Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield is continuing to put his goal-scoring ability on display, and he may make history playing for Wisconsin next year.
With each passing day, Cole Caufield looks more and more like a first-round steal for the Montreal Canadiens. His goal-scoring prowess was never in question given how much he produced in the 2018-19 season.
Caufield set records scoring 72 goals and 28 assists in 64 games with the US National U18 Team. A lot of that came from playing on childhood friend Jack Hughes‘ wing, but the 18-year-old was still able to produce without the 2019 first-overall pick in the lineup.
He puts himself in those high danger areas to capitalize but has the skill to create chances all on his own. What is getting hockey fans talking now was his most recent goal at the World Junior Summer Showcase.
The US found themselves down 2-0 with an opportunity to cut into the deficit on the power play. After receiving a pass from below the goal line, Caufield riffled a shot right over the short-side shoulder of Canadian goaltender Hunter Jones. There was no chance of saving it given the speed, release, and accuracy of the shot.
The #NTDP's all-time leading goal scorer doing what he does best at the #WJSS 🚨@colecaufield | #GoalCaufield 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/IzzqdnVdOq
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) July 30, 2019
Montreal Canadiens fans knew he was a shooter, but seeing this ridiculous shot was all the reassurance you need that Caufield is the real deal.
After the Summer Showcase is finished up, the next stop for Caufield will be the University of Wisconsin playing college hockey. Wisconsin finished fifth in the Big Ten losing to Penn State in the season-ending tournament in March.
The team had only one player hit double digits in scoring with sophomore Sean Dhooghe putting up 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in 37 games. That tied Seamus Malone for leading scorer who scored 8 goals and 18 assists.
You can tell already the kind of boost Wisconsin expects Caufield to have on the roster. College hockey and the US Development program are different beasts, but there’s no reason to doubt Caufield’s scoring abilities at the next level.
So what kind of impact will Caufield have exactly? Can he surpass Dhooghe’s 15 goals from this past season? Can he do something even greater?
When looking at the record books, the Mark and Alex Hicks share the record for the most goals scored by a Wisconsin player in a single season back in 1990. Both scored 31 goals, but Alex had the more impressive year as he added 48 assists to his total. Something to keep in mind is that it was in their sophomore seasons at Wisconsin; however, Alex showed promise even as a freshman scoring 21 goals.
The most recent name on the record books is Jordan Singer who is in a four-way tie for the ninth-most goals putting up 22 in 2013 (his senior year).
It’ll be difficult for Caufield given the required adjustments though Caufield has instilled enough confidence for Montreal Canadiens fans to believe he can get his name on the list. Either way, Wisconsin is likely to be a much more improved squad, and it’ll be interesting to see what Cole Caufield does for them in the fall.
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