The Montreal Canadiens made the steal of the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft when they selected Cole Caufield. How did the elite goal scoring winger fall to them at 15th overall?
The Montreal Canadiens selected Cole Caufield with the 15th selection in the NHL Draft. He was ranked inside the top ten by almost everyone and is an elite level goal scorer. If things went according to plan, there is no way Caufield would be a Habs prospect this morning.
Things never quite go according to plan at the NHL Draft. When you have 31 different organizations creating secret lists to rank prospects from all over the world, you are going to get a lot of variety. Independent scouts and hockey fans can put together their own lists, but there are always a few surprises, even in the opening round.
There were a handful of surprises last night during the first half of round one that led to the Montreal Canadiens selecting perhaps the best goal scorer in the draft. You shouldn’t be able to do that when you pick at 15, but a few teams made head scratching decisions that they will regret in the near future.
Caufield was ranked around tenth by nearly every list you could find leading up to the draft. There is always a wide range when you search far and wide for draft rankings, but almost no one had the sniper falling to 15.
The first team that went off the board was the Detroit Red Wings. Ironically, they made the most predictable picks in last year’s first round when Filip Zadina fell to them at 6th overall and then Joe Veleno almost fell out of the first round altogether before the Wings grabbed him.
In the first round of the 2019 draft, the Wings stunned the crowd when they took defenseman Moritz Seider sixth overall. This was a head scratcher. If you search every mock draft on the internet, you won’t find Seider inside the top ten. Luckily, he’s in the Habs division, so when he does eventually make his way to the NHL, Caufield can remind the Wings on a regular basis that they made a huge mistake.
The next team that picked a player that should have gone well after Caufield was the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers need help, well, everywhere. They decided to attempt to upgrade the head coach and general manager at the end of the season. They could also use help on defence, at third line center, and especially on the wing.
So, why not take an elite goal scoring winger if you need help on the wing? Instead, they took a left defenseman who has question marks surrounding his defensive play. Philip Broberg is a fun player to watch because of his skating and ability to move the puck. However, it is also fun to watch the other team beat him and take advantage of his poor defensive zone coverage.
Oh wait, on second thought he is perfect for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Florida Panthers were the second division rival to make a huge mistake by passing on Caufield. When they were announcing the pick and started by saying U.S. National Development Team, I was certain they were taking the super sniper that was on the board.
Wrong. They decided to take the top goaltender available in the middle of the first round. I mean, it worked out so well for the Dallas Stars when they took Jack Campbell and the Los Angeles Kings when they nabbed Jonathan Bernier. Goalies are impossible to predict, so they really have no idea how this will turn out.
One pick later, and the same announcement was made about the United States National Development Program and I thought, “damn, Caufield is going to go one pick before the Canadiens.”
Then I realized the Philadelphia Flyers were taking Cam York. Really!?!? The team with Ivan Provorov, Matt Niskanen, Travis Sanheim, Phillippe Myers, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Braun, Robert Hagg and Samuel Morin needs a blue liner!?
They don’t. But, having lost Wayne Simmonds they could use a goal scoring winger, especially on the power play. They could have had one in Caufield, but decided to go with the puck moving defenseman. Don’t get me wrong, York is a solid prospect, but the Flyers are deep on the blue line, weak on the wings. Why not take a winger?
I can’t answer that question, but I can tell you that they will regret passing on Caufield. He should have been taken inside the top ten. Thanks to the Red Wings, Panthers, Flyers and Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens were able to land an excellent goal scorer in Cole Caufield.