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Five Players The Montreal Canadiens Should Consider Drafting Fifteenth Overall

By Sebastian High

BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 20: Raphael Lavoie #50 of the Halifax Mooseheads skates against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 20, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Halifax Mooseheads defeated the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 20: Raphael Lavoie #50 of the Halifax Mooseheads skates against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 20, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Halifax Mooseheads defeated the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
ST. PAUL, MN – SEPTEMBER 19: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Cole Caufield

Alright, this one is by far the least probable of the five, but I like this prospect too much not to include him on this list. Cole Caufield is the third best player in this draft class without a shadow of a doubt (in my eyes at least). Sadly, teams will presumably pass on this huge talent because of his tiny frame. Standing at 5’7″ and weighing 163 pounds, he is smaller than many teams would feel comfortable drafting high in the first round, which is absolutely ridiculous!

His frame is identical to that of 41 goalscorer Alex DeBrincat, give or take 1 centimetre and 2 pounds. This league is moving away from the tall and strong 2011 Boston Bruins mould and toward a  faster and more skillful game. This is why I believe that Cole Caufield can become a superstar in the NHL. All the signs point toward him being a generational goal scorer.

Caufield scored 72 goals for the USDP and finished on 100 points. His goal total came one away from tying that of former first overall pick, Auston Matthews, who is not exactly a bad player. Caufield’s 126 goals in his career for the USDP are the most in its history, 12 ahead of second-placed Phil Kessel. So, the kid (who looks even younger than KK did last year) can score. But what else can he do?

Caufield is an excellent skater, perhaps competing with Broberg, he accelerates very quickly and is incredibly agile. While he is small, he has an extremely strong lower body, which makes his explosiveness a very dangerous asset. His shot is obviously excellent, and he has very high offensive awareness.

While he is defensively sound and can be used on the penalty kill, his small stature makes him more effective defending at 5 on 5.

If the Montreal Canadiens get their hands on him, they will finally have an elite pure goalscorer (at least 40 goals), something the team has lacked since before I was born. The last occurrence of this was by Vincent Damphousse (now aged 51), back in 1994, the year in which Forrest Gump was released, and Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.

I really, really like this right winger, and he will be an absolute steal for whoever picks him if he falls outside of the top 5. He is possibly the most difficult player to project in this draft. I would not be surprised if he goes third or if he goes tenth. Fifteenth might be a bit of a stretch, but much crazier things have happened, Tampa, I’m looking at you.

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