Former Prince George Cougar’s goaltender Taylor Gauthier has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The NHL team also signed undrafted free agent Jordan Frasca and both players will finish out their respective seasons with their junior hockey clubs and their NHL deals will begin in the 2022-23 season and run through the 2024-25 campaign.
Gauthier, 21, has split the 2021-22 season between the Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.
In 28 games played, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound netminder has compiled as 20-6-0 record, 2.17 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts. Gauthier's .932 save percentage leads the entire WHL, while his 2.17 goals-against average ranks second in the league.
Gauthier re-wrote Portland's history book earlier this season, establishing a new franchise record shutout sequence of 252:11 minutes which included a stretch of three-consecutive shutouts.
His shutout sequence came just over 10 minutes shy of the WHL record, which stands at 265:13 set by Chris Worthy in the 1967-68 season.
The right-handed catching Gauthier has suited up for 180 career WHL games split between Prince George and Portland where he's gone 66-88-16 with a 3.06 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and nine shutouts.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Gauthier has represented Canada on multiple occasions, including winning a silver medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship, as well as the 2019 World Under-18 Championship where he started four games going 3-1-0.
The Penguins have signed undrafted free agent forward Jordan Frasca and goaltender Taylor Gauthier each to a three-year, entry-level contract.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 1, 2022
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