Montreal Canadiens: Kaiden Guhle Did Everything Right, Just Needs More Time
Montreal Canadiens training camp is winding down and they will be taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night to begin the 2021-22 season.
Their final cuts were made yesterday to get the team down to a 23 man roster from the 70 names that were on the list to begin camp.
One of the final cuts made, in fact the final defenceman that was cut, was Kaiden Guhle.
Guhle was the Canadiens first round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and he had a terrific training camp. He was paired next to David Savard on the first day of camp in what looked like a nice little bonus for being a first round pick recently. No one really expected him to make a team that had five returning regular defenceman and brought in Savard and Chris Wideman in the offseason.
Still, Guhle did everything he could to make the Canadiens management team think twice about putting him in the opening day lineup.
When an injury to Joel Edmundson lingered throughout camp, it started to look like Guhle might push a veteran like Brett Kulak or Wideman to the press box for the first few games.
In preseason action, Guhle played a simple defensive game but he played it well. His positioning was terrific and he looked like a 30 year old veteran when battling in front of the net with the opposition. He is big at 6’2″ and 201 pounds and he is wise on the ice, well beyond his 19 years.
Guhle clearly showed he has a lengthy NHL future in front of him, but the team made the right call by not rushing his debut because of a great camp, and sent him back to Junior.
Guhle will have his work cut out for him when he gets back to the Prince Albert Raiders. They started the year without him, and lost all four contests they have played so far. Not only did they not win, but they have been outscored 21-5 in those four games and sit in the bottom of the WHL standings.
There was no question that Guhle would play a big role in the Raiders fortunes this season, and though it has only been four games, they are going to need him to turn things around for them.
We will also surely be seeing Guhle at the World Juniors again this season. He played as an 18 year old for Canada last year, helping them win silver in a third pairing role. He should be a top four defender and a leader on this year’s team when the tournament returns to Alberta.