Montreal Canadiens: Cole Caufield’s Wisconsin Badgers Left Off Ballot In College Hockey Rankings

Montreal Canadiens top prospect Cole Caufield not getting much love in preseason rankings.

Montreal Canadiens top prospect Cole Caufield headed off to Wisconsin to play for the Badgers last year on a team that was very optimistic about its chances in 2019-20. They had brought in Caufield as well as Alex Turcotte who was drafted 5th overall by the Los Angeles Kings and Dylan Holloway was another recruit who was projected to be a first round pick a year later.

On paper, their team looked great. On the ice, it didn’t perform so well.

The Badgers finished last in the Big Ten Conference and were swept in two games in the playoffs, ending their season in early March before the global pandemic had a chance to ruin the rest of its schedule.

This season, college hockey pundits aren’t liking what they are seeing from the Badgers on paper. United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) puts out rankings for college hockey teams every week. They did their preseason rankings earlier this week as teams are gearing up for the 2020-21 season, and Caufield’s Badgers were nowhere to be seen on the Top 20.

After a rough season, the Badgers lost several of their best players. Turcotte elected to turn pro after one season. K’Andre Miller was their number one defenceman in ice time and he chose to sign with the New York Rangers. Wyatt Kalynuk led the team in scoring by a defenceman and he chose to sign a pro contract as well.

That leaves the Badgers a little short on scoring. They will also be leaning on a freshman goaltender to carry them as well.

Caufield is going to need to be even better than he was last season when he scored 19 goals and 36 points in 36 games if the Badgers are going to make any noise in the Big Ten Conference.

Caufield isn’t the only Habs prospect playing NCAA this season. Jordan Harris and Jayden Struble play for Northeastern and they are ranked 19th. Both Habs draft picks will play a huge role on that team’s blue line and will factor greatly into their ability to try and climb into the Top Ten or drop out of the Top 20 altogether.

Brett Stapley plays for Denver and are ranked 5th in the preseason polls. They were a contender for a national title last year with Stapley playing a second line centre role. The third year pivot will play a huge role for them again after scoring 30 points in 35 games last season.

Canadiens 2020 second round pick Luke Tuch is headed to Boston University. They also were not ranked in the preseason poll. Blake Biondi, another 2020 draft pick is headed to University of Minnesota-Duluth who had one of the best teams in college hockey a year ago and are ranked third in the country to begin this season.

It will be fun to watch how Caufield’s season unfolds and it will be great to watch Harris and Struble play big minutes for a good Northeastern team. It will be interesting to watch Tuch and Biondi’s development as well, as they try to carve out a role on their new teams as freshmen.

Stapley is quietly developing well at Denver and has a chance to play a big role on a team contending for a national title.

Games begin as soon as November 13, and though no official schedule has been released, I’d expect we see these Habs prospects in action very soon.