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Me and @lpunkari have been singing Taylor Gauthier's praises for the past hour or so. He's been chosen by Team Canada and some don't like it. Here's why we think they're wrong:
Lucas watches more junior hockey than I do (and likely more than about anyone on the dang planet), and there's one thing we both know. When you watch enough of it, there are some players who are just *really good* and immediately stand out. Gauthier is one of them.
He plays for Prince George, which isn't the deepest team in the dub. Still, his numbers are more than respectable, with his save percentage among the higher ones in the league, even with more minutes and more shots faced than anyone else.
Gauthier is the reason the Cougars have won games they had no business winning, or have kept things close when being seriously outplayed by opponents. The fact that he hasn't been drafted should be a crime.
He reminds me, in some ways, of Joel Hofer - Hofer was always good on Swift Current. But wasn't noticed as much until he was traded to a team that had a stronger defence in front of him. Regular watchers of Team Canada remember Hofer from last year...
My observations: Gauthier is very solid. Calm under pressure, decent rebound control and good positioning. He's insanely frustrating for opposing players and fans because it often seems like you just. Can't. Score.
This game against PA is a prime example - PG had 3 shots between the third and overtime. PA had 20. Final score - 2-1 in overtime. https://whl.ca/gamecentre/1016934/boxscore
Canada's forward and defence is deep, as usual. The US is a strong team as is Russia. But a goalie who can steal games and win games your team has no business winning will win tournaments. Gauthier is that goalie. Everyone he's played for or against is impressed.
Don't sleep on Gauthier. Canada's got a good one. .917 save % in 50 games last year on a team that was last in its division and went 20-34-4-4. He led the league in minutes and faced the 2nd most shots. Lots of those are tough, quality shots too. So yeah.
