Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle happy to put ‘scariest’ moment behind him
The scar on Kaiden Guhle’s right leg is roughly four inches long and will always serve as a reminder of what he said was “definitely the scariest moment” of his life.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The scar on Kaiden Guhle’s right leg is roughly four inches long and will always serve as a reminder of what he said was “definitely the scariest moment” of his life.
When the 23-year-old fell awkwardly in the third period of a 4-1 Montreal Canadiens loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 28, he had no idea what kind of damage he had done. All he knew was that he had lost his balance, tumbled into the boards, and ended up slicing his right quadricep with his left skate.
What Guhle felt, aside from pain, was urgency to get medical attention.
“It happens, and you see it, and you don’t know really what’s going on,” Guhle said on Friday, minutes after playing his first game back since undergoing surgery to repair the muscle exactly two months ago. “Obviously, for what happened, it was the best-case scenario — didn’t hit any nerves or arteries. But, at the time, you don’t know that. Scary. Hopefully, I don’t have to go through that again, or anyone doesn’t have to go through that…”
The incident was one thing. The fear of not knowing just how serious the injury could be was something else entirely.
Guhle was quivering just reliving it Friday.
“I looked down at my leg and I can’t say what I said when I saw it,” Guhle said. “I knew it was bad.”
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Had his femoral artery been nicked, it could’ve been fatal. And not knowing whether that had happened made for a tense ride to the hospital.
“As they were kind of getting me ready to go in the ambulance, that was the topic they were talking about, trying to stop the bleeding because they don’t know right away if there was anything (cut) there,” Guhle said. “So I didn’t know at the time (if the artery had been hit), but once I got to the hospital and they said they stopped the bleeding, I was pretty sure I was going to be ok.”
With surgery a success, he was initially given a three-to-four-month timeline for recovery.
The possibility of eight-to-10 weeks was floated as a best-case scenario, though that was looking ambitious to Guhle early in the process.
“It was just one day it kind of felt like it was stuck at a certain point and nothing was really getting better,” he said. “All of a sudden, I turned the corner and I was back in the gym getting my strength back and doing what I had to do.”
Guhle first began working out his lower body again four weeks after surgery. A week after that, he was back to skating on his own. And after returning to full practice before the Canadiens took off for this four-game road trip Monday, he returned to play 19:07 in Friday’s game against the Hurricanes.
“The doctors and the staff did an unbelievable job getting me back and getting my strength back,” Guhle said. “Thankfully went by a lot quicker than expected.”
It didn’t feel quick for Guhle, though, as he missed 21 games.
It was also one of several long breaks the Edmonton native had experienced since being drafted 16th overall by the Canadiens in 2016. There were the head traumas that limited him to just 70 games last season, and the high-ankle and knee injuries that kept him out of 38 games during his rookie campaign.
This one was different, though. It was a freak accident he’ll never forget.
The scar on his leg will always remind him.
It’ll fade in time, and Guhle’s hoping this incident is his last unfortunate one playing hockey as he completes this season and gets set to begin the six-year, $33.3-million contract he signed with the Canadiens last summer.
Nothing’s guaranteed, but at least Guhle’s now assuming less risk by wearing a cut-resistant bodysuit under his hockey gear.
