WHL Alumni Of The Week: Kaiden Guhle

As part of a new series on THN, we decided to reflect on a different player every week and give a background as to how they made their mark on the WHL and completed their journey to the pros. Staying in the (NHL) Eastern Conference is Montreal Canadiens up-and-comer Kaiden Guhle, who is finding his footing as a top pairing defenseman on a promising team.

WHL career at a glance:

5 seasons
181 games played
22 goals
78 assists

Guhle was drafted first overall in the 2017 WHL Draft to the Prince Albert Raiders, out of the OHA Edmonton Prep program. In his first full season, the Sherwood Park native put up 17 points in 65 games as well as making 26 playoff appearances (three of them in the Memorial Cup).

After two full campaigns with the Raiders, he would be sidelined for nearly the entirety of the shortened 2020-21 season, playing just five games; two in Prince Albert, and three with the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Had he been healthy, Guhle would have spent the season as the Raiders captain (he had received the honor prior to his absence).

On December 1, 2021, after 19 games as captain, Guhle was dealt to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a package that contained forward Carson Latimer, defender Eric Johnston and a handful of draft picks. The newest Oil King made an immediate impact, netting 25 points in 25 regular season games as well as uniting with other top 2017 draftees Justin Sourdif, Luke Prokop, and Jake Neighbors.

In the spring of 2022, Guhle had the chance to become immortalized in WHL history once again, and did just that. With the Oil Kings, the blueliner collected 16 points in 19 playoff games en route to a second WHL championship and was named the WHL Playoffs MVP.

After taking home his hardware, he and Edmonton made their way to the Memorial Cup, which did end in a round robin loss but the experience and framework was there. Guhle was a winner.

Upon graduating from major junior, it was on to The Show. Montreal was calling, and Guhle was about to pick up. The rookie had a quite respectable 18 points in 44 games over the 2022-23 season, and cemented himself as a blue chip prospect. In the following year, his production did fall off a little (22 points in 70 games) but still getting decent time with veteran Mike Matheson. Though, has gotten into more than a couple scrums in his time in Montreal and has the battle scars to show for it.

As Guhle's career goes on, and he continues to improve, the sky is only the limit for the two-time WHL champion and 2022 MVP.

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