Dissecting the struggles of top NHL rookies Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty and Will Smith

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There were plenty of high-profile former NCAA stars making the jump to the NHL full-time this year. More so than usual, so there were plenty of reasons to be excited.

And if you asked NHL scouts which player would potentially have the hardest time transitioning to the NHL, you probably would have pointed to Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson. He’s small, and many wondered if it would take a while for his all-out, never-stop-moving style to flourish in the NHL.

Instead, he’s an early season Calder Trophy favorite, while Anaheim Ducks‘ Cutter Gauthier, Pittsburgh Penguins‘ Rutger McGroarty and the San Jose Sharks‘ Will Smith are all searching for some consistency on the scoresheet. In McGroarty’s case, he’s down in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

All three were stars in the college ranks last year, but that success hasn’t transferred to the NHL. So, what gives?

These three forwards have shown how difficult it is to transition from college to the NHL. You go from playing around 30 games a year on weekends to traveling all across North America while playing 82 games a season. That’s one of the few disadvantages of going the college route, and something we’ve seen many prospects struggle with once turning pro.

In the cases of Gauthier and McGroarty, the struggles come after both requested trades from the teams that originally drafted them. Gauthier’s departure from Philadelphia was a major talking point in early January, while the Winnipeg Jets fanbase mocked McGroarty’s absence in their first meeting with Pittsburgh after the trade.

Gauthier, most notably, was benched twice in a game against Utah last week – a 5-4 overtime victory for the Ducks. It’s not like Gauthier hasn’t had opportunities – he was averaging around 14 minutes a night, and has nearly 10 minutes of power-play time to his credit. We’ve seen the flashes of skill and how he can generate shots and transition like he does.

But it feels like we’ve seen him struggle trying to break past NHL blueliners like he did against college kids. And that’s not unusual. The same thing happened to former NCAA whiz kid Jack Eichel during his early days. And then suddenly, it all came to him, and it likely will with Gauthier, too. The Ducks aren’t a good team and they can afford to keep Gauthier in a scoring role, but he’s going to need to learn some tough lessons along the way. At the very least, it’s good to see he’s still with the big club and they’re still allowing him to learn along the way.

Of the three, Gauthier seems like the one who’s most snakebitten. He’s driving offense, but the results just aren’t there yet. He’s got work to do, for sure, but I feel like once he gets one, they’ll start coming in waves. It was good to see Gauthier bounce-back and have a two-point effort against San Jose on Tuesday, so hopefully it’s the start of something good.

McGroarty, meanwhile, made a strong first impression with Pittsburgh in the opening game of the Buffalo Prospects Challenge before getting outplayed by a few of the team’s AHL-bound forwards. Mix in a so-so preseason and three quiet games in the NHL and it was understandable that the Penguins wanted to send McGroarty down. He just looked… lost. He had just two shots in three games (although there’s an argument that he probably should have started alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to get the most out of his skillset).

Even after watching McGroarty go down to WBS, he just doesn’t look like himself right now. McGroarty was always so confident and tactical, often being the hardest-working player on the ice in college. This year, he looks too timid and reserved and that’s showing in his lack of production. Of the three players listed here, McGroarty’s play has been the most concerning. He had a good opportunity to play a big role for the Penguins out of the gate and he didn’t seize it. I’m confident it’ll come to him at some point – he was always one step ahead of his peers last year – but it’s going to take some time.

The Sharks have taken a similar path with Smith that the Ducks did with Leo Carlsson. Smith was a healthy scratch last week, which the team said was part of the plan all along. Were they saving face after seeing Smith fail to produce early on? Perhaps. But with Macklin Celebrini out due to injury, there was a perfect opportunity for Smith to swoop in and steal the spotlight and it just hasn’t happened.

Smith’s ice time has fluctuated early on as the Sharks are still seeking their first win of the season, with him playing a career-high 19:09 against the Chicago Blackhawks last week. He played well in the first two games, getting two decent chances each against St. Louis and Anaheim. But from there, Smith just hasn’t looked overly energetic. He doesn’t look quick, he’s losing battles he shouldn’t, and it feels like he’s out of position in the offensive zone more often than not. It’s like he’s confused, with one scout saying it’s like, “He’s playing with a blindfold on” around the net.

Maybe joining the United States at the World Juniors with a chance to win gold alongside his good buddies Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault will help spark his confidence. Smith played with Leonard for four seasons and Perreault for three, so he became extra comfortable working alongside them. All the cues, the set-ups, the awareness, it’s all gone when you move on. Smith was often the glue that made things happen between them as they built up one of the most dominant lines in college hockey history, so it’s not like he was being carried. Heck, he finished first in NCAA scoring with 71 points last year. But everything, from the environment to the personnel, has changed in a way he hasn’t had to deal with in quite some time. So for Smith, the struggles make sense.

What can we take away from these three players? The NHL is a dang hard league to excel in. The days of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin coming in and challenging for the scoring title right away are way past gone. Even the best prospects in the world are going to have a difficult time adjusting to the physical and mental grind that is a full NHL season. There isn’t a league in the world that can prepare you for the challenge of going up against the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin on a nightly basis. Even Matvei Michkov, who went from playing in the KHL for three years into a key offensive role with the Philadelphia Flyers has looked out of place at times. The highest-scoring rookie so far is Seamus Casey, whom the New Jersey Devils sent down to the AHL earlier this week.

A small sample size to kick off the new season isn’t much to go by. Just ask MacKinnon, Jack Hughes or Juraj Slafkovsky about their early days in the show. Or even Kyle Connor, who had 35 goals and 71 points in 2015-16 – tying him for the most productive NCAA output from the past decade. In his first year of NHL action in 2016-17, Connor had just five points in 20 games while spending most of the year in the AHL. Logan Cooley was a Hobey Baker finalist in 2023, but only had two goals heading into December as an NHL rookie last year. Adam Fantilli struggled in Columbus before an injury cut his season short in January. Many other college stars, such as Adam Gaudette and Zach Aston-Reese, never seemed to make it work at the next level.

If you’re a fan of any of the three players, there isn’t a reason to panic yet. Sure, all three entered as Calder Trophy favorites and are already on the backburner. But winning rookie of the year or putting up a ton of points on a middling team isn’t going to matter in the long run. The focus is long-term development, and stepping into the NHL is a massive undertaking.

Take a deep breath. It’s too early to worry about any of them right now.

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Dissecting the struggles of top NHL rookies Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty and Will Smith

Article presented by Amazon Prime

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