USA's Cutter Gauthier celebrates scoring with Rutger McGroarty during the IIHF World Junior Championship ice hockey semifinal match between USA and Finland at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (Adam Ihse/TT via AP)
January 08, 2024 - 4:52 PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Anaheim Ducks have traded defenceman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025 to the Philadelphia Flyers for high-scoring college left wing Cutter Gauthier.
The teams executed the swap of highly regarded youngsters Monday.
The 21-year-old Drysdale was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft by Anaheim, and he has grown into a puck-moving defenceman who has played a major role this season for the Ducks after missing nearly all of last season due to injury. Drysdale has one goal and four assists in 10 games for Anaheim after getting 32 points during his first full NHL season in 2021-22.
The Ducks have a glut of talented young defencemen in their system, and general manager Pat Verbeek used one of his best talents to acquire Gauthier, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Gauthier led the U.S. team to the gold medal at the just completed World Junior Championship, tying for the tournament lead with 12 points and scoring the game-winning goal in the third period of the semifinal match. He also has 23 points in just 17 games this season for Boston College after getting 37 points in 32 games last season as a freshman for the Eagles.
The Flyers have been unable to sign Gauthier, so they traded their top prospect for a young defenceman with 123 games of NHL experience and ample room to grow.
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