Player Discussion Kaiden Guhle

KevSkillz4

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Apr 11, 2016
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He reminds me of Drew Doughty. Dominate at his young age like that, it's impressive. He is really solid at defensive zone and he show great thing on offensive side too. I think we can all hope he can put 50 points per season if he play more on the PP.
 

ChesterNimitz

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Jul 4, 2002
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Yup. Ice time and usage like that for a 20 year old is rare. Very rare.

Very curious to see what our rookies do in their 2nd season. They get their feet wet in their 1st season and work on any flaws they may have in the off season where they come into the 2nd season more experienced and more confident they can jump to another level.

Next year will be more interesting than this year IMO. Will we stall, move up, or move down. Challenges within transition years and in some degree, they are still Rebuild years.
Well said. The best (most realistic) outcome we can hope for this season is that we remain competitive in most games as we watch our very young core mature and improve. Not all will become prime time players but, on the whole, the future is quite promising for a team that has largely been adrift and irrelevant for most of the past three decades. In my almost seventy years of watching the Canadiens, I have seen the highs, lows, the dynastic teams and the more flawed versions. I can say that the current iteration gives me the most hope since the early eighties' team that offered us the promise of Roy, Chelios, Richer, Lemieux , Corson, etc. But maybe as I age, my 'vision' is becoming somewhat cloudy, with hope, replacing logic and reality. I don't think so. If I am correct in my 'hope', and this team is able to recapture its past glory, it will be Guhle who will play an important and leading role in that long awaited renaissance.
 
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BLONG7

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Bumping this thread as this kid deserves more recognition. A twenty-year-old defenseman who's already a staple on the first pair? Just incredible. His penalty killing abilities are getting to be elite as well.
This kid, has played beyond expectations..........................a little PP time and his goals and assists will move up.
Part of the Core 4 according to TSN.
 

Habs Halifax

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This kid, has played beyond expectations..........................a little PP time and his goals and assists will move up.
Part of the Core 4 according to TSN.

Not to throw others under the bus but I think Xhekaj and Guhle are the guys on D that stick for the foreseeable future. Who knows what happens with Harris, Kova, Barron and even Hutson.

Keep drafting D when we can. Wish this was a deep draft for D in the 5-12 range.

Drouin has the Molson family children hostage in his basement, I have no other explanation for why he still gets the ice time that he does

I think it's time to let the Drouin experience die in piece. It's not like we are chasing the playoffs. Guhle will get his chance to play PP... only a matter of time. We need Guhle's 20 min in other areas at the moment and no way we should be playing him 23-25 min a game at age 20. We are going to burn him out
 
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BLONG7

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Not to throw others under the bus but I think Xhekaj and Guhle are the guys on D that stick for the foreseeable future. Who knows what happens with Harris, Kova, Barron and even Hutson.

Keep drafting D when we can. Wish this was a deep draft for D in the 5-12 range.
Thinking one of those kids on D gets dealt for a real goalie.....we all know our two guys currently are stop gaps until the real thing shows up.
Absolutely agree on drafting more D when possible....
 
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SlafySZN

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Not to throw others under the bus but I think Xhekaj and Guhle are the guys on D that stick for the foreseeable future. Who knows what happens with Harris, Kova, Barron and even Hutson.

Keep drafting D when we can. Wish this was a deep draft for D in the 5-12 range.



I think it's time to let the Drouin experience die in piece. It's not like we are chasing the playoffs. Guhle will get his chance to play PP... only a matter of time. We need Guhle's 20 min in other areas at the moment and no way we should be playing him 23-25 min a game at age 20. We are going to burn him out

Only Guhle.

I don’t take Xhekaj before guys like Harris, Barron and Hutson. Hutson is gonna be miles better than Xhekaj, not even close.
 

Tyson

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Only Guhle.

I don’t take Xhekaj before guys like Harris, Barron and Hutson. Hutson is gonna be miles better than Xhekaj, not even close.
They all bring different things.
Offensive Dmen are of course a premium but a guy like Xhekaj brings a skill set that no other D in the Habs system brings.

I also noticed that you didn't mention Mailloux...by design?
 

Habs Halifax

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Only Guhle.

