we both got opportunities to kind of show what we could do."
KDP PHOTOGRAPHY / WBS PENGUINS
Taylor Gauthier in net in Game 1 of the playoffs on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
With the ECHL playoffs starting first, and the Penguins wanting to give both Blomqvist and Murashov No. 1 roles in the postseason, Murashov was sent back to Wheeling, and Gauthier was recalled to back up Blomqvist with Larsson injured.
Wilkes-Barre's last game of the regular season had some meaning, with there still being a chance to move up to the No. 3 seed if they won and things went their way elsewhere around the league. They turned to Gauthier for his first AHL game of the season, and Gauthier posted a 32-save shutout in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Monsters.
"I felt like I was rolling," Gauthier said. "I felt really good in the game that I played here."
Blomqvist was injured in Game 1 of Wilkes-Barre's first-round series on Wednesday after stopping 23 of 26 shots through 40 minutes. Gauthier came in for the start of the third period, and stopped five of seven in what ended up being a 5-2 loss.
Blomqvist didn't practice on Thursday, and Murashov was recalled from Wheeling after the session, which doesn't bode well for Blomqvist's availability for Friday's must-win Game 2 in Allentown. Murashov and the Nailers were down 0-3 in the first round prior to his recall, and Murashov had his worst three-game stretch of the season, recording an .857 save percentage and a 3.82 goals-against average.
There was no word on Blomqvist's status or Friday's goaltending plans when I spoke with Gauthier. And while he didn't like seeing Blomqvist get hurt the way he did, he was hoping that it'd lead to him being "the guy" again.
"You work all year to get ready for times like this," he said. "I have all the confidence in the world. I've put in a lot of hard work throughout the year to be ready for whatever, whenever I get called on. And if that happens to be tomorrow, I'll be more than ready and just try and give the team the best chance to win every night, and just do my job out there."
Of all the NHL-contracted goaltenders in the system -- Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic, Blomqvist, Murashov, Larsson and Gauthier -- Gauthier is the only one not signed for next season. He's set to be a restricted free agent, leaving his future a little uncertain.
Barring any trades, there would still be a heck of a logjam in goal even if Gauthier isn't re-signed. Given the way the last couple of seasons have gone, Gauthier couldn't really be faulted if he was looking forward to the chance of moving to a different organization for next season, where there could be more of a path for him to move up. But he's a creature of habit, not one for change. The guy doesn't even like changing the design on his pads.
Gauthier's not looking to seek a new path elsewhere this summer. He's hoping to show that he deserves be right back in this system next season, and fighting his way through that logjam.
"You know, I love this place," he said. "I love this organization, everyone in it. I'm just trying to embrace it and enjoy every day. ... Whenever I got told I was coming up here, I looked at it as my chance to prove some things. I've been down in Wheeling all year and I wanted to show people that I'm still around. I'm still the goalie that they signed a couple years ago. Just show that I deserve to stick around and on another NHL deal, whether it's here or anywhere else."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
2:43 am - 04.25.2025Wilkes-Barre, Pa.Gauthier wants to 'show people I'm still around'
If there's one prospect who has drawn the short end of the stick this season, it's Taylor Gauthier.
Gauthier, 24, is in his third season in the Penguins' organization after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. And for much of his time in the system, he's struggled to see AHL opportunity despite playing well enough to do so.
Gauthier actually spent most of his rookie 2022-23 season in the AHL, playing 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that year and 16 with Wheeling. He was backstopping a team that finished dead last in the AHL's Eastern Conference that year, but still managed to perform well with a .907 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.
Gauthier played well enough that year to take the next step and see more AHL time in his sophomore season, but there just wasn't a spot for him. Joel Blomqvist came over from Finland, and Magnus Hellberg was the veteran No. 3 brought in to share the net with him. So Gauthier spent almost all of that season in Wheeling, where he dominated.
Despite playing through injury for almost all of last season season, Gauthier won the award for ECHL goaltender of the year and was the goaltender on the first all-star team for the regular season. His .923 save percentage led the league among qualified goaltenders over 42 games. He tied for the league lead with four shutouts, and ranked second with a 2.23 goals-against average. Over the course of the season he won the ECHL's award for goaltender of the week four times, tied for the most in a single season in league history.
And still, Gauthier found himself back in Wheeling. He was injured in the Prospects Challenge before training camp and was sidelined until the end of November. And then with Blomqvist still in the fold, Filip Larsson being signed after being one of Sweden's top goalies, and Sergei Murashov unexpectedly coming over from Russia, Gauthier was often relegated to Murashov's backup in Wheeling.
