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Mighty Mite Gaudreau gaining believers: Flames will be patient with prospect despite mounting NCAA accolades

Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald July 10, 2012

The topic is a sensitive one. At least, it used to be.

But not now. Not anymore.

John Weisbrod, smiling, relays a story. How, before games at the Saddledome, Craig Conroy glances at the minor-hockey youngster lining up with the Calgary Flames for the national anthem and routinely cracks: “Johnny Gaudreau! I didn’t know we signed him. He’s here!”

Weisbrod, the Flames’ assistant general manager, chuckles.

“So even we joke about it,” he says of Gaudreau’s dimensions. “But the guy can play the game. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.”

Yes, at a smidge under five foot nine, at 154 pounds, Gaudreau can certainly play, to the degree that stature has (nearly) ceased to matter.

Generally speaking, that’s the trend in the National Hockey League.

“I remember the snickering when Nathan Gerbe was drafted by Buffalo,” Weisbrod says of the five-foot-five winger taken in the fifth round in 2005. “People were, like, laughing to themselves. (Lack of size) certainly notches people down. There are people that are afraid of it. That’s why John was drafted (in the fourth round) — because it certainly wasn’t his hands or his head.

“You can’t have a whole team of guys that size. But if you have a few and they have some special attributes . . . .”

Which the New Jersey native possesses, as the past two winters have clearly illustrated.

In 2010-11 on behalf of the Dubuque Fighting Saints, Gaudreau roars through the U.S. Hockey League, garnering top-rookie honours.

In 2011-12 on behalf of the Boston College Eagles, he becomes the most productive freshman in the land.

Both clubs ended up capturing their respective crowns.

Gaudreau appears mystified by that development, because his teams back home never did squat.

“It’s funny,” the left-winger says. “Growing up I didn’t really win many championships, besides little tournaments and stuff like that. Just to win those two championships back to back, it’s an awesome feeling.”

Gaudreau, in a couple of weeks, will audition for the American squad headed for the world junior championship in Russia. Who would bet against him making it this time?

“It’s one of the reasons we put so much value on hockey sense — that hockey IQ,” says Weisbrod. “Because here’s a guy (about whom) people have a tendency to say, ‘He’s too small. He’s not strong enough.’ But you can make those jumps because when you can think the game at a high level, you can play at a high level.”

But even the Flames were caught off-guard by Gaudreau’s handiwork.

A true freshman (in terms of age) joining a top-flight NCAA program, he nevertheless dominated.

“Originally, he was committed to Northeastern (University), which is a good Division 1 school, but he would’ve been the big fish in a smaller pond,” says Weisbrod. “So, if he’d gone to Northeastern, you would have expected him to be the mail-carrier. When he switched to BC, I knew he’d be a good player, I knew he’d be fine at that level, but they have a lot of good players there and you didn’t know how he’d fit into the hierarchy of their own team.

“So for him to go to the top of their depth chart? That was surprising that he was able to do that so quickly. They have a lot of high-pedigree players . . . so to go into that environment and just take it over and be the big dog right off the hop? Pretty impressive.”

And Weisbrod isn’t over-stating the case.

Gaudreau — after registering 44 points, and a plus-20 rating, in 44 contests — was named Hockey East’s most valuable player (edging teammate Chris Kreider, a first-round pick of the New York Rangers).

So he is good.

Next question: is he ready for pro?

Gaudreau, who turns 19 next month, plans to return to school for his sophomore season. That much is known.

But after that?

Well, he would like to skate alongside his kid brother Matthew. (“He’s about my size, but about 25, 30 pounds lighter,” says Gaudreau.) The youngest boy of the clan, also a left-winger, is bound for the Eagles in 2013-14.

“That’s a big part of why we both committed to going to Boston College,” says Gaudreau. “But if the opportunity is hopefully there for me to play with the Flames . . . I might just have to take it and go with it.”

General manager Jay Feaster and Conroy visited Gaudreau and his family after the season. “Jointly,” according to Weisbrod, they decided that Gaudreau would remain in college.

Apparently, there’s no pressure.

“He’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders, he’s a balanced kid,” says Weisbrod. “The important thing is making sure you’re ready when you come out (of school). Better to come out a little later and have it be right than to rush out and not succeed. He’s in a great place. He’s getting his education. He’s playing a top calibre of hockey. So we’re taking it one year at a time.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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