Brendan Guhle was left off the list of defencemen announced Tuesday to try out for Canada's world junior team.
Hockey Canada didn't think he was good enough to play against the world's best under-20 players in the annual Christmas tournament but the Buffalo Sabres think he's ready right now for the NHL.
The Sabres called up the 19-year-old Prince George Cougars defenceman Friday to join the team on an emergency basis to help the Sabres deal with a rash of injuries to their blueline corps. He's expected to be in the Sabres' lineup Saturday when they host the Boston Bruins starting at 10 am. PT (live on Sportsnet).
Guhle has lived up to the hype since he was acquired by the Cougars in a Nov. 19 trade from the Prince Albert Raiders. He's scored three goals in four games for the Cats, including a last-minute tying goal that forced overtime in the Cougars' most recent game, Tuesday in Langley, which Prince George went on to win 4-3.
“We are very happy for Brendan and his family and we wish him the very best during his time with the Buffalo Sabres,” said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. “Our job is to develop players and get them ready for the next level. He’s been a first-class representative of the Western Hockey League, the Prince Albert Raiders and most recently with the Prince George Cougars. He’s very deserving of this opportunity.”
The Sabres were already without defencemen Zach Bogosian and Dmitri Kulikov when veteran Josh Gorges got hurt in Thursday's game against the New York Rangers. The Sabres have already turned to their AHL affiliate in Rochester to bring in replacements Justin Falk and Taylor Fedun and they made the unusual move Friday morning to call up Guhle from the junior ranks.
Guhle, a second-round pick of the Sabres (51st overall) in the 2015 draft, was the last defenceman cut this year from the Sabres training camp. Because he is a signed player, the Sabres own his rights and can assign him wherever they choose, indefinitely. That brings up the possibility that he could remain with the Sabres for the rest of the season. That's not likely, but it is possible.
"There are protocols that protect the teams at our level, but they've exhausted all other avenues and that's why they are able to get a player at our level," said Harkins. "They have to go to the American Hockey League team first and then they can come down to the CHL, which they've done.
"I don't know all the details with the rosters and salary caps and all the situations that can happen at the NHL level. We just want him to go up there and enjoy his time and help the Buffalo Sabres win. But there's obviously a chance he stays, there's no question about that."
Guhle was a standout playing defence for Team WHL in the CIBC Canada-Russia Series in early November. Cougars forwards Jansen Harkins and Brad Morrison also played well in the two games. Harkins was named Team WHL's top player in the game in Prince George Nov. 7. Despite that, none of the three was invited to Canada's world junior camp, which starts Dec. 11 in Blainville, Que.
Harkins' omission from the camp was particularly surprising considering he's been on Hockey Canada's radar for years and is enjoying his best season in the WHL, playing for the B.C. Division-leading Cougars. He suited up for Canada in the 2015 world under-18 championship and at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament. The year before that, he was captain of Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
In Guhle's absence, the Cougars have served notice to the Cariboo Cougars and Vancouver Northwest Giants major midget teams, which each have a 16-year-old defenceman on the Cougars' protected list. Last week the WHL Cats returned Cole Moberg to the Giants and sent Jonas Harkins to the Cariboo Cougars. If any of the six defenceman still with the WHL club get hurt in Friday's game against the Victoria Royals, Moberg or Jonas Harkins (Todd's youngest son) will be made available for Saturday's rematch with the Royals at CN Centre.
Todd Harkins got a call at 10 a.m. Friday from Sabres general manager Tim Murray to discuss Guhle's situation. That came 90 minutes after the Cariboo Cougars bus left for Kelowna, where they'll play the Okanagan Rockets this weekend. Harkins told Guhle he was going to Buffalo after the morning skate Friday, in the Cats dressing room with all the players present.
"It was a pretty exciting time for all those kids down there and for the staff, it's something you don't get to experience every day," Harkins said. "It shows all the players that they're not that far away, that someone is always watching. When players have success and teams have success, good things happen for all of them. It's just a great opportunity to see it happen in front of you, not just for our organization but for every team in the league."
