In the Montreal Canadiens storied history there have been many hall of fame defensemen.
It sounds blatantly obvious to say it, but they all started somewhere and worked their way up to reaching their peak. Right now, Kaiden Guhle is still working his way up the ladder but currently sits atop the group of under 25 defenders. At just 22 years old, Guhle still has two to three more years of growth before he reaches his prime years.
With a shiny new six-year deal in hand, Guhle will hit his stride and be at his best while wearing a Canadiens sweater. Because he has earned so much experience from playing alongside an array of different veteran defenders, he has matured at an incredible rate. Guhle's maturity has been impressive and with the tutelage from David Savard, Guhle has implemented little tidbits of his style to grow his game.
Guhle heads a group of promising young defenders and because of his experiences, he will be able to provide many fellow Canadiens defenders with his knowledge. Much of the excitement surrounding the team is from Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and the Habs offence. But the defence shouldn't be ignored, with the likes of Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux to name a few - and Guhle leads the young group, while still having room to grow and mature.
Guhle, an essential part of the Canadiens plans
The goal is for the Canadiens to become competitive, without rushing, but allowing it to happen organically. Kent Hughes's deft drafting and the impressive development of the Canadiens' prospects have put the Habs well on their way to closing out the rebuild with a bang. But without some of the foundational selections made before Hughes and Jeff Gorton were appointed their roles, things could be very different.
It is out of Gorton and Hughes's hands whatever happened before they arrived and maybe they would have made great picks. But Guhle and Mailloux, both selected by Marc Bergevin both look like they will become foundational pieces for the Habs. Especially Guhle right now, but once Mailloux has more time to prove himself, I suspect he will be important to the Canadiens blueline plans.
While there may be more exciting players, with better offensive skills and more flash and flare to their games, Guhle is a crucial part of the equation. The 6'2" and 205 lbs defenseman skates like the wind and on the off chance that he gets beat, he uses his physical tools to get out of trouble. He might not be the flashiest or the best defensive defender, but he can consistently be relied on by the coach,