Former Oil Kings star Dylan Guenther works on rounding out his game with Utah Mammoth

The hardest thing to do in the NHL is score goals.

The second hardest is to take what you did in junior and have it fairly seamlessly translate to the best league in the world.

Dylan Guenther, the former Edmonton Oil Kings’ winger, has done both with the Utah Mammoth after they took him ninth overall in 2021, his shot release a tad reminiscent of on-the-stick-and-off Kyle Connor of Winnipeg.

He had 45 goals his last junior season with the Oil Kings, helping them reach the Memorial Cup. Guenther sadly damaged his kneecap in the WHL finals against Seattle and couldn’t play in the tournament, on a stacked junior team that included current NHLers Jake Neighbours of the Blues, Kaiden Guhle of the Canadiens, Capitals forward Justin Sourdif and Utah backup goalie Sebasatian Cossa.

Guenther, 23, had 18 goals in 45 games his first NHL season, 27 in Year 2 and last season pumped in 40 for the Mammoth. He went into Thursday’s game at his old junior stomping grounds, Rogers Place, with four goals in seven games. Over the past 86 NHL games he has 44 goals and 81 points.

“It’s early this season to exactly see what I think of Dylan … something different from last year. As a young player he’s putting a lot on himself, he wants to produce,” said Utah coach Alain Tourigny, who feels it’s a double-edged sword, balancing offence with playing without the puck in the NHL, something Guenther is getting better at.

“As I often say, there’s a lot more than producing in a hockey game. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough to produce in the NHL. You want guys on your team who can do that. But if you value yourself just on production, it doesn’t mean you’re a good player. When push comes to shove, you need your best player to be your best checker, too. That’s the challenge for young talented players like Dylan, like Logan (Cooley) on our team. You have to groom them.”

Guenther knows he can’t be a one-trick pony.

“What I’ve tried to do is play better defensively to round out my game. Helps me get on the ice more and if I do that I’ll get more opportunities. Watching the top guys and seeing how they score goals. Even a guy like Ovechkin. It seems like he just scores on his one-timer but he’s going to the net, too,” said Guenther.

He certainly isn’t resting on his laurels. You score 40 and your name is circled on the grease-board in the opposing dressing rooms, a clear, “Watch this guy.”

“Maybe I’m getting a little more attention. I don’t think it’s any more pressure now, though. Forty is just a number. Doesn’t speak to your name as a whole. I’m just trying to get better. I’m trying to diversify my game and find different ways to score. What got me into the league was being able to score and it’s something I practise in the off-season — tip-ins, redirects, getting in front of the net,” he said, acknowledging it’s almost impossible to beat a goalie from distance in the NHL, even if Guenther’s release and ability to shoot through traffic is outstanding.

But it’s the shot coming off the wing or in the high-slot that is his calling card. How did he develop it? Banging misfired shots off a clothes dryer like Sidney Crosby as a kid in Nova Scotia?

“I’d come home from school and shoot pucks in the basement,” he said.

Lots of damage there? “Yeah, I don’t even know how the silver pipes were for but they were all banged up,” said Guenther, who didn’t fire away at the garage door. Nah, that was off-limits.” Worried about hitting the cars?

“Yeah probably,” he said.

Guenther, who grew up in Edmonton and stays in the summer months, too, was 60 feet away from the Oilers dressing room when he was a junior. He saw how well Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl played on the attack, also to get the puck back.

“I grew up watching these guys. I got a couple of pictures with them at a skills competition when I was 16. It was pretty cool being down the hall. We’d all get antsy when we’d see them walk by. We’d go out and watch them,” said Guenther.

“Obviously this is the best test, playing those two,” said Guenther, who cherished being in the same rink as McDavid and Draisaitl, loved his time with the Oil Kings and likes coming home to play, although it is a little less hectic because his lanky brother Nathan, who played for the U18 Edmonton Jr. Oilers, is on the Everett Silvertips WHL team right now.

So his mum Nadine and dad Russ are empty nesters.

Tourigny coached Canada at the U20 worlds here in 2021 where the acrobatic Devon Levi, getting the Oilers start in net against Utah, was one of his junior goalies.

“He’s really confident. He’s an outstanding kid. He up-tempo, he’s got a lot of charisma. Super competitive in net, believes in himself and expects a lot from himself,” said Tourigny, assessing Levi.

The Oilers were weighing trading for either Levi or Cossa, 23, out of Detroit, who played in the 2023 U20 worlds here, after last season. But they didn’t have a first-round pick and Utah did, taking a shot on Cossa, who had fallen out of favour with Red Wings, even with some strong AHL stats. The Oilers gave up a 2028 third-round selection for Levi, who starts his fifth game of the early season.

Utah may have thought of playing Cossa here, where he played junior, in the first of a home-and-home with the Oilers. But they opted for No. 1 Karel Vejmelka. Cossa was rock solid in a win over Columbus earlier this month but had a rough outing against the Bruins in his only start, lasting 16 1/2 minutes.

They remain bullish on him, however. They badly need a goalie to give Vejmelka, last season’s busiest goalie at 64 league games, 38 wins and the most saves at 1,458, a breather. They would like to play Cossa, say, 25 games, if possible, this season.

“We’re in a hard stretch right now but we like Coss. He’s played four games for us, including pre-season, three excellent ones. We have a lot of belief in him. He’ll have his time,” said Tourigny.

Utah traded winger J.J. Peterka, who never gained much traction there in his one season, to the Boston Bruins for their 2026 first-round pick last summer and used the acquired pick to trade for Cossa. They had two picks in Round 1, selecting winger Ethan Belchetz with the 17th overall pick.

Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. 

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.