Kaiden Guhle has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his WHL career coming into weekend action. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Good Guhle

Redden on the Raiders: Guhle’s game continues to grow

Oct 11, 2019 | 3:03 PM

Ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Giants, the scouts room at the Art Hauser Centre was overflowing to a degree that I don’t think I’ve seen in two years in Prince Albert.

Games against Western Conference opponents always bring a higher number of scouts out than usual because this is the only chance this year for talent evaluators in this region to see those players without making the trip. On top of that, a glance at Monday’s NHL Central Scouting watch list tells you the rest of the story.

Out of 44 WHL players making the list, five of them were in action at the Art Hauser Centre that night. That included a pair of ‘A’ prospects (projected first-round picks) in Prince Albert’s Kaiden Guhle and Vancouver’s Justin Sourdif. Raider forward Ozzy Wiesblatt was given a ‘B’ ranking [second- or third-round], and forward Jakob Brook and defenceman Landon Kosior were designated with a ‘C’ ranking [fourth- to sixth-round]. Giants forward Lukas Svejkovsky also had a ‘C’ rating, but he wasn’t in the lineup due to injury.

It was a well-played game and a good showing from all the draft eligibles, but the two near the top of the list certainly didn’t disappoint. With the Raiders leading in the first period, Sourdif ripped home a wrist shot to tie the game at 1-1. Then late in the third with the Raiders on the man advantage, it was Guhle scoring his second of the year to secure the victory for Prince Albert.

Guhle’s game continues to grow, and the results are starting to come for the 17-year-old out of Sherwood Park. On Saturday against Regina, he scored his first of the year and added three assists for his first-ever four-point night in the WHL.

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Through seven games, Guhle has six points which has him tied for eighth among WHL defencemen, but the offensive totals don’t tell the whole story.

First and foremost, Guhle is an exceptional defender with plenty of physicality to go along with his skating and puck skills. Coming in as a 16-year-old on a deep team last season, the coaching staff in Prince Albert made sure to bring him along slowly with a focus on playing in his own end. As Guhle became more and more comfortable at this level, he was given more opportunity offensively.

Asked about the budding star defenceman, head coach Marc Habscheid commended Guhle for how he has handled his development so far.

“Sometimes people think the only way to develop a player is by playing them 25 minutes a game. No, it isn’t. Ice time isn’t everything, it’s the mentality of it, it’s how you deal with different situations and being put in situations to succeed,” Habscheid said.

“If you’re a 16-year-old and you’re playing a lot against 20-year-olds it’s difficult, and you can lose your confidence and it can hurt your game and soon you could be out of the league. I think with Guhles the biggest thing with him is he understood the process. He never complained, he trusted us.”

Now in his sophomore season, Guhle is a powerplay quarterback who is constantly engaging offensively when the opportunity arises. He’s a special player that can do it all and he’ll be a key component of the Raiders success this season, and he’s earned the opportunity to show what he can do.

“It’s not like he gets to play now just because he’s 17. He gets to play now because he’s earned the right. His play has evolved, Jeff [Truitt] has done a good job with him, he can help us and produce in those minutes. His game has taken off and rightfully so, and that’s because he’s earned it,” Habscheid said.

The way things are going so far, I don’t believe he’ll be waiting too long to hear his name called at the 2020 NHL Draft in Montreal.

Visiting stars

This week has been a week where you can’t help but appreciate the talent that we get to see night in and night out in the Western Hockey League.

Tuesday night, it was a 2019 Rogers WHL Championship rematch with the Vancouver Giants rolling into Prince Albert, and the Giants’ headliner just might be the top defence prospect in all of hockey, Bowen Byram. Although Byram was held off the scoresheet, there were more than enough plays to make you realize why the Colorado Avalanche felt he was worthy of a fourth overall selection back in June. Next up is Dylan Cozens, the high-scoring forward who was selected three spots after Byram by the Buffalo Sabres.

Since being re-assigned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Cozens has appeared in four games, scoring five goals and four assists for nine points. Cozens is a big forward at 6’3” and 185 lbs, and along with that size he has elite level speed and the hands and shot to go with it. Along with Pittsburgh prospect Calen Addison on the blueline, the Hurricanes have plenty of high-end talent and will pose a challenge for the Raiders this evening.

The last time more than one top 10 NHL pick returned to the WHL the next season?

That was back in 2014-15 when Sam Reinhart (Kootenay), Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert), Jake Virtanen (Calgary), and Haydn Fleury (Red Deer) returned. However, that year you wouldn’t have seen them all this early in the year as Reinhart stuck in Buffalo for nine games, and Raiders fans remember well that Draisaitl stayed in Edmonton for half a year before coming back to the WHL as a member of the Kelowna Rockets.

On Saturday the Moose Jaw Warriors come to town, and they are expected to have forward forward Brayden Tracey back in the lineup. The 29^th overall selection by Anaheim in June, Tracey has remained with the Ducks up until this week recovering from an injury, but has re-joined the Warriors heading into the weekend. The Warriors also boast one of the four ‘A’ rated prospects coming into the 2020 draft in defenceman Daemon Hunt.

Serhyenko shines

Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, and it looks like the Raiders are once again in good shape.

It was a terrific performance by Carter Serhyenko on Tuesday night, and anybody who saw that game can see why he has earned a full-time spot on the team this year. He was calm under pressure and made some huge saves, stopping 25 of 27 shots in his first ever WHL start.

With Brett Balas being re-assigned to Drumheller [AJHL] this week, Serhyenko and starter Boston Bilous are the two goaltenders remaining with Prince Albert.

Bilous has been outstanding so far this year, running with his opportunity to be the starter. His stat line includes four wins in six games, a pair of shutouts, a 1.46 GAA, and a save percentage of 0.926. These are all in line with what you would want from a high-end number one, and that’s how Bilous has looked this year.

With a road-heavy schedule over the coming weeks the Raiders will need strong performances from both of them to be successful, and they’ve both shown that they’re more than capable.

On the pod

This week I caught up with Max Martin over the phone from Kamloops and he shared his thoughts on Prince Albert and what his time with the Raiders meant to him.

I dedicated much of this space to Max last week, so I won’t go too much in depth here but you can hear what Max has to say below.

Weekend schedule

The Raiders’ six-game homestand comes to an end with a back-to-back set this weekend starting with the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight [7 p.m., XFM], followed by Moose Jaw on Saturday [7 p.m., CKBI].

Looking ahead to next week, Prince Albert hits the road for a trip to the U.S. Division which opens up Saturday, October 19 in Everett.

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Trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden