Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Kaiden Guhle was named to Team Canada’s 25-player roster for the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship.
Adversity is not a stumbling block, but a stepping stone to success.
Meet the team ready to defend its #WorldJuniors title. pic.twitter.com/IDUYn926Bg
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 11, 2020
Three defencemen and six forwards were cut to get to the final roster. Seven other players were released from camp on Thursday morning. Guhle is one of 10 2020 first round picks to make Canada’s roster.
Canada’s head coach Andre Tourigny, who is the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67s, spoke about Guhle’s game after Wednesday’s scrimmage.
“I like Kaiden,” Tourigny said. “I like his brain. I like the way he pays attention to details. Big body, physical. Skates really well. Defends well. He’s easy to coach. Whatever you ask he pays attention to detail and he wants to be better and he wants to do what’s right. He’s a fun player to coach”
The final cuts were made after the team’s scrimmage on Thursday night in Red Deer before the team goes into the IIHF’s bubble in Edmonton for another mandatory quarantine. Canada will play two pre-tournament games: December 21 against Sweden, and December 23 against Russia.
Guhle is one of three expected Canadiens prospects to play in the tournament, joining Cole Caufield and Jan Myšák. The Czech roster was cut to 28 players on Friday, with final cuts to be made in Edmonton.
The tournament gets started on Christmas day, with Canada’s first game on December 26.
