Montreal Canadiens: Cole Caufield named Big Ten Conference first star of the week

Montreal Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield is on fire in NCAA.

Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Cole Caufield has been off to a red hot start in the NCAA, and was rewarded for his efforts, being named the BIG Ten player of the week.

Caufield and the Wisconsin Badgers sit atop the conference, and are trying to improve on their last place finish from last season. The Badgers improved to four wins and two losses on the season, with consecutive wins over Penn State earlier this week.

Wisconsin’s offensive output has been noticeably improved, led by Senior Linus Weissbach and a Canadiens’ hopeful in Caufield.

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As a known goal scorer, Caufield was having trouble finding the back of the net. Previous to Tuesday night’s game against the Penn State Lions, Caufield collected one goal and four assists in his first five games of the season.

Goal scorers tend to be streaky, and this could hold true to Caufield. The floodgates opened on Tuesday, as Caufield put two well placed shots past Penn State goaltender Liam Souliere. The diminutive winger secured a hat trick with an empty netter in the dying minutes of the third period. He also accounted for a game-high eight shots in the win.

With his three point night, Caufield is ranked second in Big Ten scoring, and will look to build off his first season with the Badgers which saw him earn Freshman of the Year honors across the Big Ten conference. Getting on the scoreboard was a huge relief for Caufield, as he had been growing visibly frustrated with not being able to score consistently.

The Wisconsin Sophomore now sits at eight points in six games played, putting up four goals and four assists in that span.

The highlights from Caufield’s outbreak performance can be seen below. You will notice on both goals that Caufield uses his speed to drive wide, and then releases his patented wrister from the hashmarks. Caufield possesses an NHL quality shot, and will look to develop the rest of his game this season with Wisconsin.

The Badgers are set to take on Arizona State in a two-game series this weekend, and will then head to Columbus to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Canadiens’ first rounder will remain with Wisconsin for the next few games, before heading off to join team USA at the 2021 World Junior Hockey championship.