Canadiens: Options For Cole Caufield if College Hockey Cancelled

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The Montreal Canadiens top prospect may be without a place to play in the fall. Where will he end up?

The Montreal Canadiens season continues on in the middle of August as the entire hockey world has shifted its calendar. The global pandemic caused by Covid-19 has the entire world turned upside down and the biggest hockey league in the world was not immune to its wrath.

For the first time ever, we are watching the Habs play playoff hockey in August. (If feels like the first time in a decade we have seen playoff hockey at all, but it has only been three years.

When the NHL season is thrown into chaos, the smaller leagues are likely to be impacted as much, if not more. That has definitely been the case worldwide. The NHL plans to finish its 2019-20 season by playing through August and through September as well. This will push back the 2020-21 schedule, that would normally begin in early October, back to a late November or early December start.

That is a minor inconvenience compared to other leagues. First of all, most leagues were not able to crown a 2020 champion at all. The NHL will do that later than usual, but the AHL, ECHL, all the Canadian Junior leagues and the NCAA Hockey conferences were all shut down before a winner could be declared.

Their 2020-21 season will also be negatively affected. While no one has officially cancelled anything for next season yet, everything has been pushed back. The AHL won’t play before December, neither will the WHL or OHL. The QMJHL plans an October 1 start, which is a few weeks later than usual. Due to school registration in Quebec, players are usually at training camp in the QMJHL by now, with preseason games starting around this time, so an October 1 start is a slight delay.

The biggest question hangs around the NCAA. This virus seems to be hitting the United States especially hard right now, and the NCAA has already announced a few conferences won’t participate in fall sports.

This technically doesn’t include hockey, but the Big Ten announcing it won’t have a regular college football season in September is a bad omen for winter sports as well. This would have a big impact on the Montreal Canadiens best prospect, Cole Caufield.

Caufield played in the Big Ten Conference for the Wisconsin Badgers last season. He had an exceptional freshman campaign, leading the conference in points with 24 points in 24 games. He is poised for a huge sophomore campaign, but we don’t know if that season will even take place.

If the NCAA Hockey calendar is wiped out, where does that leave Caufield? Assuming the Habs still think he isn’t quite ready for NHL duty, and he hasn’t played a game since they said that, he won’t be suiting up for the Canadiens in December.

So, where will he go if college hockey isn’t an option? Here are the three possible scenarios.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

3. Play Pro In Europe

This is not the most likely scenario, but it is one that makes a lot of sense. If the college hockey season is cancelled, Caufield needs to play somewhere. Even if the NCAA pushes its schedule back to the new year, the Habs goal scoring machine will not play a meaningful game for ten months.

That is not ideal for a teenaged prospect who should be making his NHL debut in early 2021, not playing his first game of the season for the Wisconsin Badgers.

If things are still up in the air for these North American leagues in a month or so, it would make a lot of sense for the Habs best prospect to follow what a Toronto Maple Leafs star recently did.

Before being drafted first overall by the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews had a number of choices to play his final season outside the NHL. He was a teenager who played in the United States Development Program and could have stayed there another year. Or, he could have played college hockey for a season. He could have even played for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL who owned his Junior rights.

Instead, Matthews went to Switzerland to play under Marc Crawford for a year. He scored 46 points in 36 games for Zurich. What better way to prepare to be a professional hockey player in the NHL than by playing professional hockey in Europe?

Caufield could be loaned out, or just sign with any team in Europe that he pleases. This would end his college hockey eligibility, but if there isn’t going to be a season, or even if we aren’t certain about there being a season, he could decide to not risk waiting around and go play somewhere else.

Being from Wisconsin and playing his entire hockey career in the USA hasn’t given him many ties to Europe. However, a team in Switzerland would love to have a 19 year old goal scoring machine. The European leagues typically start earlier than the NHL, so it would reduce the amount of time he isn’t playing at all and give the small winger a real taste of playing against grown men before he wears a Habs jersey for the first time.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2. Laval Rocket

While going to Europe if far better than not playing at all, it is a difficult decision for a young player to uproot his life and head overseas when there are options within North America. If the NCAA season isn’t happening, Caufield does not need to move halfway across the world to find a team to play on.

The simplest solution for him would be to just sign his entry-level contract and turn pro. He isn’t likely going to crack the Canadiens roster immediately, as Marc Bergevin stated that he needs more time to grow and build muscle before he can handle the NHL. The next best thing to the NHL would be the AHL.

A steep learning curve would still exist for the undersized winger. He plays against young men in NCAA Hockey, but the oldest players in that league are typically 22 or 23. A season in the AHL would pit the 19 year old against veterans of all ages who have years of experience in the pro game.

The Laval Rocket are well coached by Joel Bouchard. He helped young players like Cale Fleury, Noah Juulsen, Jake Evans and Jesperi Kotkaniemi rapidly prepare for NHL action. A season under the tutelage of Bouchard would do wonders for Caufield’s all-around game. We already know he can score goals and has an underrated ability to create plays with his stick handling and passing.

But can he translate him immense talent to the pro game and can he handle the defensive side of things? With some time working with Bouchard, he would be well prepared to step into the lineup for the Montreal Canadiens, if not late in the 20-21 season, certainly to begin the 21-22 campaign.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

1. Sault Ste Marie

Going to Europe would be a solid option for Caufield. Playing a season in the AHL would be just fine for him as well. But if the biggest hindrance to his game right now is his size and ability to handle a lengthy season playing against grown men, one year of Junior hockey wouldn’t hurt him at all.

A year ago, when Nick Suzuki attended his first training camp with the Canadiens, there was no question he was talented, but he was slender and not strong enough to play in the NHL. He played one more season in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack and Guelph Storm and was suddenly more than ready for NHL duty.

Caufield is a year younger than Suzuki and would be well served to follow the same career path. His rights are owned by the Soo Greyhounds and though players can’t leave the OHL to go play NCAA Hockey, they can go from college hockey to the OHL.

So, if there are any delays to the NCAA season, Caufield could bolt and suit up for the Greyhounds when they start play on December 1. Their regular season is slated to run until the end of April, with teams playing 64 games instead of the normal 68 game season.

Caufield’s OHL career would possibly last much longer than 64 games as the Greyhounds look to have a strong team already and could be hosting the 2021 Memorial Cup. They are on a very short list to host the annual event that crowns a Canadian Junior hockey champion. That list includes the Greyhounds and the Oshawa Generals.

Playing Junior hockey would have Caufield playing against younger competition than he saw last season. However, a 64 game schedule is twice as long as his college season and would prepare him well for the rigours of the National Hockey League calendar.

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If the college hockey season is cancelled, or even if it is undecided in a month or so, the most logical decision for the Montreal Canadiens top prospect is to move to the Ontario Hockey League and play for a great team in “The Soo” next season.

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