Kaiden Guhle is a top rated NHL prospect. |
Guhle and
Wiesblatt have been key members of the Prince Albert Raiders since suiting up
in “Hockey Town North” on a full-time basis as 16-year-old rookies helping the
Raiders win a WHL championship in the 2018-19 campaign.
They
followed up that special season with great sophomore campaigns resulting in
Guhle being rated eighth and Wiesblatt 19th among North American
skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.
Both could be
selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held Tuesday
via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Rounds two through seven will be held on Wednesday by that same video
conference call format.
Ozzy Wiesblatt is a highly touted NHL prospect. |
Of course,
the 2019-20 season was cut short due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
that has gripped the world.
Guhle came
to the Raiders with high hopes after being selected by the team in the first round
and first overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. His family and the club were
familiar with each other as older brother, Brendan, played defence for the
Raiders from 2013 to 2016.
Brendan
spent the 2019-20 season split between playing for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and
the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
Kaiden Guhle came up through minor hockey in his hometown of Sherwood Park, Alta., and the Edmonton area as that special skilled offensive-defenceman.
Kaiden Guhle has played big minutes for the Raiders. |
As a rookie
in 2018-19, Guhle was on the Raiders starting six on defence as a 16-year-old.
The other five members of the starting six were all in their 19-year-old
seasons.
While Guhle
was the youngest of that group, the Raiders did not rotate their five
19-year-olds, which some teams tried to do to cover for the inexperience of the
youngest player.
Guhle
played regular minutes with a set partner in Jeremy Masella. In total, Guhle
played in 65 regular season games collecting three goals, 14 assists and a
plus-17 rating in the plus-minus department.
He focused
on playing more of a defensive role, while chipping in some points. Over the
course of the campaign, Guhle was able to learn by watching the veteran
defenceman who were on the Raiders roster.
Ozzy Wiesblatt had 70 points for the Raiders last season. |
He became
the quarterback on the Raiders power play and really showed his ability as an
offensive defenceman during five-on-five action. Guhle has that instinct in
knowing when he should get deep in the offensive zone with the puck or pinch
down from the point to become a threat on a play close around the net.
He appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games piling up 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-23 rating.
Every time
Guhle gets deep, he never seems to get caught or trapped out of position on the
defensive end. When an offensive-defenceman can do that, they become extremely
valuable to a team.
Like Guhle,
Wiesblatt took on a fairly sizable role that you wouldn’t expect from a
16-year-old rookie in the Raiders WHL title season in 2018-19. The Raiders had
veteran stars all over the place up front that season.
Kaiden Guhle can put up points from the blue-line. |
Wiesblatt,
who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 182 pounds, appeared in 64 regular season games posting 15 goals, 24 assists and a plus-30 rating. In the run to the WHL title,
Wiesblatt played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL playoffs posting
five goals, five assists and a plus-six rating.
This past
season as a 17-year-old sophomore, Wiesblatt skating in all of the Raiders 64
regular season games finishing second in team scoring with 25 goals, 45 assists
and a plus-20 rating.
Away from the rink, Wiesblatt comes from a high-character family to say the least. His mom, Kim White, has been deaf since birth and speaks using American Sign Language.
She had to raise Ozzy, his three brothers and one sister as a single mom since 2014.
Ozzy Wiesblatt comes from a high character family. |
The oldest
brother, Ocean, played in the junior A ranks with the Portage La Prairie
Terriers last season. The second oldest brother, Orca, is a member of the
Calgary Hitmen, and the youngest brother, Oasiz, is highly touted prospect with
the Medicine Hat Tigers.
It is hard
to come up with words about how amazing the Wiesblatt family story is.
Also cracking the final NHL Central Scouting rankings from the Raiders is defenceman Landon Kosior at the 98th spot among North American skaters. The Regina, Sask., product made a sizable jump of the ratings after being ranked 126th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings.
Kosior, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 190 pounds, appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games as a 17-year-old rookie recording five goals, 18 assists and a plus-19 rating.
Landon Kosior turned heads in his Raiders rookie season. |
As an 18-year-old rookie, Usau appeared in 58 regular season games with the Raiders posting 22 goals, 30 assists and a plus-14 rating.
Usau, who stands 6-feet and weighs 182 pounds, is currently playing for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League until the WHL gets back into action after a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHL is hoping to start its regular season on December 4.
Joining the
four Raiders in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings is Prince Albert product
Braden Schneider, who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is rated ninth
among North American skaters. Due to his late birthday, this is the first year
Schneider is eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.
Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.
Ilya Usau had 52 points as a Raiders rookie last season. |
While 2020
has been a crazy year beyond comprehension, the City of Prince Albert and the
Raiders are set to have a memorable two days at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Leading the
charge will be Guhle and Wiesblatt, who both have the skill and character make
up to continue to do great things in the game.
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
-------
If you like what you
see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like
this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the
DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for
stopping in.