I don’t take Xhekaj before guys like Harris, Barron and Hutson. Hutson is gonna be miles better than Xhekaj, not even close.

I do have Xhekaj with Guhle. Not sure on Barron, Harris, Kova. Hutson is one to watch yes but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. For now, I love what I see and that's as far as I project it.

Xhekaj is solid man. He's going to be a staple on our D for years to come. Just like Guhle.

If we have high standards on how we build our D, It's...
Guhle
Xhekaj
Hutson as the wild card
Kova as depth or bottom paring.

Harris and Barron are hard to guess on. I'm not willing to peg them in as a solution just yet. Pumping them up in potential would be similar to the Leafs pumping up Dermott, Sandin, and Liljegren.
 
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Vachon23

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He reminds me of Drew Doughty. Dominate at his young age like that, it's impressive. He is really solid at defensive zone and he show great thing on offensive side too. I think we can all hope he can put 50 points per season if he play more on the PP.
Doughty was elite at everything, was at the OG at 19 with team Canada and was a top 2-3 Dmen in the league for the past decade. I love Guhle but he’s not Drew Doughty
 
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SlafySZN

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They all bring different things.
Offensive Dmen are of course a premium but a guy like Xhekaj brings a skill set that no other D in the Habs system brings.

I also noticed that you didn't mention Mailloux...by design?
No i just named the names that was in Habs halifax’s post, even if it’s true that i’m not really high on Mailloux.

The habs defence has been missing some offensive Dmen and mobile D who are good in transition for many many years. Even now the games are still hard to watch because they get bottle up in their own zone, only Guhle and Harris are capable of doing some transition work right now.

For me guys like Hutson, Barron even possibly Engstrom are more valuable than Xhekaj. He has a great story and everything, i like him but i wouldn’t take him before those names.
 
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SlafySZN

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I do have Xhekaj with Guhle. Not sure on Barron, Harris, Kova. Hutson is one to watch yes but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. For now, I love what I see and that's as far as I project it.

Xhekaj is solid man. He's going to be a staple on our D for years to come. Just like Guhle.

If we have high standards on how we build our D, It's...
Guhle
Xhekaj
Hutson as the wild card
Kova as depth or bottom paring.

Harris and Barron are hard to guess on. I'm not willing to peg them in as a solution just yet. Pumping them up in potential would be similar to the Leafs pumping up Dermott, Sandin, and Liljegren.

In my opinion Harris is better than Xhekaj, because of many things he can do.

We don’t see Xhekaj the same way. Him and Guhle are not in the same tier of players.
 

Tyson

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Doughty was elite at everything, was at the OG at 19 with team Canada and was a top 2-3 Dmen in the league for the past decade. I love Guhle but he’s not Drew Doughty
Doughty I agree for many years was a top D in this league. He is still solid.
 
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BJCOLLINS

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Guhle has the unique ability to make his D partner look better & that aspect of his game will only get better. Remember how everyone thought Komasarak was 1st pairing until Markov wasn’t playing with him?
The Habs don’t need to trade for 3rd pairing D, journeymen are always around. I think Xhekaj has a 2nd pairing ceiling (we’ll see) and he’s definitely a fan favourite, his jersey sales are through the roof. Harris needs to be paired with size & speed. Barron is hard to read he’s on a terribly managed team that is all over the place. Mailloux has an NHL skill set but needs time. Hutson is, like people have said, a wild card but every time I see Caufield (5x a night) crushed along the boards I wonder if Hutson can live long enough to show his offensive prowess.
Time will tell.
Cheers
 
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Habs Halifax

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In my opinion Harris is better than Xhekaj, because of many things he can do.

We don’t see Xhekaj the same way. Him and Guhle are not in the same tier of players.

Harris is a decent regular season guy but doubt he turns the needle in the playoffs. I was higher on Harris vs Norlinder a few years back but after seeing him so far. I'm not willing to consider him a D solution for years to come.

Call me crazy but I love the big boys that skate well and are physical on D. Anyone who is on the smaller size needs to be top tier. Harris classifies at the smaller type and he's not top tier. I want to leave that spot open for a Hutson type.
 

