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HomeSportsHart AttackHARTLEY MILLER’S HART ATTACK – (The Guhle Gamble) November 25, 2016 EDITION...

HARTLEY MILLER’S HART ATTACK – (The Guhle Gamble) November 25, 2016 EDITION 603

Did the Prince George Cougars pay too big a price to acquire Brendan Guhle?

This question has been debated since the Cougars made a major splash one week ago when they obtained the 19-year-old defenceman from the Prince Albert Raiders for 17-year-old defenceman Max Martin, 18-year-old forward Colby Johnson, a first round WHL bantam pick in 2018 and a third round draft pick in 2019.

This was undoubtedly the biggest trade the Cougars pulled off in 10 years when they acquired then 19-year-old sniper Devin Setoguchi from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for defenceman Stefan Elliot and a first round Bantam pick in 2008.

In the spring of 2007, Setoguchi helped the Cougars win two rounds of the playoffs and reach the Western Conference final.

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Critics will suggest that while the 2007 run was enjoyable, the team had too many lean years that followed.

The Guhle deal is a bit different.

In 2006-07, the Cougars were just a third place team out of five in the B.C. division with a record of 33-31-3-5.

In 2016-17, the Cougars are ranked #1 in the CHL and are in position for a major run and their first banner/championship.

The 6-foot-3 Guhle is a game changing player who excels at both ends of the ice.

He made immediate impact by scoring 9 ½ minutes into his first game, a 5-2 victory over the Regina Pats, the current second ranked team in the CHL.

On the depth chart Guhle moves to the top of the list.

In other words, they have acquired a number-one defenceman in a season the team has been building for since the ownership and management change.

The Cougars are the oldest team in the league with ten players aged 19 and three others that are 20.

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Whether they acquired Guhle or not, Prince George will be in transition next season, having lost the bulk of its core group of players.

Martin would be a valuable asset for the next couple of years but regardless if he was part of the Cougars or not, the team would likely not to have the talent to compete for a league title.

The first round pick that Prince Albert obtained will not play until the 2019-20 season at the earliest which gives the Cougars time to fill that gap.

The third round pick won’t be among the top 44 players and is just a prospect.

Johnson was a like-able depth player with P.G. that was a healthy scratch on many occasions.

Breaking it down piece by piece, one understands why the Cat made the bold move.

The Cougars are in a rare one year window of having the veterans to contend for a league and dare I say national championship.

Why not give it your best effort to succeed?

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This kind of opportunity may not come around again for many years.

The Cougars also believe that goalie Taylor Gauthier, their 2016 first round bantam pick, will be able to help keep the team competitive and not fall right to the bottom like the P.G. team did the year after the Setoguchi trade (20-48-1-3 and out of the playoffs in 2007-08).

Guhle was the last cut this year of the Buffalo Sabres.

There is virtually no chance he will return as a 20-year-old so it is fair to suggest he is just a “rental” for the remainder of the season.

With any blockbuster comes risk.

There is no guarantee that the Cougars, a league best 18-4-2, one third into the regular season, will have playoff success but there are times a team has to “go for it.”

The Guhle type of trade always come with a high price tag.

The Cougars gave up part of their future to land him.

I understand the conservative hockey fan that may not agree with the move, but I believe considering the long history of Cougars losing seasons, this is one gamble that was worth taking.

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Last weekend was one to remember for Prince George hockey teams.

The P.G. Cougars were 1-0, the Spruce Kings and Cariboo Cougars 2-0 and the Northern Capitals female AAA midgets 3-0 for a combined 8-0.

Yes, eight was enough.

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On Friday night (Nov. 18, 2016), a whopping 7,313 fans attended three Prince George sports events.

There were 5,272 fans at CN Centre for the Cougars 4-2 win over Prince Albert.

Another 1,241 spectators were over at RMCA for the Spruce Kings 6-1 victory over Nanaimo.

Meanwhile, 800 basketball fans went to the Northern Sport Centre for UNBC women’s and men’s basketball against Trinity Western (68-61 TWU women win and 80-71 UNBC men victory).

That’s about 1 in 10 P.G. residents.

This is concrete proof Prince George continues to be a noteworthy sports city.

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Canadian Traditions include (Canada Day) July 1st, Thanksgiving and the Grey Cup.

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Sure there are other prominent customary festivities, but the three aforementioned traditions have a way of rallying all Canadians together regardless if they live in a province such as Prince Edward Island or a city such as Prince George.

The Grey Cup is a party, a gala, a special event, yes one big bash.

Throughout the years I admit that my interest in the CFL has faded.

This year it is even more difficult to get excited by a game featuring a first place team with a below .500 regular season record (Ottawa REDBLACKS were 8-9-1) against a first place team that was among the all-time best (Calgary Stampeders were 15-2-1).

Naturally, fans in Ottawa and Calgary will be entrenched in Sunday’s game with kickoff just after 3 p.m. (PST).

The Stampeders are favored by nine, a line that is generous to the REDBLACKS.

The lure of an upset is always possible but on paper Calgary should stampede to victory.

I suspect Henry Burris will help keep Ottawa competitive for the first half but by crunch time I will be very surprised if the Stampeders don’t have the game well in hand by double digits.

For the record, 17 of the previous 18 Grey Cup games have been decided by 13 points or less; however, only eight of those had a final outcome decided by a converted touchdown or less.

From the Quote Rack:

President Obama inviting the Chicago Cubs to the White House before he leaves office reminds one of a similar situation the last time the Cubs won it; Pharoah invited the Cubs for a visit just before the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

Ray Lewis dissed Ravens QB and his former teammate Joe Flacco: “Gifted? Absolutely, Passionate about what he does? I’ve never seen that.” Well, at least Lewis didn’t say Flacco doesn’t have a killer instinct.

Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com

Aretha Franklin’s National Anthem at the Detroit-Minnesota game Thursday (a 16-13 Lions victory) took four minutes and 35 seconds. The song took so long that Colin Kaepernick who was watching at home, started by standing, then kneeling, then toppling over.

Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/

And in case you missed it:

Indianapolis pivot Andrew Luck was in concussion protocol and did not suit up in the Colts 28-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. So he had an American Thanksgiving dinner without dressing.

Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com

Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat.

He also is the 94.3 radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.

His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.

Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]

Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller

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