Paul Gauthier

Paul Gauthier was a tiny goalie, just 5'5" tall and only 125lbs! Despite his diminutive size, Paul played hockey for 14 seasons.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Paul played his junior hockey with the MJHL's Winnipeg Monarchs. Once his junior career ended he went on a 14 year career with 16 different pro teams (he played for several teams twice, too) in 8 leagues!! His journeys stints in places like Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, New Haven, Spokane, Seattle, Kansas City, Washington, Buffalo, Ottawa, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Omaha!

Despite his lengthy career, he only saw one game in the National Hockey League. Playing for the AHL New Haven Eagles at the time, Gauthier was loaned to the Montreal Canadiens for the night of January 13, 1938. Habs starting goaltender Wilf Cude was sidelined for the night with an injury, and Gauthier was brought in on an emergency basis as backup goaltenders were not in practice back then. Gauthier, apparently wearing jersey #17, played well in a 2-2 overtime tie against the Chicago Blackhawks.

You'll notice that Gauthier played 70 minutes in his only NHL game. That's because overtime games that season were 10 minutes long, and not sudden death. It was possible for a team to score more than 1 goal in the extra period.

Whatever happened to Paul Gauthier after hockey I am not sure. I do know he died on March 10th, 1984 in Riverside, California. He was 68 years old.