Player Discussion Cole Caufield: The little man with the big future.

[Lshap]

Caufield's production went from The Twilight Zone to The Farkit Zone; let's hope next season is all about The Offensive Zone. A stronger defence shouldn't diminish his scoring. The kid generates chances and is a natural sniper.

 

[Ezpz]

The Galchenyuk example is bad as he performed really well at the start of the following season when it counted, he had 23 pts in 24 games +10 before his injury.

Yeah Chucky was every bit as good as his 30 goal season. It's something mental that put him off. People forget he was a 40-50 point guy for 5 years while being used terribly and not getting consistent minutes or linemates. He did very well in Arizona the first year and was on pace to be tied with Keller as their leading scorer. I think being traded in back to back summers shattered his confidence.

 

[waitin425]

If he plays with Suzuki and another well rounded player....the only thing Caufield will have to worry about is scoring. 30 goals incoming.

 

[SlafySZN]

no, and it shouldn't be expected of him either

Caufield is not a PPG player

its easy to rack up points when wins and losses don't matter

Oh, then why was he ‘’racking up’’ points in the playoffs then? The wins and losses didn’t matter i guess.

 

[Deebs]

Do we want Caufield to be a defensive specialist? I just want him to score as many goals as we can and play him with a defensively responsible center and winger.

He doesn't have to be a specialist but he does have to be responsible, which he's already shown glimpses of last season. He'll get there

 

[Sterling Archer]

He doesn't have to be a specialist but he does have to be responsible, which he's already shown glimpses of last season. He'll get there

He’s already shown he can back check well and doesn’t dog out plays so I think he’ll be fine. Last year everyone had terrible numbers so I wouldn’t hold that against him. I’m sure he’ll be fine but his priority should be scoring goals and not back checking.

 

[SlafySZN]

He’s already shown he can back check well and doesn’t dog out plays so I think he’ll be fine. Last year everyone had terrible numbers so I wouldn’t hold that against him. I’m sure he’ll be fine but his priority should be scoring goals and not back checking.

Plus with MLS, so his last 37 games, i think he was -9. Not that bad considering the situation of the team.

 

[DAChampion]

Caulfield 5th in a redraft.

Wheeler: Who goes first in a 2019 NHL Draft redo? How do their pre-draft rankings hold up?

At this point, the 2019 draft class's best haven't quite distinguished themselves like the top players in most classes.

theathletic.com

 

[Manse]

Caufield's production went from The Twilight Zone to The Farkit Zone; let's hope next season is all about The Offensive Zone. A stronger defence shouldn't diminish his scoring. The kid generates chances and is a natural sniper.

Agree but his size and his defend ability should be limited , PP time, jumping in on the rush should help bring down that +/-

 

[Kents polished head]

I still find it astounding that Caufield managed to produce 35 points in 37 games under Marty St-Louis when he came aboard as head coach for the Habs last season, replacing a floundering Ducharme behind the bench.

That's an extremely small .95 PPG sample for Caufield, but it's half a season, nonetheless.

I'm always weary of a season gone to hell, where players are commonly referred to as playing in the Farkit Zone, with no care for defensive assignments and looking to pad their stats. I'm weary of that kind of production, like Caufield had under St-Louis, as a genuine benchmark for a consistent production from a still young player.

Remember Galchenyuk and his 30 goals in the Farkit Zone, the year the team was spiralling towards the basement of the regular season standings and both Chucky and Patio-ready through all defensive caution to the wind to both reach the 30-goal plateau in consistently losing efforts?

If you're scoring goals by the shovel-full, like Pacioretty and Galchenyuk had done, but the opposing line is still outscoring you and your team keeps tallying up losses, if you score 26 goals as a D (19 of those on the PP), but boast an abysmal -28 at even strength, like Souray did one year, are those performances strictly outlier production levels (to be crippled when the team is now playing to win) and are they even impactful to the team's success by the style of play that lead to those totals?

Will Caufield keep producing in the same manner when the games are on the line and wins are expected?

Caufield, product of the Farkit Zone, or the real deal?

I tend to be careful with projections on Caufield over the next season, precisely because of that. I also remember guy like Galchenyuk and Desharnais padding their stats in seasons that were lost. Same with quite a few Leafs players back when they were tanking.

We'll see. I still think 30 goals and around 25 assists would prove to be a great sophomore year for Caufield.

 

[Adam Michaels]

In a 2019 re-draft, Wheeler has Cole going 5th overall to the Kings.

He has Hughes going 1st, Zegras going 2nd, and Seider going 3rd.

He has Dach at 11th (he went 3rd).

Kakko is 10th.

And he has the Habs taking Connor McMichael 15th.

