Frédérick Gaudreau

Frédérick "Freddy" Gaudreau (born May 1, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Frédérick Gaudreau
Gaudreau at the 2016 AHL All-Star Game
Born (1993-05-01) May 1, 1993
Bromont, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Pittsburgh Penguins
Nashville Predators
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Early life

Gaudreau was born on May 1, 1993, in Bromont, Quebec, Canada as the youngest child of parents Jean-Pierre Gaudreau and France Desrosiers.[1] He attended Cégep de Shawinigan while playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and drove two hours from Drummondville to Shawinigan in order to graduate.[2]

Playing career

Junior

As a youth, Gaudreau played in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Missiquoi, Quebec.[3] While playing midget hockey in the QMAAA with the Magog Cantonniers, Gaudreau suffered a severe wrist injury, turning him off the radar for junior scouts.[4] However, due to a rule change allowing 17 year olds to continue playing midget ice hockey,[4] Gaudreau was chosen by the Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as a walk-on in 2011.[5]

In his rookie season with the Cataractes, he played in 64 games as the team won the 2012 Memorial Cup. Two years later, he was named the team's 57th captain in franchise history.[6] His time as captain was shortlived, however, as he was traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in exchange for a first round pick in 2015, a second round pick in 2014, and Antoine Kilanowski.[7] His only season with the Voltigeurs proved to be successful as he earned the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy as the QMJHL's most sportsmanlike player[8] and was courted by at least four professional teams.[9]

Professional

Undrafted, Gaudreau signed his first professional contract with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, on June 12, 2014.[10] In the 2014–15 season, he added to the depth of the Milwaukee attack, contributing with 11 points in 43 games. He was also loaned for 14 games to ECHL partner, the Cincinnati Cyclones, in producing 5 goals. On May 21, 2015, Gaudreau was extended by the Admirals for a further season.[11]

In the midst of a break-out 2015–16 season, having established himself in a scoring role with the Admirals, Gaudreau was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL affiliate, the Nashville Predators on January 6, 2016.[12] He completed the season in the AHL, placing third on the Admirals in scoring with new professional highs with 15 goals and 42 points in 75 games.

After attending the Predators' training camp, he was reassigned to continue with Milwaukee to begin the 2016–17 season. On October 22, 2016, Gaudreau received his first NHL recall to the Predators, after the team suffered a bout of food poisoning.[13] He immediately made his NHL debut with the Predators in a 5–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[14] He was returned to the Admirals following the game.

In Game 5 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals against the Anaheim Ducks, Gaudreau made his playoff debut after injuries to Ryan Johansen and Mike Fisher necessitated his presence in the line-up.[15] Gaudreau scored the winning goal in the Predators' 5–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals.[16] In Game 4, Gaudreau again scored the game winner as the Predators defeated the Penguins 4–1 to even the series at two games apiece.[17] In doing so, Gaudreau became the first player since Johnny Harms of the 1943–44 Chicago Black Hawks to score his first three career NHL goals in the Stanley Cup Finals.[18]

After six seasons within the Predators organization, Gaudreau left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 10, 2020.[19]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Magog Cantonniers QMAAA 41 14 11 25 6 4 0 3 3 0
2010–11 Magog Cantonniers QMAAA 42 14 25 39 2 13 7 5 12 2
2011–12 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 64 5 15 20 2 8 1 0 1 0
2012–13 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 68 13 30 43 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 27 13 18 31 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 36 19 21 40 2 11 10 4 14 0
2014–15 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 43 4 7 11 12 — — — — —
2014–15 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 14 5 2 7 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 75 15 27 42 31 3 0 1 1 0
2016–17 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 66 25 23 48 14 3 3 1 4 0
2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 9 0 1 1 0 8 3 0 3 0
2017–18 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 54 22 21 43 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Nashville Predators NHL 20 0 3 3 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Nashville Predators NHL 55 3 1 4 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 42 11 17 28 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 84 3 5 8 4 8 3 0 3 0

Awards and honours
Award Year
QMJHL
Memorial Cup 2012
Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy 2014 [8]
AHL
AHL All-Star Game 2016

References
  1. Bernier, Jonathan (May 29, 2017). "Toute la famille sur un nuage". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. "Hooked on School: Frédérick Gaudreau". theqmjhl.ca. February 14, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  4. Tal Pinchevsky (June 8, 2017). "Waiting for minor league call-up Frederick Gaudreau to flourish has paid off handsomely for Predators". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  5. Campbell, Ken (June 6, 2017). "FREDERICK GAUDREAU IS PREDATORS LATEST DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH". thehockeynews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  6. "Gaudreau est le 57ème capitaine de l'organisation shawiniganaise". cataractes.qc.ca (in French). Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  7. "Frédérick Gaudreau est maintenant un Voltigeurs". voltigeurs.ca (in French). November 26, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  8. "Gaudreau et Beaudoin lauréats au Gala des Rondelles d'Or 2014 de la LHJMQ". voltigeurs.ca (in French). April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  9. "Gaudreau courtisé par quatre équipes". voltigeurs.ca (in French). April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  10. "Admirals sign Gaudreau to AHL contract". Milwaukee Admirals. June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  11. "Ads re-sign Gaudreau". Milwaukee Admirals. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  12. "Predators sign Gaudreau to entry-level contract". Nashville Predators. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  13. "Bout of food poisoning forces Predators to call up five". The Hockey News. October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  14. "Predators fight off food poisoning in victory over Penguins". CBS Sports. October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  15. "Predators left surprised, determined by Johansen's injury". Associated Press. May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  16. "Predators ride raucous home crowd to Game 3 win over Penguins". ESPN. June 3, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  17. Harrington, Mike (June 5, 2017). "Gaudreau a stunning and unlikely hero as Predators even Cup final". buffalonews.com. Buffalo News. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  18. "Preds even Stanley Cup Final at 2–2, beat Penguins 4–1". ESPN. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  19. "Penguins sign forward Frederick Gaudreau and goaltender Maxime Lagace". NHL.com. October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
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