Raider duo ready for spotlight

“It’s awesome to be a part of that game. It’s a goal I set out at the start of the year for myself, and I’m excited to represent my team and the city of Prince Albert,” Guhle said.

At last year’s event in Red Deer, the Raiders were represented by forward Brett Leason, who would be selected in the second round, 56^th overall by the Washington Capitals. Also taking part was head coach Marc Habscheid, who served on staff for Team Orr.

The bench boss has seen a big difference in the drafting process compared to when he went through it in 1981.

“[Ozzy and Kaiden have] earned their opportunity. It’s one game, but there’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot of testing, they do meetings and evaluations, it’s all part of the process. It’s quite exhausting to be quite honest,” Habscheid said.

“It’s very different from back in the ‘80s when I was there, there were two agents in the game and there were no interviews, you never saw scouts and never talked to them. Now, when you enter your draft year to when you retire…there’s a lot of things involved in a hockey career and it really starts now with the professional angle.”

As far as off-ice distractions go, neither Guhle nor Wiesblatt seem to have been impacted by the pressures that come with their draft year.

“I kind of love it. You grow up as a kid watching these teams, and now they’re talking to you. It’s kind of a dream come true in a way. It’s been fun and hopefully it keeps on going,” Wiesblatt said.

The Calgary product has scored at over a point-per-game pace with 46 points through 43 games played, finding himself second on the Raiders behind teammate Aliaksei Protas and in the top 20 across the WHL.

As for Guhle, he’s become a go-to player for the Raiders in all situations and has seen a significant uptick offensively with 25 points in 43 games played after registering 17 points in 65 games as a rookie. The sophomore is in the top 20 among all WHL defencemen in point production heading into the weekend.

“The year’s been good. I didn’t really have many expectations just wanted to go out and play, I felt like I was ready to go out and take on a bigger role this year. I think I’ve done a decent job at that, so it’s been a good year so far,” Guhle said.

The two have left an impression on NHL scouts so far, both rated highly in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings which were released on Monday.

Guhle is the top-rated WHLer, seventh among North American skaters, while Wiesblatt is ranked 14th in North America, fourth among WHL skaters.

The Top Prospects Game has been a staple on the hockey calendar since 1996, and has featured 14 players who have gone on to be selected 1^st overall including former Raider Chris Phillips (1996), Joe Thornton (1997), Vincent Lecavalier (1998), Rick Nash (2002), Marc-Andre Fleury (2003), Patrick Kane (2007), Steven Stamkos (2008), John Tavares (2009), Taylor Hall (2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011), Nathan MacKinnon (2013), Aaron Ekblad (2014), Connor McDavid (2015), and Nico Hischier (2017).

Recent Raider participants include Leason [2019], Cole Fonstad [2018], Ian Scott [2017], Simon Stransky [2016], Brendan Guhle and Nick McBride [2015], Leon Draisaitl [2014], Josh Morrissey [2013], Mike Winther [2012], and Mark McNeill [2011].

The 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet Thursday night at 6 p.m.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Raider duo ready for spotlight

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