NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Dylan Guenther

Sabres.com is profiling some of the top available prospects in the days leading up to the 2021 NHL Draft, which begins with Round 1 on Friday, July 23 at 8 p.m. The Sabres hold the No. 1 pick.
Dylan Guenther, RW - Edmonton (WHL)6-foot-2, 175 pounds2020-21: 12 GP, 12 G, 12 A, 24 P

Guenther is ranked by NHL Central Scouting Services as the No. 5 North American skater, third among forwards behind centers Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson (both of whom we'll profile next week). He made the most of what was an abbreviated season in the WHL, averaging two points per game in 12 contests. He tallied 59 points (26+33) in 58 games during his age 16 season in 2019-20.
Guenther is considered a scoring threat with a dangerous shot who is also a hardworking defender that can be trusted in any situation. He was an alternate captain for Canada at the U-18 World Championship, where he tallied seven points (4+3) in seven games en route to a gold medal.
"I think he's one of the more dynamic players," Chris Peters of Hockey Sense told Brian Duff and Martin Biron. "He's not quite dynamic at the level of a Kent Johnson, but he has a little bit more pace. He can play with a little bit more pace. … He's more of a finisher, I think, whereas Kent Johnson might be a bit of a driver."
Find Peters' full take on Guenther in the video below.

What they're saying

NHL Central Scouting's John Williams to NHL.com:
"He's got the size, separational speed, and can pull away from people, protect the puck well with his body. He has a very high hockey IQ. I think you saw that at the U-18s when they used him on penalty kill. I think he's deceptive in terms of how good a playmaker he is just because people just expect him to score but when that's taken away from him, he can make plays in tight areas. When I watch him, I get kind of a Max Pacioretty sort of vibe. He's got similar size as Max and has that kind of potential."
An anonymous evaluator to NHL.com on why they would select Guenther over Johnson:
"I think the argument could be made that Johnson is the most skilled and creative offensive player in this draft, and that is tough to pass on, but I'd still lean towards Guenther. He's not far behind in terms of skill and is probably the better pure scorer of the two. He's got the advantage in terms of size and skating as well. He's an elite skater with speed, quickness and power. He has a high-end hockey IQ that make him very good in all aspects of the game. A coach will want him on the ice in all key situations."

What he's saying

On who he models his game after:
"I loved (Sidney) Crosby's compete level and his hockey IQ. I think that although he does think the game super fast and he has a ton of good skills, I think his compete level is really outstanding, and I think that's a really good thing that young kids could look at, is just how hard a guy like that works.
"I think now, I definitely watch a lot of different players. Guys like (Auston) Matthews and (David) Pastrnak when I'm looking at their shooting tendencies and kind of what they do, and then I like to implement that into my shot after practice or kind of on my own time. And then positionally, I think Kyle Connor, I watch him a lot, too. I think we have a similar frame and he plays with a lot of speed and is able to open up a lot of time and space for his teammates to create offense when he's on the ice, just with his evasiveness, his deception with skating."