Canucks have high hopes for college star Gaudette
VANCOUVER — Signed and sealed, but can Adam Gaudette deliver? Dylan Sikura knows he can. The Northeastern University winger, who signed an entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, knows the significance of his linemate reaching a three-year deal with the Canucks on Monday. It carries a $925,000 US salary-cap hit and includes a minor-league component at $70,000.
The 21-year-old Gaudette not only led NCAA scoring with 60 points (30-30) in 38 games, the 2015 fifth-round draft pick is a favourite to capture the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate player. Amid all that, the Braintree, Massachusetts, native — he arrived in Vancouver on Monday night and could play Thursday to burn the first year of his deal — captured the imagination of his teammates and the Canucks.
“He’s a good team guy — every night you know what you’re getting from him,” said Sikura. “It’s his passion for the game. He’s pretty uncanny and I don’t think there are a lot of guys in the NCAA who like putting the puck in the back of the net like he does.
“Every night he brings the heat. He leads by example in the way he plays — a full 200-foot game — and he’ll block shots and do the little things to help the team out.”
That’s music to Travis Green’s ears. The Canucks coach has preached three-zone awareness and strong play without the puck. And while it might be easier for the right-shot Gaudette to transition to the NHL as a replacement for injured winger Brock Boeser, that’s not the plan. Much like Bo Horvat, the 6-foot-1, 184-pound Gaudette is a centre by trade and the Canucks will get a quick read on where his complete game is at.
“Travis wants to play with speed on the forecheck and coming back with speed and in that three-deep system, he [Gaudette] is a good fit,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Monday. “The details in his game are good and what’s going to make him good is that he’s got a relentless work rate.” And a nose for the net. Aside from total-game awareness and an improving stride, Gaudette scored 56 goals in 75 games the past two NCAA seasons. That gets your attention. This season, he formed one of the most formidable trios with Sikura, who had 22 goals, and captain Nolan Stevens, who struck 24 times and signed an entry-level deal with the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
Gaudette was also first in points per game (1.58), second in game-winning goals (five) and third in power-play goals (11).
“He was a big part of driving the offence and he’s an extremely hard worker and that’s what we want,” added Benning. “He’s on the first power play, he kills penalties and goes against top lines every night. When you’re expected to be the guy and are still producing, that’s a lot of responsibility. He rose to the occasion.”
It made Gaudette’s contract leverage — burning a year of his deal like Boeser did a year ago — easier for Benning to digest. Gaudette could have gone back to Northeastern for a fourth year and become an unrestricted free agent if he didn’t reach terms here by August 2019.
That wasn’t going to happen. Gaudette is loyal to the Canucks for taking the draft chance and they needed to lock up a top prospect.
“We wanted to get him signed and get him some games,” added Benning. “He’ll know what to expect and do what he needs to do in the summer to get off to a good start next fall.”
A window on Gaudette’s world opened July 6 in the Summer Showcase at Rogers Arena. Pitted against coveted first-round draft pick Elias Pettersson before 5,000 season-ticket holders, Gaudette was hard on the forecheck, hard on Pettersson with a heavy shoulder check behind the net and hard on goalies with a two-goal effort.
“He [Pettersson] is definitely a higher pick than me, but I definitely wanted to show that I can compete at the level he’s competing at because we’re battling for the same spot,” said Gaudette. “I wanted to show everybody that I can play at the same pace that he can.”