2020 Draft: Guhle tops deep prospect pool from WHL

The 2020 NHL Draft will be held on Oct. 6-7. The first round will be Oct. 6 (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). Rounds 2-7 are Oct. 7 (11:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects and other features. Today, a look at some of the top prospects from the Western Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Kaiden Guhle of Prince Albert could be the first player selected in the 2020 NHL Draft from the Western Hockey League, which features a deep pool of prospects this year.
The WHL has 44 players represented on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the draft.
RELATED: [Top OHL prospects | Top QMJHL prospects | Top International prospects]
Guhle (6-foot-2, 186 pounds) is the first player from the WHL to appear on the list, at No. 8. The defenseman is followed by Brandon defenseman Braden Schneider (6-2, 202), who is ranked No. 9.
"I think the depth in the WHL is pretty good this year," said Central Scouting's John Williams. "Last year we had the high-end guys like Bowen Byram (Colorado Avalanche), Kirby Dach (Chicago Blackhawks) and Peyton Krebs (Vegas Golden Knights), whereas this year it's a little bit more of the end of the first round, start of the second round ... those kinds of players.
"There are some really good players who will be coming out of the [WHL], but it's always hard to say because some teams might not have seen them enough, so we could have some re-entries or guys who have been through it for next year."

Guhle is regarded as a two-way defenseman with good skating ability and a hard shot. The brother of Anaheim Ducks defenseman prospect Brendan Guhle, Kaiden had 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists), 16 power-play points (five goals, 11 assists) and a plus-23 rating in 64 games in his second full season with Prince Albert.
There are 15 WHL teams with at least two players listed on Central Scouting's final rankings, and 19 represented with at least one player. Portland and Saskatoon have the most players, with five each.
To break it down, here are five questions with Williams:
Q: Guhle and Schneider are the two top WHL players, according to NHL Central Scouting. What stands out about each and how tough was it to rank one, Guhle, ahead of the other?
"It was a difficult thing to do. I think our group was kind of divided pretty much because we all have preferences or certain types of players that we like. I think everybody understood these are very good players. One is a left-handed shot (Guhle) and one is right-hand shot. Schneider is a little bit bigger right now. I think he's a little bit older being a late birthday, but Guhle maybe has a little bit more of an offensive upside and that's why we gave him the nod. Obviously they're right beside each other and are both very good players. They're ranked very high and each has a chance to be very good NHL player."
Q: Brandon center Ridly Greig (5-11, 163) jumped to No. 14 in the final ranking from No. 25 at the midterm. Where did you notice improvement over the course of the season?
"I've seen him play the last couple of years; I actually saw his first game as a 15-year-old. He's grown physically over the last couple of years, and every time you see him he's getting better. One of the first things you notice about Ridly is that he has a very high hockey IQ. He can play in any type of situation and he proved that with Team Canada [at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup]. He can play a support role, checking role or kill penalties, or be an offensive guy. He's good on the power play and also brings an element in his game where you have to have your head up whenever you're on the ice or he'll knock you on your rear end. He does kind of hunt for guys, which gets him in trouble once in a while. But for a lot of guys who watch the game a lot, it's nice to see that kind of element in the game still. Contact and physicality is still a big part of the game. He can bring that, as well as the skills and smarts."

Q: How hard was it to assess the game of defenseman Daemon Hunt (6-0, 198) of Moose Jaw since he missed nearly three months following a skate cut? He had 15 assists in 28 games and is No. 25 in Central Scouting's final North American ranking.
"He was a tough guy for me to see because of the timing of the injury, but we saw him last year and in the summer, and he was on our radar to be a potential high pick. We had him as an A-rated skater, in the first round, in September. He was also suspended for a game and came back and was able to play big minutes for a team that's in a rebuilding situation. He played all situations and made the right plays. Sometimes you hear older guys talk about, 'playing in the rocking chair,' a bit because Daemon kind of lets the game come to him. I think as a group we felt he hadn't done anything to say he didn't deserve to be there. Getting to see him at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship was sort of what everyone was looking forward to and then that tournament was canceled due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus]. But from what I saw, Hunt is a guy who could be considered [late in the first round**