 

[SlafySZN]

In a 2019 re-draft, Wheeler has Cole going 5th overall to the Kings.

He has Hughes going 1st, Zegras going 2nd, and Seider going 3rd.

He has Dach at 11th (he went 3rd).

Kakko is 10th.

And he has the Habs taking Connor McMichael 15th.

Would like to know why Kakko before Dach lol.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Would like to know why Kakko before Dach lol.

He said that he has yet to take and keep a Top-6 role. His trajectory is fragile because of that.

But he did say that he's the only one who he feels this upcoming season could change all that.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

In a 2019 re-draft, Wheeler has Cole going 5th overall to the Kings.

He has Hughes going 1st, Zegras going 2nd, and Seider going 3rd.

He has Dach at 11th (he went 3rd).

Kakko is 10th.

And he has the Habs taking Connor McMichael 15th.

Who is 4th before Caufield?

 

[SlafySZN]

Who is 4th before Caufield?

Boldy

 

[Sterling Archer]

Boldy

Boldy is a bigger Caufield.

 

[Montreal Impact FC]

Guys apparently Caufield hit the gym this summer and has grown 6 inches and gained lots of mass.

He will be showing up at camp at 6'0" 210 lbs.

In my dreams. Lol

Seriously it hard to really know what Caufield can do.. he has an elite+ shot elite offensive vision but... its all about how he will learn to pick his spots.. what he does but he will need to do it a lot better to reach another level he will need to be very cerebral. we know he wont grow, we know if he gains some mass that not gonna change much physically wise he doesnt have the marty stlouis genetics in the lower body. ( legs)

Its really hard to predict. ill just say.. 35 goals but who knows.. i think his performance is really gonna be about who he plays with and how fast he can find chemistry with his linemates.

Give him elite talent he may be around a 1.0 ppg+ Give him shit he might end up around 0.65 ppg.

 

[Habs Halifax]

It's a long season and his 22 goals in 37 games with MSL as the coach is not sustainable. However, you never know and the guy has a huge history of scoring goals everywhere he plays.

I'm going to say 35 goals if he plays close to a full season.

 

[KevSkillz4]

With Slafkovsky and Suzuki, he can certainly put 40 goals per season. I see PPG type of player with Caufield, 40g and 40a.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

we know if he gains some mass that not gonna change much physically wise he doesnt have the marty stlouis genetics in the lower body. ( legs)

Ridiculous comment.

Schwarzy was a scrawny kid.

You take-up muscle by training. It's hard work, not genes.

It's a long season and his 22 goals in 37 games with MSL as the coach is not sustainable. However, you never know and the guy has a huge history of scoring goals everywhere he plays.

I'm going to say 35 goals if he plays close to a full season.

Why is it unsustainable?

For all we know, he's just getting started.

It's not like his goals were a lucky streak. There's no hurdle in replicating that. I think his points will ramp up once we have better puck movement from the backend.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Why is it unsustainable?

For all we know, he's just getting started.

It's not like his goals were a lucky streak. There's no hurdle in replicating that. I think his points will ramp up once we have better puck movement from the backend.

Possible but not probable. A part of me sees the chemistry both Suzuki and Caufield have but it's a long season bro. I'm saying 70-80 pts is reachable but not going to expect it.

And the point you made about the back end is valid. That's why I'm pondering how much more Suzuki and Caufield can do. What I do know is if we don't have many injuries and we roll lines, I can see some momentum and with a better PP.

 

[Lshap]

I'll predict 35 goals for Cole. Unless Matheson and/or a rookie D step up, Habs are going to have a tough time moving the puck out of their zone.

I can see 40-45 goals the following season as he and the team mature.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Possible but not probable. A part of me sees the chemistry both Suzuki and Caufield have but it's a long season bro. I'm saying 70-80 pts is reachable but not going to expect it.

And the point you made about the back end is valid. That's why I'm pondering how much more Suzuki and Caufield can do. What I do know is if we don't have many injuries and we roll lines, I can see some momentum and with a better PP.

I'm pretty optimistic, barring injuries, they will both get around 70 points.

 

[Heffyhoof]

It's a long season and his 22 goals in 37 games with MSL as the coach is not sustainable. However, you never know and the guy has a huge history of scoring goals everywhere he plays.

I'm going to say 35 goals if he plays close to a full season.

Why not? That comes out to around 45 goals in an 82 game season and I definitely see him as a future 40+ goal scorer. Might not happen this coming season but I see no reason to suspect Caufield isn't capable of a 40 goal pace.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'm pretty optimistic, barring injuries, they will both get around 70 points.

If they play a full season, I think that is reachable for sure. 80+? Not sure. They both definitely have 60+ potential