2020 Draft: Guhle takes game to new level

Every Thursday, NHL.com will look ahead to the 2020 NHL Draft with an in-depth profile on one of its top prospects.

Kaiden Guhle's biggest gains this season came in part from one of his bigger losses last season.
The 18-year-old left-shot defenseman for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League had 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games, a significant jump from 2018-19 when he had 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 65 games. He helped Prince Albert win the WHL championship and reach the Memorial Cup, but the Raiders lost all three games and Guhle didn't have a point.
"The Memorial Cup was definitely a high-pressure situation," he said. "Really rare for a 16-year-old to even end up going to the Memorial Cup. I know PA had the most when we were there. I felt like I did all right. It was also nice to have those two other guys (forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Jakob Brook) to kind of talk to about it, and the coaches were also there for us whenever we needed someone to talk to about the pressure and everything that goes along with it. So it was good."
Guhle used the experience as motivation and Prince Albert general manager Curtis Hunt said he saw a more mature, well-rounded player return for training camp.
"The summer is an amazing thing for these kids, how they grow and mature," Hunt said. "I don't think you could say there was any one moment. I think of his path and his journey that he's created for himself by his determination, his work ethic, his drive. He's very focused."
Guhle is No. 8 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters and the third-ranked defenseman behind Jamie Drysdale of Erie in the Ontario Hockey League and Jake Sanderson of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
"Top-pair defenseman, all situations, incredible combination of size (6-foot-2, 186 pounds), strength and skating ability," Central Scouting's Peter Sullivan said. "An excellent two-way game. He's really quick in his own end for a transition game and he's got both sides to his game. If you want to play an offensive-type game, it's there. If you want to play a physical-type game, it's there, which is what you want from your defensemen."
Guhle said he believes it's his skating, a strength even before Prince Albert selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2017 WHL draft, that has allowed him to develop his well-rounded skill set.

"My skating is my biggest strength," he said. "I try to use my physicality, and my skating is kind of a combo. I'm a pretty physical guy, like to throw my body around. Just use my skating to close my gaps, try and take the space away from the other teams as best I can."
Guhle's improved offensive numbers weren't from any big development to his game. With a more prominent role this season, plus the benefit of age and experience, Hunt expected a higher level of production.
"It's the natural development of all the kids," Hunt said. "They all take a step every year, they play with more confidence, they get more opportunity as they get older.
"Kaiden's a special player. ... I don't think it was an epiphany that all of a sudden, he has these points. We knew he was going to score a lot of times. He just hadn't had enough birth dates."
Helping Guhle develop has been his older brother, 22-year-old Anaheim Ducks defenseman
Brendan Guhle
, who was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (No. 51) of the 2015 NHL Draft.
The four-year age gap led to some battles on the ice and in the basement, "but I don't think we put many holes in the wall," Kaiden said.
The sibling relationship is solid, and Kaiden said Brendan has been a good resource for draft-related questions.
"Him going through it definitely has helped me out," Kaiden said. "Just seeing how he handled things with all the pressure and how he did so well with it. Him going through it and me being able to be an influence off him was definitely a big thing for me."