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Kaiden Guhle

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Kaiden Guhle
Guhle with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022
Born (2002-01-18) January 18, 2002 (age 22)
Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team Montreal Canadiens
National team  Canada
NHL draft 16th overall, 2020
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2021–present

Kaiden Guhle (/ˈɡuːliː/ GOO-lee;[1] born January 18, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 16th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL entry draft.

Early life

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Guhle was born in Sherwood Park, Alberta,[2] to parents Carrianne and Mark.[3] He was born into an athletic family; his mother was a figure skater, his father played basketball, and his older brother, Brendan, was also a professional ice hockey player. As a result, the Guhle brothers began power skating at a young age.[4]

Playing career

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Junior

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Prince Albert Raiders (2017–21)

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Guhle was selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 Western Hockey League (WHL) bantam draft by the Prince Albert Raiders. In his first full season with the Raiders, the team won Ed Chynoweth Cup as the finals champion of the WHL. They played in the 2019 Memorial Cup but did not advance out of the round-robin.[5] During the 2019–20 season, he had 40 points in 64 games.[2]

On October 6, 2020, Guhle was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, 16th overall, at the 2020 NHL entry draft. He was later signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens on October 21, 2020, which included bonuses to a maximum of $420,000 in each season.[6] However, in November he was loaned to the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) until December 20.[7]

With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the 2020–21 WHL season being reduced and delayed, Guhle began the season playing three games with Montreal's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Laval Rocket before joining the Canadian junior national team preparations. Due to a subsequent hand injury, he played only two games with the Raiders in the WHL, before resuming full training in June 2021.[8]

Guhle made a strong impression at the Canadiens' training camp before the 2021–22 NHL season, and as a result coach Dominique Ducharme seriously weighed retaining him in the lineup, though noting it would not make sense to do so unless there was a regular place for him in the top six. Guhle himself said that he had not expected to still be in consideration a day before the roster announcement.[9] Ultimately he was not taken up, and returned to Prince Albert for the 2021–22 season.[10] Guhle played seventeen games with the Raiders, registering 2 goals and 13 assists, before being traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings on December 1.[11]

Edmonton Oil Kings (2021–22)

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The trade was part of the Oil Kings' bid to challenge the Winnipeg Ice for the WHL championship title.[5] Guhle recorded five goals and twenty assists in 25 regular season games with the Oil Kings, and was named the WHL Central Division's defenceman of the year.[12] After missing the final weeks of the regular season due to injury, he returned for the first game of the 2022 WHL playoffs, and scored three goals and two assists in the Oil Kings' four-game sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the quarterfinals.[13] The Oil Kings also swept the Red Deer Rebels in the second round, before winning the matchup with the Ice in the WHL Eastern Conference Final 4 games to 1. Guhle scored two goals and an assist in the series-clinching Game 5 win.[14] They went on to face the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL Finals, winning four games to two, the second Chynoweth Cup win of Guhle's career.[15] He was named the WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of the series, setting a team record for most goals by a defenceman in a single postseason (8).[16] The Oil Kings played in the 2022 Memorial Cup, but did not advance past the round-robin.[17]

Professional

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Montreal Canadiens (2022–present)

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Following the conclusion of the Memorial Cup, Guhle began to rehabilitate a lower-body injury that he had been playing through during the playoff run. As a result of this, he did not participate in the team's development camp in July. He said that he "wanted to make sure that I was ready because there's a long season coming up. Hopefully, my first professional season."[18] Participating in pre-season games, Guhle was widely considered one of the most impressive young players in the Canadiens system and was a perceived frontrunner to make the team's defensive lineup.[19] He scored three goals in the pre-season.[20] On October 10, it was confirmed that Guhle had made the Canadiens' opening night roster for the regular season.[21] In his NHL debut on October 12, 2022, Guhle played a team-leading 22:34 minutes of ice time in a 4–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.[22] With injuries to the team's more senior left-side defencemen, Mike Matheson and Joel Edmundson, Guhle continued to play top-line minutes for the Canadiens. He recorded his first NHL points, two assists, in a 3–2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 17, and was named the second star of the game.[23][24] Guhle scored his first NHL goal ten days later in an 3–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, helping the team to its first road victory of the season.[25] After he sustained a knee injury in a December 29, 2022 game against the Florida Panthers where he collided with Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, it was announced that Guhle would miss at least two months of the remainder of the season.[26] He returned to the team on February 28, scoring a goal in a 3–1 win over the San Jose Sharks.[27] After missing games due to a shoulder injury, he sustained a high ankle sprain in a March 16 game against the Florida Panthers, and the team announced that he would sit out the remainder of the season.[28]

