Frédérick Gaudreau

Frédérick Gaudreau
EPP 7773 (40250284331).jpg
Gaudreau with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2016
Born (1993-05-01) May 1, 1993 (age 31)
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		 Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

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

Early life

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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

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Junior

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As a youth, Gaudreau played in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Missisquoi, 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

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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, 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] Beginning the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season with AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Gaudreau was recalled and after he was inserted into the lineup he established career-highs with 8 assists and 10 points in just 19 games. Remaining a fixture in the playoffs, Gaudreau led the club in plus-minus (+3) and recorded 1 goal and 3 points through 6 games.

As a free agent at the conclusion of his contract with the Penguins, Gaudreau was rewarded for a successful season in signing a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 28, 2021.[20] Freddy Gaudreau was featured in a "Becoming Wild" video about off-season training in the Minnesota Wild video on Nov 9, 2021.[21]

In 2023, Gaudreau signed a five-year, $10.5 million contract ($2.1 million average annual value, 15 team modified no-trade clause). He scored a career-high 19 goals during the 22-23 season.[22] He played most of the 23-24 season with injuries to his rib cage after an open-ice hit on October 14 and ended the season with a team-worst plus minus (-23), recording 5 goals and 10 assists in 67 games as the Wild missed the playoffs for only the second time since 2012.[22]

Career statistics

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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 — — — — —
2020–21 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 6 1 3 4 2 — — — — —
2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 19 2 8 10 2 6 1 2 3 2
2021–22 Minnesota Wild NHL 76 14 30 44 8 6 1 0 1 0
2022–23 Minnesota Wild NHL 82 19 19 38 10 6 3 0 3 4
2023–24 Minnesota Wild NHL 67 5 10 15 12 — — — — —
NHL totals 328 43 72 115 36 26 8 2 10 6

Awards and honours

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

References

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  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. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Tal Pinchevsky (June 8, 2017). "Waiting for minor league call-up Frederick Gaudreau to flourish has paid off handsomely for Predators". 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. ^ a b "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. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  11. ^ "Ads re-sign Gaudreau". Milwaukee Admirals. May 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. 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. Archived from the original on October 3, 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.
  20. ^ "Wild agree to terms with Freddy Gaudreau on a two-year contract". Minnesota Wild. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  21. ^ ""Becoming Wild: Freddy Gaudreau"". Minnesota Wild. November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Russo, Michael. "Wild's Freddy Gaudreau on offseason reset: 'We wish life was always uphill'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
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