Phil Kessel. Patrick Kane. Auston Matthews.
Those are the names Cole Caufield, the newest member of the Montreal Canadiens, left in the dust on his way to becoming the most prolific goal scorer in the United States National Development Program’s history.
It would be an understatement to say Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin was shocked to find the Wisconsin native still available at No. 15 when Bergevin stepped up to the podium at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver on Friday.
“We believed he’d go in the top-10,” Bergevin told TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie as he stepped off the stage.
He wasn’t alone. Virtually all pre-draft lists had Caufield, who scored 72 goals and 100 points this past season while riding shotgun on a line with first overall pick Jack Hughes, going earlier than No. 15. Caufield, a right winger, is a bona fide sniper. A wrist-shot wielding terror who, according to one amateur scout we reached out to, has “the best touch in this year’s class.”
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One reason Caufield didn’t go higher could be due to the fact he’s only 5-foot-7 and not considered to be among the most explosive skaters available. We also can’t discount some of the surprises we saw following the predictable selections of Hughes at No. 1 to the New Jersey Devils and Kaapo Kakko at No. 2 to the New York Rangers.
It started with Kirby Dach, a rangy centre who spent last season with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, going third overall to the Chicago Blackhawks, pushing the consensus best defenceman of this class (Bowen Byram) to the Colorado Avalanche at fourth overall.
When newly-minted Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman surprised almost everyone by picking German defenceman Moritz Seider at sixth overall it pushed other premiere talents down the board. After the Florida Panthers drafted for top-rated goaltender Spencer Knight with the 13th overall pick, and the Philadelphia Flyers chose defenceman Cam York 14th, the Canadiens were essentially gifted Caufield.
“It was a yoyo ever since Pick No. 3,” Montreal draft guru and assistant general manager, Trevor Timmins, told Elliotte Friedman. “It’s been all over the place. We didn’t think we’d have the two guys available that we had to choose from in the end, and it was a difficult decision, but we went with the pure goal scorer.
“We spent a lot of time with Cole. He’s a great young man. He’s a heck of a competitor and he knows how to put the puck in the net.”
In the eyes of the Canadiens Caufield was a better bet than dynamic, play-making centres such as Alex Newhook and Peyton Krebs, who were chosen next by the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively.
York was a sure target for Montreal before the Flyers chose him. The Canadiens also liked Thomas Harley, the big, smooth-skating lefty who went 18th overall to the Dallas Stars. WHL standout Lassi Thomson (19th overall to the Ottawa Senators), and cerebral Finn Ville Heinola (20th overall to the Winnipeg Jets), were two other players multiple sources told us the Canadiens had their eyes on heading into the draft.
But in Caufield, Bergevin and Timmins got their hands on a player who fills another need. He’s a player who vaults straight to the top of Montreal’s impressive prospect list, alongside—and perhaps above—explosive scorer Nick Suzuki, multi-dimensional centre Ryan Poehling, budding goaltender Cayden Primeau and stalwart defenceman Alexander Romanov.
Caufield, who has committed to play for the NCAA’s Wisconson Badgers next fall, was shocked when he heard his name called by Canadiens captain Shea Weber.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Caufield, the third-highest point producer in the USNTDP’s history. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. They’ve got a great staff and great organization. I’m really pumped to be a part of something like that and I can’t wait to get started.”
With Caufield, the MVP of this year’s World Under-18 Championship, in the fold, it’s expected the Canadiens will attempt to fill their needs on defence with their nine other picks in this year’s draft. As for their immediate need on left defence, Bergevin told Lavoie prior to Friday’s draft that the chance of his team being involved in a trade over the weekend isn’t very high.
“You have discussions with other GMs and there’s things you want to do, but both GMs have to agree,” he said. “We’ve had discussions but they haven’t borne fruit.”
Bergevin added that he’s extended invitations to pending unrestricted free agents to discuss signing with the Canadiens and that he’s waiting for confirmations before the free agent discussion window opens on Sunday.