Guhle spent most of the 2023–24 season playing on the Canadiens' top pair alongside Mike Matheson, which necessitated a move to the right side, a position where the team had less depth than its counterpart.[29][30] Speaking on the adjustment, he remarked that there had been "a lot of games, a lot of reps. You get more comfortable every game. Still working on a lot of stuff and still a lot of stuff I need to learn on that side of the ice."[29] He was suspended for one game after slashing Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny from the bench in a March 28 game, which he attributed to Konecny having hit Canadiens teammate Juraj Slafkovský shortly beforehand, saying "I wasn't trying to injure him. I was more just trying to steer him away."[31] Guhle exited an April 4 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being hit against the boards by Nikita Kucherov.[32] Sustaining a head injury as a result, he missed the final two weeks of the season.[33] Collectively, Guhle totaled 6 goals and 16 assists in 69 games played.[32]

Entering the 2024–25 season on the final year of his entry-level contract with the Canadiens, Guhle signed a six-year, $33.3 million extension with the team on July 31, 2024.[34]

International play

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Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Canada
Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Silver medal – second place 2019 Slovakia/Czech Republic

On November 3, 2018, Guhle was named captain of Team Canada Red at the 2018 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[35] Following this, he was selected to join the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2021 World Junior Championships.[36] He finished the World Juniors with two goals and an assist in seven games as the team earned a silver medal following a loss to the United States.[37] The following year, Guhle was named captain of the Canadian team for the 2022 World Junior Championships.[38] After playing two games, the tournament was cancelled as a result of Omicron variant spread; Guhle said it was a disappointment given it being his final year of eligibility.[5] While the tournament was later rescheduled for the summer, Guhle was unable to participate due to injury.[18]

In the aftermath of the 2023–24 NHL season, Guhle indicated that he had been invited to join the senior national team for the 2024 IIHF World Championship, and would compete if he was able to sufficiently recover from a head injury in time.[33] He would ultimately appear in nine games for Canada at the tournament, where he produced five points (1G, 4A) before being sidelined prior to the bronze medal game due to an injury sustained in the semifinals matchup versus Switzerland.[39]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 8 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 65 3 14 17 40 23 0 3 3 8
2019–20 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 64 11 29 40 56 — — — — —
2020–21 Laval Rocket AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 2 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 17 2 13 15 28 — — — — —
2021–22 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 25 5 20 25 29 19 8 8 16 10
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 44 4 14 18 27 — — — — —
2023–24 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 6 16 22 56 — — — — —
NHL totals 114 10 30 40 83 — — — — —

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Canada Red U17 4th 6 0 3 3 12
2019 Canada HG18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 0 1 1 12
2021 Canada WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 2 1 3 4
2024 Canada WC 4th 9 1 4 5 2
Junior totals 18 2 5 7 28
Senior totals 9 1 4 5 2

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
CHL
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2020 [40]
WHL
Ed Chynoweth Cup champion 2019, 2022 [5][16]
Central Division Defenceman of the Year 2022 [12]
Central Division First All-Star Team 2022 [41]
WHL Playoff MVP 2022 [16]