It's hard to imagine anyone could have blamed Gauthier had he been unhappy with his situation. But he understood it, accepted it, and just focused on controlling what he could.
"You know, it's hard competition," Gauthier told me after Wilkes-Barre's practice on Thursday. "I feel like I've done a lot of good things this year. And I thought I went down there and just put my head down and worked, and put my best foot forward every day. And the results started coming."
Gauthier's results in Wheeling were better than his award-winning season the year before. He appeared in 30 games, recording a .928 save percentage and a 2.06 goals-against average. But he was undoubtedly his best toward the end of the year when the opportunity presented itself to be the No. 1 again. Blomqvist was injured in Wilkes-Barre, and Murashov came up to the AHL as a result. Gauthier had his net back, and thrived.
Murashov's recall came on March 4. From then until the end of the year, Gauthier made 12 starts for Wheeling and had an insane .949 save percentage and 1.42 goals-against average.
"While (Murashov) was up here putting up record-breaking numbers and performances, I felt like I was playing really well down there," Gauthier told me of that stretch. "It always feels good whenever you're the guy, and if you have a not-so-good start, you're able to get right back in there the next night. It was just all the hard work, dedication and a little bit of adversity I faced this year, it all just clicked at the right time."
Gauthier, really, only had one not-so-good start in that period, allowing three goals on 21 shots in a 3-1 loss. And he followed that up with an 18-save shutout the very next game.
Gauthier was happy to be the No. 1 again, but that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy -- and benefit from -- his time sharing the net with Murashov.
"Having him down there, it bred so much healthy competition between the two of us," Gauthier said. "We pushed each other every day. We supported each other. And I think you kind of saw, we both got opportunities to kind of show what we could do."
KDP PHOTOGRAPHY / WBS PENGUINS
Taylor Gauthier in net in Game 1 of the playoffs on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
With the ECHL playoffs starting first, and the Penguins wanting to give both Blomqvist and Murashov No. 1 roles in the postseason, Murashov was sent back to Wheeling, and Gauthier was recalled to back up Blomqvist with Larsson injured.
Wilkes-Barre's last game of the regular season had some meaning, with there still being a chance to move up to the No. 3 seed if they won and things went their way elsewhere around the league. They turned to Gauthier for his first AHL game of the season, and Gauthier posted a 32-save shutout in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Monsters.
"I felt like I was rolling," Gauthier said. "I felt really good in the game that I played here."
Blomqvist was injured in Game 1 of Wilkes-Barre's first-round series on Wednesday after stopping 23 of 26 shots through 40 minutes. Gauthier came in for the start of the third period, and stopped five of seven in what ended up being a 5-2 loss.
Blomqvist didn't practice on Thursday, and Murashov was recalled from Wheeling after the session, which doesn't bode well for Blomqvist's availability for Friday's must-win Game 2 in Allentown. Murashov and the Nailers were down 0-3 in the first round prior to his recall, and Murashov had his worst three-game stretch of the season, recording an .857 save percentage and a 3.82 goals-against average.
There was no word on Blomqvist's status or Friday's goaltending plans when I spoke with Gauthier. And while he didn't like seeing Blomqvist get hurt the way he did, he was hoping that it'd lead to him being "the guy" again.
"You work all year to get ready for times like this," he said. "I have all the confidence in the world. I've put in a lot of hard work throughout the year to be ready for whatever, whenever I get called on. And if that happens to be tomorrow, I'll be more than ready and just try and give the team the best chance to win every night, and just do my job out there."
Of all the NHL-contracted goaltenders in the system -- Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic, Blomqvist, Murashov, Larsson and Gauthier -- Gauthier is the only one not signed for next season. He's set to be a restricted free agent, leaving his future a little uncertain.
Barring any trades, there would still be a heck of a logjam in goal even if Gauthier isn't re-signed. Given the way the last couple of seasons have gone, Gauthier couldn't really be faulted if he was looking forward to the chance of moving to a different organization for next season, where there could be more of a path for him to move up. But he's a creature of habit, not one for change. The guy doesn't even like changing the design on his pads.
Gauthier's not looking to seek a new path elsewhere this summer. He's hoping to show that he deserves be right back in this system next season, and fighting his way through that logjam.
"You know, I love this place," he said. "I love this organization, everyone in it. I'm just trying to embrace it and enjoy every day. ... Whenever I got told I was coming up here, I looked at it as my chance to prove some things. I've been down in Wheeling all year and I wanted to show people that I'm still around. I'm still the goalie that they signed a couple years ago. Just show that I deserve to stick around and on another NHL deal, whether it's here or anywhere else."
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