Cole Caufield potential.

[MNRube]

People forget how quick and smart he is. Hes not just a tiny player with a great shot. I think he is a 60 P guy at worst, probably settles in around PPG eventually with possibility of going higher depedning on who is around him.

 

[Raian]

Caufield is waaaay better than Holtz.

Perhaps, but Holtz' shot is better and hes bigger so he could possibly just be in the perfect situation with Jack to explode

 

[NyQuil]

I tend to think that offensive contributors are limited in Montreal for whatever reason.

I think he has 80-90 point potential but I'm not sure he'll reach those heights regularly on the Habs.

 

[Xspyrit]

People really think he has Marty St. Louis, 80-90 pts potential?

It's "reasonnable" apparently

It makes me feel pretty young because I was not in Canada in the 80's (and was a kid)

Only elite forwards put PPG seasons with some kind of regularity. I don't know, think it's a bit early to pencil him among the elite.

 

[Mersss]

Perhaps, but Holtz' shot is better and hes bigger so he could possibly just be in the perfect situation with Jack to explode

Lol come one now... Holts is bigger, his shot is FAR from being Caufield level

 

[Wierzbowski426]

Lol come one now... Holts is bigger, his shot is FAR from being Caufield level

I definitely feel like Caufield is a better prospect at this point but is Caufields shot THAT good? Holtz shot was referred to by multiple scouts as the best in the 20 draft. I don't really think its the shot at the current point in time that is making Caufield a better prospect but rather the rest of his game.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

He has steady 30-30 goal potential with ability to hit 40-35 during his peak, IMO.

 

[TT1]

there's no 300+ option?

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

His peak will be similar to Gaudreau.

 

[Canadienna]

PPG is definitely not out of the question in his career.

I found it interesting when asked about him last night Toffoli mentioned how he's not telling Cole what to do out there, quite the opposite. He's letting Cole make all the decisions and following his lead.

Kind of crazy for a vet to say about a kid who's played a handful of NHL games.

 

[Ignite111]

Kid is the man. I put 70-80 but wouldn’t be surprised if he exceeds it.

 

[Sun God Nika]

potential to be an 80 pt player.

Likely to be in the 65-70pt range for averages in his prime some seasons above some season below. Won't give much else tho.

 

[780il]

A 30-30 guy at average, with 70-80 points at his peak

 

[Captain97]

I think he has a couple P/G years but lives around the 35-35 70 point range most of the time. Which will be awesome for 15th overall.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Give him another year and I’m positive he’ll be able to go on the big rides all by himself.

 

[ole ole]

idk about points yet but seems like he's going to be exactly the player that he everyone knew he had the potential to be and make ~8-10 of the teams that didn't pick him look silly

Ya i would say you nailed it. Funny how much hate and he got from a lot of posters because of
1-the Habs drafted him
2 Said he was to small to even make the nhl
3 Ya just because the Habs drafted him.

What a steal at #15.

 

[PavelBrendl]

These are the 14 guys picked before Caufield

Jack Hughes
Kaapo Kakko
Kirby Dach
Bowen Byram
Alex Turcotte
Moritz Seider
Dylan Cozens
Philip Broberg
Trevor Zegras
Vasili Podkolzin
Victor Soderstrom
Matthew Boldy
Spencer Knight
Cam York

I have said for a while that Caufield will be a good top-6 forward but there's plenty of guys that'll be good in here, and some very good.

Hughes, Zegras and Seider as elite players. Dach, Cozens, Byram and Boldy are going to be excellent too. Broberg, Kakko and Turcotte should/could be solid pieces too. I'm not a big fan of drafting goalies high but Knight is going to be among the best for a long time. Podkolzin, Soderstrom and York maybe should have been taken later but it's still early so I don't know.

Even after, there's still several players who could be as important or even better... Newhook (steal of the 1st round IMO), Heinola, Tomasino, McMichael, Pinto...

So who are those 8-10 teams that will look silly?

You're totally right. It's early, but this is looking like a very high-quality draft class.

I'm also of the opinion that Podkolzin may not end up being a high-end point-getter, but I think he will be a catalyst and will not be the kind of player that anyone regrets taking top-10.

 

[Xspyrit]

The last top line forward Montreal drafted was 6'2 Max Pacioretty in 2007

He's 32 y/o, has 304 career goals (+ 23 in playoffs)

Let's see if Caufield can actually top that, he has 11 seasons to score "only" 300 goals.

You're totally right. It's early, but this is looking like a very high-quality draft class.

I'm also of the opinion that Podkolzin may not end up being a high-end point-getter, but I think he will be a catalyst and will not be the kind of player that anyone regrets taking top-10.

Yeah it will be a fantastic class in the end, maybe there wasn't that much separation between 2019 and 2020

Ottawa's 19th OA pick is not their best, but if you switch it with Pinto at #32 then it's good again lol

 

[Captain97]

The last top line forward Montreal drafted was 6'2 Max Pacioretty in 2007

He's 32 y/o, has 304 career goals (+ 23 in playoffs)

Let's see if Caufield can actually top that, he has 11 seasons to score "only" 300 goals.



Yeah it will be a fantastic class in the end, maybe there wasn't that much separation between 2019 and 2020

Ottawa's 19th OA pick is not their best, but if you switch it with Pinto at #32 then it's good again lol

I mean Brendan Gallagher was the last top line forward we drafted not Patches.

 

[Legend123]

Perhaps, but Holtz' shot is better and hes bigger so he could possibly just be in the perfect situation with Jack to explode

Wut??

