Julien Gauthier Earning Positive Results In His Quest To Stay With The Big Club

Gauthier has been a major standout at training camp and was the benefactor of a silky pass by Maxim Tsyplakov in N.J. on Sunday.

Stefen Rosner

The Elmonters

, and

David Kolb

Sep 24, 2024

EAST MEADOW, NY — When Patrick Roy came aboard on Jan. 20, it shocked the New York Islanders system.

There was no more being comfortable.

Roy owed nothing to the players here, with each of them having to put their best foot forward and show the Hockey Hall of Famer why they deserved to play each night.

One of the players who got the short end of the stick was forward Julien Gauthier.

It wasn’t like Gauthier, who signed a two-year deal worth $787,500 annually in July of 2023, was a major force in the Islanders’ lineup.

But he did earn minutes as the season progressed, playing in 22 of Lane Lambert’s final 26 games.

Under Roy, Gauthier played in three games, going pointless, before the Islanders decided to send him to the American Hockey League to give Oliver Wahlstrom more looks — that was per general manager Lou Lamoriello.

“It’s not always a fun situation when you get sent down to the AHL,” Gauthier said. “You can either complain, or you can work and try to improve.”

Gauthier played 17 games with Bridgeport, scoring seven goals with three assists for 10 points. He had five goals and four assists for nine points in 27 games with the Islanders.

Wahlstrom went pointless in nine games under Roy.

“Over the course of the summer, I tried to make sure I corrected my mistakes and try to be better for this year,” Gauthier added.

To the best of our knowledge, Gauthier’s Bridgeport demotion was primarily Wahlstrom-related. But, obviously, if Gauthier was playing the way Roy needed him to play, he would have remained on the NHL roster, with the team’s sights set on claiming a playoff spot.

“The demotion was about the structure,” Gauthier said. “The coaches here asked me to do better. You can always improve all assets of your game, but I tried to work on that a lot.”

Gauthier has been a major standout at training camp like he was a year ago. He’s using his wheels to generate chances and his body to protect the puck while also showing off his wicked shot.

But more importantly, he’s understanding what Roy is asking of him.

“Training camp has been going well,” Gauthier said. “I’ve been studying video on my own, trying to understand everything. And, so far so good. One day at a time.”

In Sunday’s 4-2 preseason win over the New Jersey Devils, Gauthier was the benefactor of a silky pass by Maxim Tsyplakov, drawing a penalty as well with three shots on six attempts in 11:45 minutes of action:

Gauthier is competing for one of the final roster spots, but given New York’s cap situation — they have just $50,000 in available cap space — things would have to go right for the forward if he and his $787,500 were to be on the NHL books.

But given how Gauthier has played, there’s a chance he beats out a player like Hudson Fasching for the final forward spot.

Time will tell as training camp rolls on.

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Simon Holmstrom & Islanders’ Belief In Him

EAST MEADOW, NY -- Simon Holmstrom is getting a chance to be a top-six player for the New York Islanders and he's running...skating with the opportunity so far at training camp.

The 23-year-old former first-round pick (No. 23) has been a defensive specialist at the NHL level over his first two NHL seasons, earning him NHL minutes.

But the Islanders know the offense is there and they think he’s unlocked it.

Read the rest at The Hockey News.