Frédérik Gauthier
Frédérik Gauthier | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1995 Laval, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey centre |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL and KHL; winning Calder Cup with Toronto Marlies; international gold medals with Team Canada |
Frédérik Gauthier (born April 26, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center currently an unrestricted free agent, having most recently played for HC Vityaz in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Selected 21st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Gauthier honed his skills over three seasons with the Rimouski Océanic in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He entered the Maple Leafs system following the 2014–15 QMJHL campaign and played a role in securing the Toronto Marlies' inaugural Calder Cup title.
Originating from Laval, Quebec, Gauthier progressed through local minor hockey ranks and initially considered pursuing collegiate hockey before ultimately choosing junior hockey in Quebec, inspired by Sidney Crosby. On the international stage, he earned gold medals representing Team Canada at both the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships and the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Early life
Born to parents Stéphane and Sophie Gauthier, Frédérik was raised in Mascouche, Quebec, where he was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.
Youth
Gauthier took part in the 2008 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a Montreal-based minor team. Later, he captained Collège Esther-Blondin Phénix to victory at the 2012 Telus Cup, tallying 11 points across seven games. Beyond hockey, he also played quarterback for Académie Antoine-Manseau. Selected by Rimouski Océanic in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft, Gauthier initially planned to compete in NCAA Division I hockey at Harvard University but shifted to Rimouski after encouragement from Sidney Crosby. He turned down an offer from the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.
In his first QMJHL season, Gauthier accumulated 60 points over 62 games and was ranked eighth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Noted for his skating ability and imposing stature (6'5"), he was picked 21st overall by Toronto in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After participating in Maple Leafs training camps, he returned to Rimouski for the 2013–14 season and inked a three-year entry-level deal with Toronto on November 28, 2013. That season concluded with Rimouski reaching but falling short in the second round of QMJHL playoffs.
In his concluding junior year, Gauthier earned the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward and propelled Rimouski to capture the President's Cup by netting a double-overtime game-winning goal in Game 7 against Quebec Remparts. On April 21, 2014, he signed an amateur tryout contract with Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Marlies.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Following Maple Leafs training camp attendance, Gauthier joined the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for the 2015–16 season. He notched his first professional point on October 21, 2016, soon followed by his initial goal. On March 19, 2016, he received an NHL call-up and debuted against the Buffalo Sabres. During that season, he appeared in seven NHL games and recorded his first NHL point on April 6, 2016.
For the 2016–17 campaign, Gauthier was assigned back to the Marlies but was recalled in December due to an injury on the NHL roster. He scored his first NHL goal on December 22, 2016. Although recalled intermittently throughout the season, he spent most of his time with Toronto’s AHL team during their Calder Cup playoff pursuit. Unfortunately, a hamstring avulsion injury sustained during playoffs required surgery and prematurely ended his season; nonetheless, he resumed skating within three months despite an initial six-month recovery estimate.
Gauthier attended Maple Leafs training camp prior to the 2017–18 season but was reassigned to Toronto Marlies. Throughout that year, he was recalled several times to play nine NHL games and scored one goal before returning to contribute to the Marlies’ Calder Cup championship success.
On July 11, 2018, Gauthier agreed to a two-year two-way contract extension with Toronto. He secured a spot on the NHL roster out of training camp and participated in 62 games during that season until a foot injury briefly sidelined him. He returned in time for all seven first-round playoff games against Boston.
During the COVID-19-delayed 2019–20 season, Gauthier began strongly with commendations from coach Barb Underhill and captain John Tavares. Following Sheldon Keefe’s appointment as head coach in November 2019, Gauthier experienced his first healthy scratch of that season but returned after four games to reach a new personal best in goals scored.
Arizona Coyotes
During the pandemic-affected 2020–21 NHL season, after remaining unsigned, Gauthier accepted a professional tryout contract to participate in the Arizona Coyotes training camp beginning December 27, 2020. His impressive performance at camp led to him earning a one-year, two-way contract with the Coyotes on January 11, 2021.
New Jersey Devils
Ahead of the 2021–22 season, as a free agent, Gauthier agreed to a Professional Tryout contract to attend the New Jersey Devils training camp on September 18, 2021.
Europe
Upon completion of his tenure with the Devils, Gauthier embarked on his first international contract by signing with Swiss National League (NL) team HC Ajoie on August 2, 2022. After spending two seasons competing in Switzerland, he secured a one-year deal with Russian KHL club Vityaz Moscow Region on May 29, 2024. Following one campaign with Vityaz, Gauthier returned to HC Ajoie in September 2025, agreeing to a short-term contract that included an option for extension through the 2025–26 season.
International play
Gauthier has represented Canada in various international competitions. He earned gold medals at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships and was a member of the Canadian squad that won gold at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Additionally, he participated in the 2014 World Juniors where Canada did not secure a medal. Throughout these tournaments, Gauthier served as a dependable center, bolstering his reputation on the global hockey scene.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 62 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 54 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 27 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 37 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 21 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 56 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 46 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 21 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 57 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 3 | 11 |
12| 7| 0| 0| 0| 2| | ||||||||
| 2019–20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 61 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Utica Comets | AHL | 51 | 8 | 24 |
15| | ||||||||
| getNLseason | getHC Ajoie | getNL |
52|| 9|| 14|| 23|| 32|| | |||||||||||
| getNLseason | getHC Ajoie | getNL |
44|| 10|| 8|| 18|| 18|| | |||||||||||
| getKHLseason | getHC Vityaz | getKHL |
54|| 13|| 8|| 21|| 20|| | |||||||||||
| NHL totals !178 !13 !18 !31 !47 !8 !0 !0 !0 !2 | ||||||||||||||
International
│ 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge│2012 │ Canada Quebec │ World U17 Hockey Challenge│U17 │ 6th place │5 │1 │2 │3 │2 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │ 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships│2013 │ Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team│Canada │ IIHF World U18 Championships│U18 │ │7 │1 │3 │4 │2 |- ALIGN="center" │ 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships│2014 │ Canada │ IIHF World U20 Championships│WJC │4th place │7 │0 │1 │1 │2 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │ 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship│2015 │ Canada │ WJC │ │7 │0 │1 │1 │۰ |- bgcolor="#e۰e۰e۰"| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome |
|
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior career totals !26 !۲ !۷ !۹ !۶ |
} Awards and honours
External links | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1995 births
- Living people
- HC Ajoie players
- Arizona Coyotes players
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian people of French descent
- NHL first-round draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- Rimouski Océanic players
- Ice hockey people from Laval, Quebec
- Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Marlies players
- Tucson Roadrunners players
- Utica Comets players
- HC Vityaz players
- 21st-century Canadian sportsmen