Flyers sign Jacob Gaucher to entry-level contract

The Philadelphia Flyers announced Thursday that the club has signed center Jacob Gaucher to a two-year, entry-level contract.

A 23-year-old native of Longueuil, Que., Gaucher has made 23 appearances this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ minor-league affiliate, in which he has registered 10 goals and five assists for 15 points. Gaucher is in his second season with the Phantoms, after wrapping up the 2023-24 campaign with 16 points counting eight goals and eight assists through 59 outings.

A QMJHL graduate whose junior career counted 242 contests split between the Val-d’Or Foreurs and Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Gaucher’s junior tenure was underscored by his final season in 2021-22 when he captained the Drakkar and tied for top spot in team scoring with 68 points in 66 games.

Gaucher signed a minor-league pact with the Phantoms in 2022 and has attended the Flyers’ past two training camps on a tryout basis. The 6-foot-3 center’s pro career also counts a stint with the Reading Royals, the Flyers’ ECHL affiliate. With the Royals in 2022-23, Gaucher finished third in team scoring with 61 points counting 22 goals and 39 assists coming in 71 games.

Coming from a hockey family, Gaucher is the older brother of Nathan Gaucher, a 2022 first-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks who this season is suiting up with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ minor-league squad.

Gaucher joins a Flyers squad that sits fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, holding a 13-12-4 record, good for 30 points and, due to a tie-breaker, one spot back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers picked up a 5-3 road win versus the divisional rival Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday and will look to secure their second-straight victory Thursday versus the Detroit Red Wings.