We didn’t get to this subject with several GMs, but we did speak to the one who oversees the player who was Canada’s captain at the interrupted tournament from this past winter.
We asked Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes how he’d feel about permitting Kaiden Guhle to play at the World Juniors in mid-August, just before coming to NHL training camp.
“I think in Guhle’s case, I talked to him in Edmonton after his game (on March 4), and it was pretty shocking the amount of hockey he’s had to play and will have to play. The Memorial Cup is coming up so late (end of June) and there’s very little recovery time (if the Oil Kings make it). It’s almost like it could be 18 months of straight hockey.
“It’s not optimal, certainly. If you’re asking if, as an organization, we have a position or that we would recommend that he not participate, we haven’t had that conversation. It’s not that simple if the player wants to go represent his country. We’ll tackle that at a later point, and he may have his own thoughts about it.”
Should Guhle adamantly want to participate, we asked Hughes if he could see the tournament as a springboard into training camp for the player.
“It could be,” he said. “It’s not so much training camp that we’re worried about, though. We’re worried about the development over the course of the year and just making sure that he doesn’t get run down and injured.”
Again, we didn’t broach this subject with too many GMs. But you have to think many of them have the same concerns.
