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David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Behind the scenes, Kaiden Guhle has an excellent World Championship

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated 5/20/24

Since the start of the World Championship, there’s been a lot of talk about Cole Caufield, who doesn’t seem to be having any fun. The talk is of Juraj Slafkovsky, who is clearly where he belongs.

There’s even talk of Oliver Kapanen, who’s running at top speed.

But we’re not really talking about Vinzenz Rohrer (for obvious reasons) or even Kaiden Guhle. And yet, the young Canadian stud has a good tournament on the Canadian blue line.

In fact, since the start of the tournament, he has played six games. He’s collected one goal and added four assists, bringing him close to the sacrosanct point-per-game mark… as well as having a positive differential: +3.

Seeing him score, as he did last week, is no mean feat.

Pierre Houde with his classic “ET LE BUT” goal call, this time for a Kaiden Guhle snipe at the World Championships.

We love to hear it pic.twitter.com/VKb8Q8FdTz

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 14, 2024

You can also feel his involvement, as he stood up for Dylan Cozens yesterday. He took a penalty in the process (his only one of the tournament so far), but he doesn’t seem to mind.

He did it for the club.

Kaiden Guhle gets a 2 min minor penalty for this crosscheck on Kevin Fiala , who got a 5 min major game misconduct for a dangerous knee on knee hit on Dylan Cozens pic.twitter.com/F2AtsB2pcv

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 19, 2024

The interesting thing about all this is that it allows him to finish the season strong (and not as an injured player with the Montreal Canadiens) in his country’s colors.

He didn’t make the same decision as Nick Suzuki, Samuel Montembeault and Mike Matheson (and that’s not a wasted bullet I’m throwing at the other three, who surely had their reasons for saying no) and in his case, it was the right thing to do.

Why was it the right thing to do? Because it prepares him for next season, which will be an important one, because it puts him in meaningful games… and because it puts him on the map for the 2026 Olympics.

Because yes, the player himself wants to take part, as he told Luc Gélinas, who obtained an interview with him.

The est on leave but Kaiden Guhle took a few minutes for RDS!

Things are going very well at the World Championship. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s got his sights set on the 2026 Olympics and that would be a big dream for him

We talk about it at @hockey360, @5a7RDS and Sports30 pic.twitter.com/YpjHN0tTrH

– Luc Gelinas (@LucGelinasRDS) May 20, 2024

Obviously, we’re not saying he’ll be Canada’s #1 defenseman at the Games. However, if he performs well in 2024-2025 and some of the country’s big defensemen turn down Canada’s invitation or get injured, Guhle could move up the pecking order.

To be continued in due course.

In bursts

– A name to remember.

2024 #NHLDraft eligible defenseman Stian Solberg, on pace for 21+ minutes today vs. Great Britain, is tied for second at the #MensWorlds in Time on Ice with an average of 23:24. Only Roman Josi has averaged more. About as good a last impression as you could have pre-draft.

– Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) May 20, 2024

– If he’s not good on the ice, he’s good at evaluating himself.

The former Canadien can’t deny the indefensible: he didn’t get the job done.https://t.co/s4u8nhJHDV

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 20, 2024

– Let the youngsters develop.

Here’s a novel idea. Let Reinbacher and Michkov play in THE NHL for a few seasons before we judge the 2023 draft. Is that asking too much?

– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) May 19, 2024

– Isn’t it?