Podcast highlights: Kaiden Guhle

MONTREAL - Kaiden Guhle has every reason to smile.

After being selected 16th overall by the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Draft, the hard-hitting defenseman earned a roster spot with Team Canada to play at the World Junior Hockey Championship in his hometown of Edmonton.
Not too shabby for an 18-year-old WHL standout who caught the eye of the Canadiens' brass with his outstanding play for the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders.
Guhle recently joined host Marc Dumont on the Canadiens' History in the Making podcast to dish on representing his country internationally, his insatiable desire to come out on top, and the player he'd most like to partner with on the back end.
Read on for a few highlights from the discussion, which is available in its entirety wherever you get your podcasts.
MARC DUMONT: I want to start with something that's very important. It's the most important thing to ever happen to Team Canada at the World Juniors, and I'm talking of course about the Bob Ross painting session. Do you have your picture anywhere?
KAIDEN GUHLE: No. I don't know if they were auctioning them off or putting them on social media so guys could remake them. We had to give them back, unfortunately.
MD: How was yours? Bob Ross is kind of weirdly like a hero of mine. When I was younger, this guy was on PBS all the time. How are your painting skills? Did you do Bob Ross proud?
KG: I don't know. I think I have a bit to work on. I thought it was okay, and then I saw a couple of other guys' paintings and they just totally blew mine out of the water.

MD: There were some really good ones there, but as Bob Ross tells us: "There's no mistakes, just little happy accidents." So how did you guys decide to do a team Bob Ross event? I'm fascinated by this.
KG: We were still in quarantine at the time. Some painting supplies were dropped off before a Zoom call, and when we hopped on, they put Bob Ross on the computer and we just kind of went to town. It was a fun little activity we had to do.
MD: This was a big year for you. You were a first-round pick, you get to participate in the World Junior Championship as an 18-year-old - which let's keep in mind is very rare, especially for defensemen. There's only a handful of them. Also, for those of you who don't know, Kaiden grew up in Sherwood Park, AB which is 20 minutes from the rink, right? How many games have you watched at that rink?
KG: I haven't watched a whole lot at Rogers Place. I think my 15-year-old year was the Oilers' first year in Rogers, but I've been to a ton of games at Rexall Place, probably close to 50.

MD: How does it feel now that you're representing Team Canada on that same ice?
KG: It's huge. Ever since I heard that it was going to be in Edmonton, that was kind of a goal of mine because it was so close to home. Just to make this team, I knew that it was going to be tough. Like you said, cracking the roster as an 18-year-old isn't a common thing.
MD: Are you ever nervous when you hit the ice? From my perspective, you don't look nervous and you don't play nervous. I remember hearing that Glenn Hall would throw up before every game. Do you get nervous like that? Are you that kind of guy?
KG: I'm not really nervous, but Team Canada and the World Juniors is huge, and we're playing in Canada. You have that added pressure, but pressure's a privilege really, especially when you dream about this your whole life as a kid growing up. It's awesome to get that pressure from the whole country. It's good. We all enjoy that pressure and we try to take it with positive energy.
MD:One of the things your coach Mark Habscheid told me was that you'll do anything to win at all costs, which is great. That's something the Canadiens love hearing. He also said that you're a really easy guy to coach. What makes you that way?
KG: That just comes with the mentality of winning at all costs. The coaches obviously know what they're doing. They've been around the game for longer than me, longer than I've been alive. Mark has coached a couple of really good teams. He coached Shea Weber] in Kelowna, won the Memorial Cup, along with a couple of WHL championships. He obviously has something right going for him, and [Team Canada head coach] Andre Tourigny always has a good team with the Ottawa 67's. I just listen to them and do what they ask. No complaints, just kind of do whatever the team needs to win.
**MD:** What's the dynamic like in the locker room? You have so many players from various areas, and a lot of leaders, a lot of players that are used to playing big minutes that perhaps have to accept smaller roles. How does that all work since a lot of individuals have to come together as a team?
**KG:** Everyone just kind of checks their ego at the door. Whenever you put on the Maple Leaf, it's expected of you to always have a good squad. There's always going to be players that aren't going to play as much. We obviously have really good players with so many first round picks this year. I'm sure guys knew coming into camp that they might have to accept a different role. Everyone's just so happy to be here and wearing the Maple Leaf. Everyone just checks their ego at the door and does whatever the team needs to win.
**MD:**Mark Habscheid also told me that you remind him of a few NHLers. You model your game after Norris Trophy winner, Drew Doughty, right? What is it about Drew Doughty's game that you love?
**KG:** He's just so hard to play against. You see his little rivalry with [Calgary Flames forward] Matthew Tkachuk, and that's fun to watch. He's not just hard on him, he's hard on every play on the ice. He also plays huge minutes, and he's on the ice for every situation. I think I have a little bit of him in my game, and I enjoy the way he moves the puck and just keeps on skating.
**MD:** How do you think your experience at the World Juniors, especially if you guys go on to win a gold medal, will help in making it to the NHL? Is it something that you think will help you long-term making that adjustment? What type of experiences will you bring to the NHL?
**KG:** Learning to win. This is kind of a different thing from a WHL Championship, like a short-term competition, so there's a little less room for mistakes. It's pretty much just one game, single knockout, so just playing on the edge there and knowing that something could happen. You have to be so on all the time, and you have no room for mistakes at all. I think that translates to the NHL and especially in the playoffs. You have no room for mistakes. Little things can end your season, so I think something like that could kind of translate into the NHL.
**MD:** Who would you want to play with the most as your defensive partner, if you could pick any NHL player ever? Who would be the ideal player?
**KG:**Maybe like Bobby Orr, but I know Habs fans would hate that. He's such an iconic defenseman. You still hear about him all the time. I think he'd be a really cool player to watch. I never got to watch him, obviously, so I think that'd be kind of cool to be paired up with him and kind of just let him do his thing and just kind of get to sit back and watch what he does.
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