You know when you get flashbacks or feelings of Déjà Vu? When it seems like what you’re experiencing has happened before, like you’re re-living the moment? Watching Kaiden Guhle develop in the Montreal Canadiens’ organization generates that feeling. No, I’ve never watched the kid play live, aside from the odd Prince Albert Raiders’ game on TV or watching the World Junior Hockey Championships.
But who does he remind me of? I get it… back in the early to mid-2000’s, while living in Penticton, BC, I drove the 45 minutes or so North to Kelowna to watch a few Rockets’ games. I mean, we’re talking about a team with Josh Gorges as team captain, with the likes of future NHLers Troy Bodie, Tyler Spurgeon, Blake Comeau and, you guessed it, Shea Weber.
And that’s exactly who Guhle reminds me of at the same age. Big, mobile, both could play in all situations while logging big minutes for their team. As a matter of fact, look at their statistics in junior.
| GP | G | A | PTS | PTS/GP | PIM | |
| Weber | ||||||
| 2002-03 | 70 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 0.26 | 167 |
| 2003-04 | 60 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 0.53 | 126 |
| 2004-05 | 55 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 0.75 | 95 |
| Total | 185 | 26 | 65 | 91 | 0.49 | 388 |
| Guhle | ||||||
| 2018-19 | 65 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 0.26 | 40 |
| 2019-20 | 64 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 0.63 | 56 |
| 2020-21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.00 | 0 |
| Totals | 131 | 15 | 44 | 59 | 0.45 | 96 |
Imagine if Guhle had played all season last year. As we know, he was limited due to COVID shutting down activities in the WHL while he suffered a hand injury in his second game which ended his season. While Weber took more penalties (he wasn’t afraid of dropping the gloves), the Canadiens’ prospect has a lot in common with the Habs’ captain.
Something tells me that Montreal has a good one in our hands, folks. Here’s hoping that the organization has learned from the Alex Galchenyuk and Jesperi Kotkaniemi experience and let the kid develop his skill set at the junior level, even if he has a good camp. They should do like they did with Nick Suzuki and Ryan Poehling instead and be patient; Guhle should be well worth the wait.