The young CH defender will have to walk on eggshells this evening.
Tonight, Kaiden Guhle will not have the luxury of a quiet return to action.
After a long break, he will return to action against the Ottawa Senators for his first preseason game of the year.
And let’s not kid ourselves: Ottawa won’t be shy. We know well how Travis Green prepares his troops, especially against young Montreal talents.
He will want to take advantage of every opportunity to test the solidity of Guhle, who already has, despite his obvious potential, an unflattering reputation in the NHL: that of a crystal player, fragile and easily shaken.
Last season’s injuries have left their mark.
If Guhle has shown that he can compete on a technical and physical level, the reality is that several teams are starting to see weaknesses in him.
A little knock here, a shock there, and it’s out of circulation for several weeks.
Travis Green won’t even need to draw up a big strategic plan. His players already know what to do: make every presence of Guhle painful, use every check to destabilize him and see if he starts to hesitate, to play with more restraint.
Because a Guhle who plays on tiptoe is a less effective Guhle.
Ottawa knows full well that it will only take a few strong contacts to make him wonder if he is really ready for this kind of match.
Guhle will have to be careful. Very careful.
He knows that at the slightest alarm, the slightest physical discomfort, everyone will cry wolf. “Hurt again?” Already weakened? »
This is the label that his opponents would like to stick on his back: that of the talented player, but too fragile to survive the rigors of the NHL.
Is he able to play without fear of contact? To get up after each elbow received in the corner of the rink? Or will he start to withdraw, avoiding risk areas, for fear of relapse?
This perception of fragility could well become its Achilles heel.
Guhle has no choice: tonight he must prove that he is more than a technical defender, that he is as tough as anyone in this league.
Otherwise, he risks becoming an easy target, not only for the Senators, but for every team that crosses paths with CH this season.
The pressure is real. Kaiden Guhle knows it, the coaches know it, and the Senators know it too.
This game against Ottawa isn’t just a comeback for him, it’s a confrontation with his own reputation.
Tonight, he will have to walk on eggshells, avoid pitfalls, and show that he has what it takes to change this perception of a fragile player that hovers around him.
To be continued…
