The rookie left-shot defenseman was an emergency recall due to injuries.
From sabres.com: BUFFALO, N.Y. — Brendan Guhle already has been traded once in the last month, when his junior team Prince Albert sent him to Prince George on Nov. 19. When his new coach called him into his office on Friday to inform him of yet another destination, it’s a safe bet that Guhle didn’t have Buffalo in mind.
Guhle was recalled by the Sabres from junior on an emergency basis on Friday in the wake of an injury to Josh Gorges. He made his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
“I wasn’t even really sure that that was allowed,” Guhle said, smiling. “It was kind of cool I guess.”
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said that Guhle, 19, nearly played his way onto the NHL roster out of training camp in October. He stuck with the team all the way through to its final preseason game, when Guhle played against an Ottawa Senators team using nearly its full lineup.
The decision to recall Guhle was made partially because of the Sabres’ need for a left-shot defenseman. Casey Nelson is day-to-day with a neck injury in Rochester, but Bylsma said that Erik Burgdoerfer would have been a candidate for the recall had the Sabres needed a right shot. Guhle played on the left side on a pair with Cody Franson.
For all of the factors seemingly weighing against Brendan Guhle in his debut – the fact he is a 19-year-old defenseman, or the fact he had been playing in junior this season prior to Saturday, or the fact that he didn’t arrive in Buffalo until after 1 a.m. on Friday night – he certainly looked the part of an NHL defenseman.
Bylsma praised Guhle’s skating ability prior to the game on Saturday, and Guhle displayed it on both ends of the ice against the Bruins. Guhle led the Sabres with seven shot attempts in 16:20 of ice time. It was Guhle’s shot from the point that led to Gionta’s would-be goal in the second period.
“On puck retrievals, in the offensive zone, he was moving around like he was playing in juniors,” his partner Cody Franson said. “Coming into D-zone situations he was comfortable, he was talking, and you couldn’t ask for more out of that from a kid coming from juniors.”
There were two plays in the third period that best exemplified not only Guhle’s skating, but his poise. The first was a rush in the offensive zone, when Guhle blew through the neutral zone past the Boston defense to shoot alone on Rask.
“He certainly wasn’t shy about using his skating and jumping into the play,” Bylsma said. “He did that in the second period, did that in the third period … He was good in the game.”
The second play came in the defensive zone, when David Krejci appeared to have a clear lane for a breakaway. Guhle sped back from center ice, got in front of Krejci and calmly poked the puck away before Krejci could take his shot.
“He was a righty coming down the left side so I knew he was he was going I knew he was going to try to get it to his forehand,” Guhle said. “He probably wouldn’t get much off his backhand.”
Guhle admitted there were “a lot” of nerves when he took the ice early in the game, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.
“That’s one of the main traits of my game is simple, easy, not a complicated game,” he said. “It’s easier to do out there with all of those good players.”