Taylor Gauthier has never scored a goal in his hockey career but give him time.
As a goalie, putting the puck in the opponents' net is not part of the job description. He's there to prevent goals and that's what the Prince George Cougars liked when they used their first-round draft pick, ninth overall, to select Gauthier in the Western Hockey League draft in Calgary.
The six-foot, 172 pound Gauthier loves to handle the puck and considers that one of his strengths, and now that he's strong enough to clear the puck the length of the ice he's thinking maybe one day he'll take a shot at scoring an empty-netter.
He's done just about everything else for the Calgary Bisons bantam team. The numbers he posted the past two seasons were beyond stingy.
"We know that Taylor is a top-notch kid who wants to play in the NHL and when you watch him play he's such a competitor with so much athletic ability and he just couldn't pass him up," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins.
"Taylor made his point to me that he needed to be picked by us in the first round when he backstopped his team to the championship at the Alberta Cup (last weekend in Canmore). To see him making saves to keep his team ahead and then see him celebrating with his teammates after they won, we knew that was our guy."
The 15-year-old from Calgary was the first goaltender taken in Thursday's draft. It was highest pick any team has used on a netminder since Carey Price went seventh overall to the Tri-City Americans in 2002. That's somewhat fitting considering Gauthier models his goaltending style after the Montreal Canadiens starting goalie.
"It's pretty amazing, Prince George expressed some interest in me but I didn't think I would go that high," said Gauthier, who turned 15 on Feb. 15.
"I don't know much about the Cougars but I talked to (Cougar captain Sam Ruopp) today and he said it's an unbelievable organization that does a lot for the players. He said once camp comes along he'll make sure to make me part of the family and that really makes me feel comfortable with playing in Prince George. Hopefully I can bring a banner back in the years I play for the Cougars."
The Bisons made it as far as the South Division final in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, losing in a five-game series to the eventual champions, Lethbridge. Gauthier compiled a 15-1-3 regular season record with seven shutouts and 1.22 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. In 2014-15 he went undefeated at 16-0-1 with a 1.21 goals-against average and .950 save percentage. He won the league's top goalie award each season.
Gauthier started playing hockey at age 3 and became a goalie when he was six.
"I just like the pressure everyone puts on the goalie, it feels right," he said. "I try to play to as much as I can like Carey Price. I was hoping maybe I'd get a text today from him about (being the first goalie selected in the draft) but that hasn't happened yet."
He describes himself as an aggressive goalie in and around his net who tries to communicate often with his teammates about what to do with the puck and he likes taking an active as a team leader, on and off the ice. He was encouraged early in his career by his atom coach to come out of his crease to play the puck behind the net and that is now one of his best assets.
"When I switched to goalie I had to teach myself to shoot right and I've always liked to shoot the puck a lot," he said. "I was thinking about going for (an empty-net goal) in Alberta Cup when we were up 7-3 but didn't get the chance to shoot one there."
Gauthier has seen the offensive capabilities of Peyton Krebs, who went first overall Thursday to the Kootenay Ice. Krebs, a native of Okotoks who played for the Rocky Mountain Raiders bantam team, scored 46 goals and totaled 102 points in just 27 games, and Gauthier is glad he won't have to deal with him very often if they meet on WHL ice. Kootenay doesn't play in the Cougars division.
"I've known him for a few years and I always play against him -- he's a good guy too," said Gauthier.
This was considered a deep talent pool in the draft and Harkins is satisfied with the nine players the Cougars selected. There was a concerted effort to shore up the team's back end considering Jonas Harkins is the only defenceman from last year's draft. It was also crucial for the Cougars to find a blue-chip goaltending prospect.
"There wasn't as much depth in the draft in goaltenders and we knew if we passed on (Gauthier), it dropped off fairly quick, and we didn't want to wait for the 32nd pick to get a goaltender," said Harkins.
Last year, the Cougars picked Isaiah DiLauria of Lakeville, Minn., in the eighth round, but Harkins doesn't know if the American-born player will ever play in the WHL. The incumbent starter in net, Ty Edmonds, was a ninth-round pick of the Cougars in 2011.
"We just haven't put a lot of time and stock into drafting goalies the last couple years and it was like that before I took over (three years ago) as the head scout," said Harkins. "We just knew it was time to make that decision and start with Taylor and build around him in net, because you win championships from the goalie out.
"We knew with Reid Perepeluk from last year's draft moving to forward with the Cariboo Cougars we had to pick some defencemen."
The Cougars used their second-round, 32nd overall pick to select six-foot-three, 189-pound defenceman Cole Beamin of Saskatoon. In 30 games for the Saskatoon Outlaws, he scored 10 goals and added 12 assists for 22 points.
"He's big and rangy and plays with bite and skates real well for a big defenceman," said Harkins. "He has a real hard, accurate shot and he's not afraid to join the rush."
Six-foot-one, 170-pound defenceman Jack Michell of the Saskatoon Stallions went to the Cougars in the third round, 54th overall.
"He has great offensive instincts who can really push the pace of play," said Harkins. He's another defenceman also can really skate well."
The Cougars didn't have a fourth-round pick as a result of the Jesse Gabrielle deal with Regina. They used their fifth-round pick, 98th overall, to select their first B.C.-born player of the draft, left-shooting forward Keegan Kraik of the Delta Hockey Academy Wild. The 25 games the five-foot-one, 147 pound Kraik collected 16 goals and 22 points.
"He's a prototypical power forward who has a toughness in his game but also has soft hands and he can score and skate really well," said Harkins.
The Cats picked forward Jesse Mistlebacher in the sixth round, 126th overall. The five-foot-11, 145-pound native of Illes Des Chenes, Man., played for the Eastman Selects and finished the season with 16 goals and 41 points, with two goals and an assist in two playoff games.
Prince George had two picks in the seventh round and used them to get five-foot-10, 157-pound forward Edge Lambert of the Notre Dame Hounds, 143rd overall, and six-foot-one, 152-pound Zachary Bolton of the North Shore Winter Club, 145th. Lambert scored 20 goals and 44 points in 38 games with the Hounds. Bolton's point totals were not available.
"With Keegan, Jesse, Edge and Zach we've got four really good offensive-minded forwards who can put up really good numbers," said Harkins. "I think we were able to steal Edge (of Grande Prairie, Alta.) because he didn't go to the Alberta Cup because he wasn't able to leave Notre Dame and I think everybody forgot about him. He was an early- to to mid-round pick and we were thrilled to get in the seventh round.
"Zach's grown up with Jonas (in North Vancouver) and I've known him since he was four years old. He was my token North Shore Winter Club player."
Defenceman Erik Parker, a five-foot-nine, 133-pound native of Calgary who played with Gauthier on the Calgary Bisons, went in the eighth round, 164th overall. He had a goal and 19 assists in 35 regular season games and picked up two goals and three assists in nine playoff games.
The Cougars finished their draft in the 10th round, selecting defenceman Francis La Roue of Surrey, who played for the Delta Hockey Academy Wild bantam prep team and was a teammate of Craik. In 25 games with the Wild, La Roue had a goal and three assists.
The Cougars picked one goalie, four defencemen and four forwards.
In total, 285 players were taken in the draft, which went for 13 rounds. WHL teams took 74 players from Alberta,49 from B.C., 41 from Saskatchewan, 37 from Manitoba, 25 from the United States, and one from each of the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
