Gaudet a classic ‘late-bloomer’
One of three Ottawa products invited to the Senators’ development camp, Jake Gaudet added fuel to his dream of playing in the NHL one day.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound forward looked comfortable playing on a line with Colin White at Monday’s 3-on-3 tournament. He also scored a shootout goal that wowed the crowd.
“I had an awesome time,” Gaudet, a 21-year old who spent the past three seasons with the CCHL’s Kemptville 73s, said of the week long camp. “Just meeting guys that you read about on social media and stuff, and just seeing how they play hockey, to see how you stack up. It’s pretty cool.” Gaudet stacked up well. “Definitely, the gap is bigger in your head, I think, than in real life,” he said. “It’s cool to get out here and see a lot of the differences. They do little things better than you do, like a bit quicker first step. But the difference is not as big as you imagine.”
Gaudet, who also played with the Ottawa West Golden Knights and Arnprior Packers, is now headed off to his first year at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he’ll play for former Senators assistant coach Greg Carvel.
There, he is expected to further develop into a pro prospect.
“I think that’s the feedback I got, that somewhere down the road, in two or three years, four years, that it would be a real possibility,” he said.
Senators assistant GM Randy Lee liked what he saw from Gaudet and believes he’ll make huge strides playing for Carvel, who recently referred to Gaudet as a “classic late-bloomer.” The Senators will keep an eye on Gaudet’s progress.
“He made a really good impression on us,” said Lee. “We know he’s got a long-term plan for his development, and we use this camp to get to know guys that are potential college free agents down the road, because that’s a big part of the game. A big part of signing these guys is getting to know them as people. He’s the type of guy, I think he’s going to take a longer term approach, but he’ll know, when you get to a point where you’re not going to challenge yourself anymore at that level, that’s when they decide they’re going to come out and turn pro. He might have choices.
“Jake made a great impression on us with how hard he works, how serious he is. We think he’s got a lot of upside. I think we’ve also made a really good impression on him.”