Holtz doesnt have a better shot

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I’ve seen few more polarizing players who aren’t very polarizing. Caufield will be a good top six forward. He won’t be great. He’s not boom/bust. He has a track record of scoring goals at every level, but he’s not going to be an elite skater or elite playmaker or elite defensive player. He’ll score goals to be a top six forward and won’t be a liability elsewhere, but you really shouldn’t expect any more than league average ability in other parts of the game.

 

[Xspyrit]

I mean Brendan Gallagher was the last top line forward we drafted not Patches.

Gallagher is a great player for various reasons. He had some good seasons, notably the 2 seasons where he scored 30 goals. BUT, his career average is 50 pts per 82 games. Maybe in Montreal it means "top line" but for most other markets, it means 2nd line. Is Connor Brown a "top line player" for you? Because that's what he has paced for the last 2 seasons (without much PP time)... And he just led the world hockey cup with 16 pts in 10 games. With his speed, non-stop motor plus his new-found level offensively, he's easily a top line forward if Gallagher is a top line forward... Another name, is Zach Hyman a "top line forward" for you? He has paced for 61 pts per 82 games since 2019-20

I don't think Gallagher numbers will go up in the next few years with his body and the kind of mileage he already has on it. I think you can be very happy if he's able to maintain that kind of pace for the next few seasons before he declines.

Ok so if Gallagher is still a "top line foward" for you, he was still drafted in 2010. No top-6 forward drafted since. Ok except lottery pick Galchenyuk who was a top-6 forward for 3-4 seasons.

 

[the paisanos guy]

Gallagher is a great player for various reasons. He had some good seasons, notably the 2 seasons where he scored 30 goals. BUT, his career average is 50 pts per 82 games. Maybe in Montreal it means "top line" but for most other markets, it means 2nd line. Is Connor Brown a "top line player" for you? Because that's what he has paced for the last 2 seasons (without much PP time)... And he just led the world hockey cup with 16 pts in 10 games. With his speed, non-stop motor plus his new-found level offensively, he's easily a top line forward if Gallagher is a top line forward... Another name, is Zach Hyman a "top line forward" for you? He has paced for 61 pts per 82 games since 2019-20

I don't think Gallagher numbers will go up in the next few years with his body and the kind of mileage he already has on it. I think you can be very happy if he's able to maintain that kind of pace for the next few seasons before he declines.

Ok so if Gallagher is still a "top line foward" for you, he was still drafted in 2010. No top-6 forward drafted since. Ok except lottery pick Galchenyuk who was a top-6 forward for 3-4 seasons.

You're severely overrating the term "top line forward" if you think a guy who's paced for 30+ goals the past four seasons isn't a top line forward.

Cherry-picking Connor Brown's best season to compare with Gallagher's career stats isn't making a great argument either.

 

[Xspyrit]

You're severely overrating the term "top line forward" if you think a guy who's paced for 30+ goals the past four seasons isn't a top line forward.

ok so is Hyman a top line forward? Because he has paced for 28 goals and 55 pts per 82 games the last 3 seasons. He's 91st in Pts/Game among forwards who played at least 82 games since 2018-19

Gallagher has paced for 32 goals and 55 pts per 82 games the last 4 seasons (so very similar to Hyman). He's also 91st in Pts/Game among forwards who played at least 82 games since 2017-18

Are Anders Lee, Bryan Rust, Viktor Arvidsson, Chris Kreider, James van Riemsdyk, Rickard Rakell, Tomas Tatar, Ondrej Palat, Jason Zucker, Dustin Brown, Timo Meier, Patric Hornqvist all top-line forwards to you? If you asnwer yes, then ok.

Like I said, Gallagher is a great player for various reasons, a good top-6 forward who is good at scoring dirty goals and create havoc around the other team's net, but if you want to call him a top-line forward, it's up to you. I certainly don't have to.

A few examples of top-line forwards (to me) : Filip Forsberg, David Perron, Brock Boeser, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jake Guentzel, Alex DeBrincat, Max Pacioretty, Nikolaj Ehlers...

Again, Gallagher is great but I don't see him at that level.

 

[Captain97]

ok so is Hyman a top line forward? Because he has paced for 28 goals and 55 pts per 82 games the last 3 seasons. He's 91st in Pts/Game among forwards who played at least 82 games since 2018-19

Gallagher has paced for 32 goals and 55 pts per 82 games the last 4 seasons (so very similar to Hyman). He's also 91st in Pts/Game among forwards who played at least 82 games since 2017-18

Are Anders Lee, Bryan Rust, Viktor Arvidsson, Chris Kreider, James van Riemsdyk, Rickard Rakell, Tomas Tatar, Ondrej Palat, Jason Zucker, Dustin Brown, Timo Meier, Patric Hornqvist all top-line forwards to you? If you asnwer yes, then ok.

Like I said, Gallagher is a great player for various reasons, a good top-6 forward who is good at scoring dirty goals and create havoc around the other team's net, but if you want to call him a top-line forward, it's up to you. I certainly don't have to.

A few examples of top-line forwards (to me) : Filip Forsberg, David Perron, Brock Boeser, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jake Guentzel, Alex DeBrincat, Max Pacioretty, Nikolaj Ehlers...

Again, Gallagher is great but I don't see him at that level.

Scoring 30+ goals consistently (or when avoiding broken fingers, and pacing for it)

Makes you a top line forward generally speaking as only about 30-40 players do it every year. So whenever healthy scoring that or scoring at that pace certainly makes you a top line forward.

Secondly, hockey is about more than just points. Gallagher plays on one of the most effective shutdown lines in hockey while being a 30 goal guy. So he scores and opposition does not.