Kaiden Guhle – Canada
Guhle was the Canadiens first round pick in 2020, being taken with the 16th overall selection. He figured to be a third pairing guy on this team, falling in line behind Bowen Byram and Thomas Harley, who were both first round picks in 2019, on the left side of the D pairings.
Not a lot of offence was predicted from Guhle as he is a huge, and smooth skating defenceman that is known for his physicality and defensive presence more than his instincts in the offensive zone. However, it was Guhle who would score the first goal of the tournament for a powerhouse Canada squad.
The game would turn into a laugher quickly, with Canada manhandling a German team that didn’t even have enough players due to Covid-19 positive tests. Guhle would finish night one with 18 minutes on the ice and a goal in a 16-2 victory.
Canada’s next game was much tighter, with them pulling away late for a 3-1 win over a surprisingly difficult Slovakia team. Guhle would shoulder just over 17 minutes including 7:12 in the third period alone. When Canada was clinging to a slim lead, they used Guhle third most of their defensemen in a shutdown role.
Canada would then demolish Switzerland 10-0 with Guhle playing 17:37 as the team kept a fairly balanced rotation going. The Habs prospect would add another goal in this one on a booming slapper from the point.
Guhle’s round robin would close out with a dominant performance over Finland. Though Canada won only 4-1 they completely controlled the game, allowing only one shot on goal in the first and leading on the shot clock 35-7 after two periods. Guhle played 14:08 in this one, with Canada leaning a little heavier on their top four to close out the preliminary round.
Canada will face Mysak’s Czech Republic team in the quarterfinals, with Canada entering as the heavy favourite.