Montreal Canadiens Top Prospect Kaiden Guhle Begins WHL Playoffs Tonight

The Montreal Canadiens won’t be playing any playoff hockey this year but that doesn’t mean their prospects aren’t.

The Laval Rocket look poised to make the playoffs for their first time in their franchise’s short history. The Habs AHL affiliate has not had much playoff success in the past decade but this year could be different as they have a team capable of winning a couple of series.

The Canadiens also have several top prospects across the Canadian Hockey League that could go on lengthy postseason runs.

Kaiden Guhle was the Canadiens first round pick in 2020 and he will begin his quest for a WHL Championship tonight. Guhle was dealt from the struggling Prince Albert Raiders to the contending Edmonton Oil Kings at the WHL trade deadline and they have all the tools and depth to win a championship.

The Oil Kings picked up Guhle in a midseason trade and he went on to score 25 points in 25 games in Edmonton. He is a steady presence in the defensive zone, playing a smart, smooth defensive game, while also getting involved on the offensive end as well.

The Oil Kings have been among the top teams in the WHL, as well as all of Canada, all season and Guhle stepped right onto its top defence pairing when he arrived. He plays on the top power play, kills penalties and just eats minutes at even strength while shutting down the opposing team’s best players.

The Oil Kings finished the season with 50 wins and 104 points in 68 games. They finished second in the Western Conference behind the Winnipeg Ice.

The Oil Kings start their Best-of-7 first round series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes as enormous favourites. The Hurricanes finished 33 points back of the Oil Kings in the regular season standings.

Guhle has been out of the Oil Kings lineup for just over a month nursing an injury. Reports say that he will be ready to go tonight and likely could have played the past few games if they were playoff contests but the team was a bit cautious bringing back their top defenceman.

Expect Guhle to play a huge role for the Oil Kings in this year’s playoffs and expect them to go on a deep run. All signs are pointing to a huge clash between Edmonton and Winnipeg in the third round of the playoffs, but the Oil Kings will take it one step at a time.

Hopefully Guhle gets back from his injury and is right back to his usual dominant self. Game 1 of the Oil Kings postseason is tonight at 9:00 PM EST.

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