Montreal Canadiens: No Playoffs For Kaiden Guhle as WHL Cancels Postseason

Montreal Canadiens first round pick Kaiden Guhle has to have some sort of odd hockey record.

So far this season, he has played in three very different leagues, but combined, he has only suited up for 12 games.

The Canadiens first round pick from the 2020 NHL Draft had his season debut delayed because the WHL was trying to sort out a schedule in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

By the time the puck dropped on the Junior league’s season, Guhle had found a different team to join – twice. First, he was named to Canada’s World Junior squad and he trained with them for about a month before the tournament began on Christmas Day. Guhle played seven games with Canada, helping the team win a silver medal.

Then, following the World Juniors, Guhle was assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. He would play two games there before the WHL announced training camps were opening so he then packed his bags and headed back to Prince Albert.

Guhle was a mainstay on the Raiders blue line last season, earning a selection in the first round of the NHL Draft with physicality, smart defensive play and decent offensive production as well. There was no question the 2020-21 edition of the Raiders were planning on leaning heavily on their 6’3″ and 210 pound left defenceman.

Unfortauntely, Guhle, who was named team captain shortly before the season, was injured in their second game of the year. The 19 year old was off to a strong start, scoring a goal and an assist in the two games he did get to play, but he hasn’t been in the lineup in over a month.

With the WHL announcing that there will be no postseason at all, the Raiders are down to just five games left on their calendar for the campaign. They have been able to play 19 games out of their 24 game schedule so far, but it doesn’t look good for Guhle to get any more game action this season.

That means the Canadiens first round pick will finish the year with just 12 games played, although they were combined between three separate leagues.