Guhle is regarded as a two-way defenseman with good skating ability and a hard shot. The brother of Anaheim Ducks defenseman prospect Brendan Guhle, Kaiden had 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists), 16 power-play points (five goals, 11 assists) and a plus-23 rating in 64 games in his second full season with Prince Albert.
There are 15 WHL teams with at least two players listed on Central Scouting's final rankings, and 19 represented with at least one player. Portland and Saskatoon have the most players, with five each.
To break it down, here are five questions with Williams:
Q: Guhle and Schneider are the two top WHL players, according to NHL Central Scouting. What stands out about each and how tough was it to rank one, Guhle, ahead of the other?
"It was a difficult thing to do. I think our group was kind of divided pretty much because we all have preferences or certain types of players that we like. I think everybody understood these are very good players. One is a left-handed shot (Guhle) and one is right-hand shot. Schneider is a little bit bigger right now. I think he's a little bit older being a late birthday, but Guhle maybe has a little bit more of an offensive upside and that's why we gave him the nod. Obviously they're right beside each other and are both very good players. They're ranked very high and each has a chance to be very good NHL player."
Q: Brandon center Ridly Greig (5-11, 163) jumped to No. 14 in the final ranking from No. 25 at the midterm. Where did you notice improvement over the course of the season?
"I've seen him play the last couple of years; I actually saw his first game as a 15-year-old. He's grown physically over the last couple of years, and every time you see him he's getting better. One of the first things you notice about Ridly is that he has a very high hockey IQ. He can play in any type of situation and he proved that with Team Canada [at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup]. He can play a support role, checking role or kill penalties, or be an offensive guy. He's good on the power play and also brings an element in his game where you have to have your head up whenever you're on the ice or he'll knock you on your rear end. He does kind of hunt for guys, which gets him in trouble once in a while. But for a lot of guys who watch the game a lot, it's nice to see that kind of element in the game still. Contact and physicality is still a big part of the game. He can bring that, as well as the skills and smarts."
