PHILADELPHIA — Not many NHL clubs hold off-day practices at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 rink anymore. It’s a charming little barn, to be sure, but it lacks the typical amenities of a standard, big-league facility. A biting chill permeates throughout the hallways and the locker rooms in the dead of winter.
When teams do skate there, though, they’re typically open for any citizen or student to wander through and watch, if they so choose.
Not on Friday.
“The Penn Ice Rink apologizes,” read a sign in all caps posted on the double-glass-door entrance, “but at the request of the Anaheim Ducks organization, today’s practice is closed to spectators.”
Cutter Gauthier, the No. 5 overall pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 draft, who then froze out the organization a little more than a year ago before a trade to the Anaheim Ducks, will play the first game of his career at Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia on Saturday. The game immediately became one of the most anticipated of the Flyers’ season when the 2024-25 schedule was released last July.
The reason, of course, is that the reception from a notoriously vocal and passionate fan base that doesn’t take kindly to rejection will undoubtedly not be a kind one. The degree of enmity is still to be determined, but the Ducks, who can’t hold a morning skate on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center because of a professional lacrosse game, must have figured there was no reason to take any unnecessary risks the day before the game, with their closed-door University City practice.
The hour-long skate was nothing out of the ordinary. Gauthier took the ice wearing a green practice sweater with clashing orange pants, running drills with linemates Mason McTavish and Robby Fabbri.
Afterward, he spoke to The Athletic about what he expects on Saturday night.
“I’m anticipating probably a lot of boos, for sure,” Gauthier said. “They’re probably not the happiest fans with me. Excited for tomorrow, and just building our team game. We didn’t have our best game last game (a 6-2 loss in St. Louis on Thursday), so it’s an opportunity for us to build, and try to get a win.”
The source of the Flyers’ frustration when Gauthier was dealt, according to team brass, was that the player never told them why he didn’t want to join the organization. Repeated attempts to communicate with Gauthier, including general manager Daniel Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones flying to the World Junior Championship in Sweden last year, along with hockey operations members Patrick Sharp and John LeClair attempting to meet with him at Boston College in November of 2023, were for naught. “We tried to give him space, we tried to get in touch with him many times — they would not communicate,” Briere said at the time.
Prior to the first Flyers-Ducks meeting, in Anaheim on Dec. 28, a 3-1 Flyers win, Gauthier said that he had the game “circled on the calendar,” indicating that he wasn’t pleased with some of what was said about him and his situation in the aftermath of the blockbuster deal, which brought defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick to Philadelphia.
He expanded on that on Friday.
“I believe the media likes to take things and run with it. Especially right after the trade, there was a lot of lies circling the internet,” Gauthier said. “It’s unfortunate, because I’m not going to go out there and bad-mouth the Flyers organization, because obviously they’re such a historic organization and a great organization, and I was fortunate enough to be drafted by them. I was super honored to be picked by them. The media likes to take stuff and run with it. It was a bit unfortunate to see some of the lies they were spreading, but I wish them all the best moving forward.”
When asked if he would like to clarify what he was referring to, Gauthier declined.
“I’m not going to get too into the details with it. I’m going to keep that a private matter,” he said. “But like I’ve mentioned a little bit too many times, I’m super grateful for them drafting me and the opportunity they gave me. I wish nothing but the best for them. But I think it’s time for them and for me to move on, and focus on my goals and my career, and moving forward.”
From the Flyers’ perspective, they have other things to worry about. An ugly 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday was their fourth straight, and fifth in their last six. The home crowd didn’t need to be provoked by any Stars opponents; the Flyers ticked them off themselves by getting thoroughly outclassed from puck drop.
Still, none of the Flyers has been living under a rock. They all know that there’s going to be some extra voltage flowing through the Saturday night crowd when Gauthier carves his first skate mark into the Wells Fargo Center ice. In the first meeting last month, for example, Travis Sanheim offered Gauthier some light cross-checks just after the opening faceoff, admitting afterward that there was “maybe a little” message-sending going on.
“The crowd’s maybe been against us the past couple of games at home, so that will be nice,” Cam York said. “We know it’s going to be lively and going to be a great environment, and I know the guys are really excited about it.”
Captain Sean Couturier said: “There might be a little more emotions in the building. I hope we take that to our advantage, and play better, play the right way, be hard on them, and not give them anything from the start.”
Gauthier, once thought to be a key piece of the Flyers’ ongoing rebuild, was asked if he had any message for the Philadelphia fans who are still displeased with the way everything transpired.
“I just wish they knew the truth, I would say that,” he said. “But other than that, I’m not here to please everyone. I’m here to do what’s best for me and do what’s right for my development, and that’s what I’m working towards.”
(Photo of Cutter Gauthier: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)