The Staals, the Sutters, the Tkachuks, the Gretzkys: hockey loves family stories.
At the next NHL draft, in three weeks, we can add the Gauthiers to the list.
If all goes as desired, Ethan Gauthier, from the Sherbrooke Phœnix, will hear his name in the first round. The latest NHL Central Scouting ranking placed him 16e rank among North American skaters. This makes him the main prospect from the QMJHL this season.
Ethan is the son of Denis, a robust defenseman who played more than 550 games in the NHL from 1997 to 2009 and who is now an analyst at RDS. But it was also Kaylen’s brother, his captain in Sherbrooke, who played a key role in his progress.
In fact, his whole family history is linked to sports. “It starts with my grandparents, my parents, my uncles, lists Denis on the phone. We have an athletic, intense, disciplined side. It seems to be in our DNA. »
It is not limited to boys: quoting a physical education teacher who met his three children, the father argues that it is his youngest daughter who, at 16, is “the best athlete in the family”!
Above all, pride
Denis Gauthier met his wife Stéphanie just weeks before he himself was drafted in the first round, in July 1995, by the Calgary Flames. Both parents therefore know better than anyone what awaits Ethan over the next few weeks, the next few months, the next few years. The mother also says she is “proud and excited” as this stage approaches, but not “nervous”.
The pride can also be heard in the voice of the dad who, although having followed his boys step by step in hockey, tried to erase himself as much as possible, so as not to impose on them the pressure of the one who has lived it all. before them, even less that of knowing the career he had.
His presence, however, “changed everything”, confirm Ethan and Kaylen, met in Sherbrooke at the end of April. “We are lucky to have him close to us, continues Ethan. When things are not going so well, whether on the hockey side or off the ice, when we have questions, he is there. He helps us, supports us, he wants the best for us. We never felt any pressure from him. »
PHOTO MAXIME PICARD, LA TRIBUNE ARCHIVES
Ethan Gauthier and his father Denis, former NHL defenseman
In this draft year, which is crucial in the career of a hockey player, “his father helped him put things into perspective,” adds Stéphane Julien, head coach of the Phoenix.
“He always told him: have fun, play hockey and whatever will happen will happen,” continues the pilot.
“Of course I have advice to give, but I never wanted to impose expectations on my children,” adds Denis Gauthier. I always wanted them to feel free to make mistakes, to have bad days. Sometimes they didn’t want to hear what I had to say. I respected their wishes. »
Click
This does not prevent frank discussions from taking place. One, in particular, is evoked as much by the sons as by their father.
Parenthesis here: unless you follow Quebec junior hockey assiduously, the name of Kaylen Gauthier does not evoke anything in particular for the average fan. And that’s quite normal.
He doesn’t hide it himself: he considers it a “feat” to have even reached the QMJHL, even more so to have played four full seasons there. At 21, he says he is “extremely proud” of his career, which has earned him a scholarship to UQTR. He will join the Patriotes on the college circuit next season.
The natural of the family has always been Ethan. “The talent, he always had it, notes Kaylen. He was always the best in his age group. But at a certain level, you can’t trust just that anymore. »
He may talk about the “DNA” of the Gauthiers, Denis nevertheless evokes a “click” in his youngest son. That moment when, with his wife, he put the cards on the table with Ethan. The young man was then playing at the bantam level.
“We discussed the level of potential I saw in him, the kind of player he could become, compared to what he showed on the ice. It caused a click, ”says the 46-year-old ex-defender.
Aware that a father is not always the best messenger to convince a teenager, he asked Kaylen for help. The following summer, Ethan joined a training group of older players, with whom he could compete athletically, but who put him in his place a little. Who, in short, pushed him to find the dosage of a self-confidence “which he did not lack and which he still does not lack!” “said the father, laughing.
His eldest, he believes, deserves a lot of credit in “Ethan’s transformation”. And today, those who once bickered have become “practically inseparable.”
Maturity
The intervention clearly paid off. After a long and difficult year in the Midget AAA ranks, spent only training since the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020-2021 season, Ethan Gauthier became the very first pick in the QMJHL Draft , held by the Phoenix.
Last summer, he delivered a dominant performance with the Canadian U18 team at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament – 6 goals in 5 games. In Sherbrooke, in his second season as a junior, he was given “a bigger role within the team”, within one of the most powerful clubs in the QMJHL. “I think I have matured,” he says himself.
At 17, he was promoted to the top line, with Joshua Roy and Justin Gill, two of the league’s top forwards in 2022-23. Today, we praise his attention to detail, his relentless work.
PHOTO JOCELYN RIENDEAU, LA TRIBUNE ARCHIVES
Joshua Roy, Ethan Gauthier and Justin Gill, from the Sherbrooke Phoenix
“From the start of the year, we could see that he was in the right frame of mind; he wanted to learn, to be better, underlines Joshua Roy. He’s not the biggest build, but he’s so physical… He brings a lot of momentum to our team, and everyone loves him in the locker room. I’m really not surprised what happened to him. »
At 5’11” and 175 pounds, Gauthier likely falls into the category of “small players”. “But who plays bigger than his size,” he says.
And if he was seen as a younger “natural”, it is more his intensity and his positioning in front of the net that are now perceived as his main assets. He is not a thoroughbred like those who will be drafted in the first round before him, explains Stéphane Julien.
However, “he is one of the best players in front of the net”.
“He scores the majority of his goals inside the face-off points,” continues the head coach and general manager of the Phoenix. It’s not trivial, it’s not luck. His sense of hockey in the offensive zone in possession of the puck is very high. Julien dares to pronounce the name “Tkachuk” by way of comparison – we suspect that he is talking about Matthew. “A North American style, a good player on 200 feet, physical, who rushes to the net”, he sums up.
“He disturbs”, abounds Kaylen Gauthier.
His linemate Justin Gill, two years his senior, praises his “solidity” on skates despite his size. “If you try to tackle him, he will surprise you and it may be you who will find yourself with all four irons in the air,” he warns.
After a campaign of 69 points in 66 games, followed by a harvest of 11 points in 11 games in the playoffs, different predictions place Ethan Gauthier near the end of the first round. His positioning in the classification of hopes has not been a distraction for him from the season, insists Stéphane Julien. Sound 16e rank among North American skaters is a great honour, says the principal concerned, “but it is not really representative of what will happen in the draft”.
Whatever the outcome, Gauthier knows he will have a lot of people behind him. Starting with his parents, who will relive the butterflies of the first round, 28 years later. And by his eldest, enthusiastic about the idea of ”watching and encouraging [son] little brother “.
How not to love family stories, basically?