SlafySZN

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Harris is a decent regular season guy but doubt he turns the needle in the playoffs. I was higher on Harris vs Norlinder a few years back but after seeing him so far. I'm not willing to consider him a D solution for years to come.

Call me crazy but I love the big boys that skate well and are physical on D. Anyone who is on the smaller size needs to be top tier. Harris classifies at the smaller type and he's not top tier. I want to leave that spot open for a Hutson type.

Your preference.

I like mobile Dmen who are good in transition and can break the puck out of the zone who can help offense not just by shooting. Guhle has a perfect combinaison of that, Xhekaj not so much.
 

Habs Halifax

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Your preference.

I like mobile Dmen who are good in transition and can break the puck out of the zone who can help offense not just by shooting. Guhle has a perfect combinaison of that, Xhekaj not so much.

We agree on Guhle.

Xhekaj is a Weber stay at home type and his mobility is not terrible. I don't see the problem there and he's young and still improving. I think this kid knows how to work hard to accomplish goals.

I like mobile Dmen too but with size. ;). My spot open for the smaller puck mover is with Hutson. Not Harris. For now, we get to see what he can do
 

SlafySZN

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May 21, 2022
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We agree on Guhle.

Xhekaj is a Weber stay at home type and his mobility is not terrible. I don't see the problem there and he's young and still improving. I think this kid knows how to work hard to accomplish goals.

I like mobile Dmen too but with size. ;). My spot open for the smaller puck mover is with Hutson. Not Harris. For now, we get to see what he can do

Your initial point was that Xhekaj would also be in front of guys like Hutson or Barron, etc and that he is guy you don’t move like Guhle, which i wasn’t agreeing.

You said you would move those guys before him. He is a surprise but i would trade him 1000 times before Hutson or even Harris and Barron.
 

Habs Halifax

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Your initial point was that Xhekaj would also be in front of guys like Hutson or Barron, etc and a guy you don’t move like Guhle, which i wasn’t agreeing.

You said you would move those guys before him. He is a surprise but i would trade him 1000 times before Hutson or even Harris and Barron.

Not really. I have Guhle and Xhekaj as top 4D staples. Hutson as a wild card doesn't mean I have him below Xhekaj if he makes the NHL and produces. That's a weird way to comprehend what I said.

Are you saying you have Hutson "penciled" in as a top 4D solution this early? So as a result, he is better than Xhekaj today?

I'm not talking about Harris anymore. Why? Cause I repeat myself and so will you
 

SlafySZN

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Not really. I have Guhle and Xhekaj as top 4D staples. Hutson as a wild card doesn't mean I have him below Xhekaj if he makes the NHL and produces. That's a weird way to comprehend what I said.

Are you saying you have Hutson "penciled" in as a top 4D solution this early? So as a result, he is better than Xhekaj today?

Yes, i think he is better than Xhekaj today in all aspect. The only aspect Xhekaj has over him is size and maybe the shot!
 

Twisted Sinister

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Oct 8, 2014
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We agree on Guhle.

Xhekaj is a Weber stay at home type and his mobility is not terrible. I don't see the problem there and he's young and still improving. I think this kid knows how to work hard to accomplish goals.

I like mobile Dmen too but with size. ;). My spot open for the smaller puck mover is with Hutson. Not Harris. For now, we get to see what he can do
His mobility is actually good from what I see, and constantly improving. He has the occasional hiccup in terms of decision making, but is usually on the ball for that too.

Harris, on the other hand, I just don't find he brings enough in terms of tools. He just exists. You need more than that to fit into an elite defensive squad.

Guhle's the best of the lot, but I don't know if I see Doughty there. We'll see how his offense develops.
 
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Habs Halifax

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Yes, i think he is better than Xhekaj today in all aspect. The only aspect Xhekaj has over him is size and maybe the shot!

18 year old in the NCAA for his 1st season
vs
21 year old in the NHL for his 1st season

He's not better than Xhekaj today but he stands to pass him in the coming years. I like him just as much as you do but I'm going to avoid the premature approach cause I did that in the past and failed. Is Hutson the exception? Very possible yes but I stand firm... Hutson is the wild card after Guhle and Xhekaj today. It will change yes
 

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