Kaiden Guhle (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Defense
Neutral Zone NHL’s Donald Godreau, June 2020: Guhle is a smooth skating defenseman who can has the ability to make an impact at both ends of the ice. His stride is silky, and looks effortless to him. It’s long and he transitions well with good balance and solid edges. He likes to engage guys quickly and force opponents into hurried and uncomfortable plays. His size is imposing at 6 foot 3, and it looks like he could still put more weight on his frame. On the defensive end he can dominate physically with his strength, and good use of his leverage, and with his long stick, he can take away time, space, and passing lanes with ease. Add on top of that his feet, and good pursuit, and it’s never an easy shift for opponents when he is on the ice. Offensively he is a solid puck mover. He can skate the puck out of his zone, and Guhle shows good poise and patience when handling the puck. He isn’t overly deceptive when carrying the puck, but he makes smart plays through the neutral zone. Some times he’ll find himself leading the rush with the puck, and on those occasions we’d like to see a little more patience. Often he’ll fire perimeter shots on goal instead of holding up and waiting that extra second to assess other options. On the power play he plays at the point, and will shift over on to his off wing to be a one time option. He has a hard slap shot, but still struggles to connect consistently on one timer opportunities. He sends soft passes, and isn’t afraid to walk the blue line, suck defenders in and dish out to the half boards quickly for dangerous scoring chances. While his calling card is definitely his skating and his defensive play, Kaiden has the potential to develop into a defender who can bring some offensive upside as well. We feel the skill is there, and with more opportunities, he’ll continue to grow more comfortable. Grade: A
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran, May 2020: Kaiden’s not a killer, but he’s as tough as nails and plays with an edge. There is no doubt that his opponents know when he’s on the ice because they’re always looking over their shoulder, but he’s smart. He picks his spots and rather than taking a run at someone or taking a penalty, Kaiden will give you a little shot to let you know he’s there. He shows a great understanding of what the refs will allow and he knows that he can’t go over it, as it would hurt his team. He’s very aggressive on the puck in the D zone rarely losing battles and has a strong active stick that generates turnovers and quick transition. Although not an end to end threat, he can carry puck out of trouble and he is confident while doing it. He keeps very tight gaps while defending the line rushes and does not allow clean zone entries. He shows high level anticipation and has a knack for picking off passes which he turns into outlets for incredibly quick transition. In the offensive zone Kaiden walks the blueline with confidence and he has a very quick release that allows him to find shooting lanes. His shot doesn’t get blocked. He shows excellent explosiveness and has a great first step that allows him to hold the offensive blue line for that extra split second and he loves to pinch when appropriate. I think he might be the best defender in the draft class at keeping pucks in the offensive zone and extending zone time. Kaiden is a top pairing NHL prospect.
2020 Draft Prospects from different leagues who have Improved their Draft Ratings, March 2020: Kaiden was one of 17 NHL draft hopefuls who had improved their Neutral Zone NHL draft grades as the 2019-20 season progressed.
February NHL Draft Rankings: Kaiden was ranked #17 in Neutral Zone’s February rankings and was our 6th highest rated defenseman. His Neutral Zone NHL draft grade had been raised to an ‘A’.
Prince Albert Raiders NHL Prospects, February 2019: This game looked easy for Kaiden. He moved effortlessly around the ice and showed his usual high end skating. He read opposing rushes very well and adjusted his gaps appropriately. Kaiden showed the lateral mobility to stand even man rushes up early in the neutral zone and the backwards quickness to slow down odd man rushes and buy time for his back checkers. In the defensive zone, he was very explosive and powerful when ending the cycle and pinning the opposing forwards. When he is the weak side defenseman, Kaiden made the correct reads and joined the rush as an extra attacker. Although he has high end skating ability he was not a threat to carry the puck out of trouble, rather choosing to make the quick smart outlet and let his forwards do the work. In the offensive zone, Kaiden walked the blueline confidently with his head up. There were a number of times when Kaiden and his partners used a high scissor to confuse the Broncos high coverage and generate shooting lanes. All of the Raiders were on the same page while killing penalties and moved the puck well on the power play. Game Grade: B+
December 1st NHL Draft Rankings: Kaiden was ranked 39th overall in Neutral Zone’s December draft rankings. He was our 13th highest rated defenseman.
WHL – Ranking the 2020 NHL Draft Prospects, October 2019: Kaiden was Neutral Zone’s #1 ranked 2020 NHL draft prospect in Western Hockey League. He had and ‘A-‘ rating.
CSSHL Midget Prep: OHA Edmonton vs RHA Nationals, February 2018: Kaiden was the team’s best defenseman tonight and plays a solid two-way game on the back-end. He gets your attention every time he’s on the ice and he’s equipped with tremendous skill and smarts. He makes heads-up passes that are always on the money. He played a lot of PP time and displayed an accurate point shot that he managed to get through traffic consistently. The 2002 did well to hold pucks in at the blueline and he moved the puck quickly and efficiently while manning the point. He has a big frame and a smooth stride and engages physically. He battles in-front of the net for positioning and leads by example with his consistent effort. The 16-year-old was the 1st overall selection in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft to the Prince Albert Raiders. Grade: A-
WHL Cup (2002s), October 2017: Kaiden is a strong two-way defenseman who can change the momentum of a game at either end of the ice. On offense he has a great slap shot that is accurate and hard. He also shows patience with the puck at the point looking for the most opportune times rather than just letting his shot rip. He also shows good vision, and looks for back door plays. On defense his imposing size, and great mobility allow him to keep himself between the puck and opponents. His quick feet, smooth stride, and leg strength is very good. He can move the puck in transition with both his feet and crisp passing. Grade: A