References

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  1. ^ "National Hockey League (NHL) 2021–22 Pronunciation Guide" (PDF). National Hockey League. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Kaiden Guhle". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Dumont, Marc (October 16, 2020). "Kaiden Guhle has winning on his mind". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved January 14, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Ryan (April 26, 2019). "2020 Sneak Peek: Less is more for future stud Guhle". The Hockey News. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Van Diest, Derek (January 16, 2022). "Defenceman Kaiden Guhle fitting in well with Edmonton Oil Kings". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. ^ "Three-year, entry-level contract for defenseman Kaiden Guhle". Montreal Canadiens. April 9, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  7. ^ "Bandits sign Ozzy Wiesblatt and Jake Neighbours on loan from WHL". CHAT News Today. November 2, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Book, Jared (September 16, 2021). "2021 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #5 Kaiden Guhle". SB Nation. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Hickey, Pat (October 9, 2021). "Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle surprised he's still in camp". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  10. ^ Arpon Basu [@ArponBasu] (October 11, 2021). "Dominique Ducharme announces Kaiden Guhle is heading to Prince Albert, he will not start the season with the Canadiens" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Wahl, Chris (December 1, 2021). "NHL prospects Guhle, Latimer swapped in blockbuster deal". Western Hockey League. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via CHL.ca.
  12. ^ a b Western Hockey League [@TheWHL] (April 21, 2022). "Kaiden Guhle averaged a point per game during his 25 appearances with the Oil Kings, leading the Club's blueline corps in that category" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ MacMillan, Stu (April 30, 2022). "Kaiden Guhle Helps Edmonton Oil Kings Earn First Round Sweep". FanSided. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  14. ^ "WHL Playoffs: Oil Kings rout Ice to reach Ed Chynoweth Cup final". Sportsnet. May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Van Diest, Derek (June 14, 2022). "Edmonton Oil Kings put away Seattle Thunderbirds to win WHL championship". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c Vankoughnett, Scott (June 14, 2022). "Canadiens prospect Guhle named 2022 WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player". CHL.ca. Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Van Diest, Derek (June 27, 2022). "Edmonton Oil Kings still champions despite being eliminated from Memorial Cup". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Hickey, Pat (September 18, 2022). "Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle excited for a chance to play after rehab stint". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  19. ^ Engels, Eric (October 6, 2022). "Guhle a sure bet to start with Canadiens, Xhekaj closing in on spot". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  20. ^ Cowan, Stu (October 9, 2022). "Canadiens finish preseason without a win after OT loss to Senators". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  21. ^ "Slafkovsky, Guhle, Xhekaj make Canadiens roster to open season". Sportsnet. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  22. ^ Engels, Eric (October 13, 2022). "Guhle leads Canadiens' young players in season-opening win over Maple Leafs". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  23. ^ Engels, Eric (October 17, 2022). "Mature Guhle dominant in Canadiens' win over Crosby, Penguins". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  24. ^ Basu, Arpon (October 18, 2022). "Kaiden Guhle's poise with the Canadiens is rooted in his experience in Prince Albert". The Athletic. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  25. ^ Engels, Eric (October 27, 2022). "Canadiens' unfazed young defence making key contributions to early-season wins". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  26. ^ "Canadiens' Guhle sidelined 8 weeks with lower-body injury, Gallagher out 2 weeks". Sportsnet. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  27. ^ Wilde, Brian (March 1, 2023). "Montreal Canadiens down the San Jose Sharks". Global News. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  28. ^ Blades, Justin (March 22, 2023). "Kaiden Guhle's season ends early with a high-ankle sprain". SB Nation. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  29. ^ a b Cowan, Stu (March 20, 2024). "Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle is making Marc Bergevin look good". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  30. ^ Van Diest, Derek (March 20, 2024). "Guhle learning to deal with 'ups and downs' for Canadiens". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  31. ^ Zurkowsky, Herb (April 1, 2024). "Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle regrets slashing Flyers' Konecny from bench". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Habs D Guhle exits vs. Lightning with upper-body injury". TSN. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Canadiens' Guhle hopes to play for Canada at men's worlds if healthy". TSN. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  34. ^ "Six-year contract extension for Kaiden Guhle". Montreal Canadiens. July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  35. ^ Sweetland, Josh (November 3, 2018). "Canada names Captains as World Under-17 Hockey Challenge gets underway". CHL.ca. Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  36. ^ Braverman, Dan (December 11, 2020). "Kaiden Guhle named to Team Canada roster for WJC". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved January 14, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  37. ^ Jones, Shane (January 12, 2021). "Guhle looks to find Team Canada silver lining". Sherwood Park News. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  38. ^ Cowan, Stu (December 20, 2021). "Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle named captain of Team Canada juniors". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  39. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (May 26, 2024). "Montreal Canadiens Kaiden Guhle Sidelined for Bronze Medal Game". The Hockey News. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  40. ^ "Rosters announced for 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game". Edmonton Oil Kings. January 4, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via CHL.ca.
  41. ^ Wahl, Chris (April 21, 2022). "WHL names Central Division All-Star Teams". Western Hockey League. Retrieved July 14, 2024 – via CHL.ca.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick
2020 		Succeeded by
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