Montreal Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle performed well in the Habs training camp this fall. He didn’t make the team, but there were days when it looked like he might crack the opening night lineup.
The organization wisely decided to not rush the young defender and sent him back to the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL.
The 19 year old would have played a minimal role on the Canadiens, even if only for a short period of time, but it still makes the most sense to send him back to Junior and allow him to play huge minutes for the Raiders and develop his all-around game.
The 6’2 and 201 pound left defender was regarded as a solid, stay-at-home defender when the Canadiens selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Though last season was a bit of a mess with the lack of games played due to the pandemic, Guhle is showing off some offensive instincts as well this season. He just might be much more of a two-way threat than originally thought.
Last night, he picked up three assists in the Raiders shootout loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
On the first helper, he picks a puck up off the boards and makes a quick pass to his partner across the ice. There is pressure on him immediately as he gets the puck, but he quickly back-pedals away to buy a little time before firing the puck across to Remy Aquilon, his defence partner. Aquilong one-times the puck and finds the back of the net.
Admittedly, it wasn’t a spectacular Quinn Hughes type of play, but it was a smart play that kept the offence going when many defenders, especially the current group on the Habs blue line, might have just fired the puck in around the boards when they felt the pressure.
Guhle’s second assist showed a bit more of his offensive instincts. He essentially gets the puck at the same spot, but he recognizes that he has lots of space this time. He carries the puck right across the Anderson’s of Prince Albert Chrysler sign on the ice, allowing his teammate to settle in front of the net and provide a screen. When Guhle spots a shooting lane he fires a smart, low shot to the far side which the goaltender stops, but can’t handle. Cale Sanders pounces on the rebound and put the Raiders ahead 3-2 midway through the game.
After the Wheat Kings tied the game for the third time, Guhle once again set up a teammate to give his team a lead. This time it was the third period with just over eight minutes to play.
This assist wasn’t anything remarkable either, but Guhle gathers the puck off of a faceoff and is patient enough to let his partner, Aquinos, get ready for a one-timer opportunity. It worked in the first period and it worked again in the third as Guhle teed Aquinos up for the go-ahead goal.
While Guhle was sold as a steady, reliable defensive blue liner when the Habs drafted him, he showed in last night’s game that he may not be Adam Fox carrying the puck from end to end, but he makes smart plays and reads with the puck in the offensive zone. This doesn’t lead to jaw dropping highlights, but it does result in his team maintaining offensive pressure on a regular basis with him on the ice, and eventually leads to chances.
Last night, Guhle’s offensive instincts led to three goals as he had the primary assist on three of the Raiders four tallies. It wasn’t enough to win the game, as it went to overtime and then a shootout.
If the three assists in regulation weren’t enough to show Guhle has a bit of offence to his game, the Canadiens prospect was the second player called upon by the Raiders in the shootout and he looked pretty comfortable in that situation as well.
He found an opening and buried the puck on his shootout attempt, improving to 2 for 2 in the breakaway competition this season. It was a good night for Guhle, although his team did end up losing in the shootout.
It also shows how he isn’t just a physical defensive blue liner like Joel Edmundson or Ben Chiarot, but he does have some impressive offensive instincts in the offensive zone as well.