Freddy Gaudreau wasn’t a household name heading into last season’s NHL playoffs. He was just some guy the Nashville Predators called up from the Admirals to add depth to their injury-depleted roster. But it wouldn’t take long for Guadreau’s name to become known in the hockey world.

While sports fans might have been puzzled, Gaudreau’s teammates and coaches in Milwaukee were left without wonderment when, after getting called up, the unproven player was inserted into the Predators’ lineup in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. They had seen his skill, speed and mentality. What happened next, however, in the Stanley Cup Final, was slightly more shocking, as Gaudreau put on a show on hockey’s biggest stage.

"I wasn’t surprised when he played with the Preds; I was just surprised when he scored," said Gaudreau’s friend and Admirals teammate Jimmy Oligny. "He scored again and again, and I was like, ‘Oh, wow."

That’s right, Gaudreau went on to become one of the Predators’ primary offensive threats in the Final. He scored a trio of goals during the series against the Penguins, which made him only the second player in league history – and the first in 73 years – to score each of his first three NHL goals in the Stanley Cup Final. It was the perfect Cinderella story: the eighth-seeded Predators, who had no business playing for the trophy, were staying alive against powerhouse Pittsburgh, thanks to an undrafted rookie.

Nashville lost the Final in six games, and fans were left to wonder if Gaudreau’s goals were sheer beginner’s luck, or whether his performance was an indication of what’s to come. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: Gaudreau was ready for that moment last season because of the long, winding, up-and-down journey he took to get there.

Like many of the kids skating around Bromont, Quebec, Gaudreau dreamed of playing in the NHL. Unlike most kids of the other kids, however, Gaudreau’s quickness and speed made him much better than anyone he played with, lending his professional dream some merit. Gaudreau steadily began to advance his hockey career, aiming to land in the world’s top league, but then he suffered the worst setback a promising young player can endure.

In a midget game, the year Gaudreau was eligible to be drafted for juniors, he was hit awkwardly. When he looked down at his throbbing arm, he could see the bone in his wrist. The doctors told him he might never be able to play again, but that didn’t stop him. Seven months later, Gaudreau was back on the ice.

"It was a long time, for sure," Gaudreau said in an interview from Predators camp last week. "But for the injury it was, I got into a really good rehab. Everything went well. I got kind of lucky."

Following his injury, and despite the strong recovery, luck seemed to be drying up for Gaudreau. After going undrafted in juniors, he signed with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. After four seasons in juniors, Gaudreau failed to draw enough interest to be drafted in the NHL.

Gaudreau’s injury had hurt his chances in the juniors’ draft, but although his statistics weren’t eye-popping they still put him close to the top-100 players in the league. So, why did every NHL team pass on Gaudreau? One theory is that when he skates he looks slow.

"People don’t appreciate his speed," Admirals coach Dean Evason said at practice last week. "Whenever we talked to people about why possibly Freddy Gaudreau was not going to succeed, everyone said his speed would be a factor. We continually talked and watched. If you watch him every day in practice, and obviously games, he has great speed.

"Freddy, I guess, doesn’t look fast a lot because he is in the right position. He’s not running out of position, trying to be too aggressive. He’s surveying, and once he’s in his position, he’s into his role, he uses his speed to his advantage. That is probably one area where people think negatively (and) it’s not at all."

After juniors, Gaudreau was offered an AHL contract with the Admirals, and he signed. When Gaudreau arrived in Milwaukee in 2014, he felt one step closer to accomplishing the dream he had been chasing since he was a kid in Bromont. But then adversity struck once more, and his dream again seemed distant. After struggling with the Admirals, Gaudreau was sent down to the East Coast Hockey League, one step below the AHL.

"When he first got here, he would score; it was amazing his skill level," Evason said. "But it didn’t translate into a game."

Gaudreau would only spend 14 games in the ECHL in 2014-15, but it was during that stretch, when he felt his career was at an all-time low, Gaudreau discovered a mindset that would change the trajectory of his career.

"I was trapped because I was putting a lot of emphasis on everybody that was around me and all those opportunities that were given to other people and not me," Gaudreau said. "When I forgot about all that and I decided to be the best version of myself, everything came into place and got better for me."

In those 14 games, Gaudreau recorded five goals and two assists. When he came back to Milwaukee, he only tallied 11 points, but those around him say there was a noticeable difference in the new Freddy Gaudreau.

"His mood was very down before he left; he wasn’t playing here, he was discouraged," Evason said. "He was able to come back here with the right mind-frame and help our hockey club and, obviously, help himself."

Gaudreau entered his second season in Milwaukee with much bigger goals. He felt he had a spot on the Admirals’ roster and was ready to make an impact. And yet, in the first game of 2015-16, Gaudreau was a healthy scratch. Another challenge for the journeyman to overcome.

Following that opener, Gaudreau went to the coaching staff and told them he was willing to play any position. He said he just wanted to be on the ice. Sure enough, the next night, he was in the lineup. Gaudreau had a good game and was in the lineup again the following night. And from there, he just kept building off his performances.

"I think it was just another learning experience. I had an expectation, and the reality is that my expectation wasn’t the way everything happened," Gaudreau said of the beginning of that season. "It was just a learning experience, still in a way that the only thing I could control was reacting on the ice and the way I was preparing every day.

"Sometimes you think if you have been something in the past that it won’t happen to you again. But it’s not a matter of having expectation, (it’s) more how you stayed focused, no matter what is happening around you."

In January of 2016, Gaudreau signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Predators, Milwaukee’s parent club. He finished the season playing in 75 games, scoring 15 goals and assisting on 27 more. And even more success was on the horizon.

Last season, Gaudreau earned himself a spot on the AHL All-Star team, finishing the season with 25 goals and registering 23 assists for the Admirals. His numbers caught the attention of the front office in Nashville, and as injuries began piling up for the Predators during the playoffs, the team called up Gaudreau to add depth to its roster.

After another injury, this time to leading scorer Ryan Johnansen, Gaudreau was inserted into the starting lineup.

"I called him and said, ‘Are you playing?’ and he was like ‘Yeah I’m playing," recalled Oligny. "He was a bit nervous, which is a bit normal."

Any nerves seemingly were put aside quickly. After making his playoff debut in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Anaheim Ducks, Gaudreau began that magical run in the Cup Final against the Penguins with a goal in Nashville’s 4-2 loss in Game 1. He followed that performance up with scores in each of the Predators’ wins in Games 3 and 4.

"Last year in the playoffs, I did it, in a way. It was a good story and stuff. I think there was a reason they put me in – maybe they didn’t expect I would do that," Gaudreau said. "For me, like I said, no matter what happens, yeah, it is a big story and it is with me right now.

"People might think, say certain things, or expect certain things. For me all I can control is I can be better than I was yesterday. Whatever happened in the past, it happened and my focus isn’t going to change because of that."

Late on Tuesday afternoon, NHL teams released their official rosters for the 2017-18 season. Gaudreau was on the Predators' bubble until the last day of training camp, but his name was left off the opening roster. He will start this season in Milwaukee, where on March 2 he'll be honored with his own bobblehead giveaway night.

Certainly, it's disappointing news for the Stanley Cup Final hero, but Gaudreau's path has never been easy. He signed a new two-way contract this summer, this time for three years, and he's got invaluable playoff experience, a positive mindset and all that focus he talked about. So, don't forget the name Freddy Gaudreau just yet, and go see him for the Admirals while you still can.