Cole Caufield turning into a legit superstar

[Toby91ca]

Habs fans that weren't me.

Stop looking at excel sheets and watch the games.

Caufield is a new player.

If people were not looking at stat sheets, he wouldn't even be a topic of discussion right now.

I've been around hockey long enough at many different levels to be able to say some guys get it done and others don't. The eye test is only part of it....I can look at 2 guys play and think one guy is better than the other, but for whatever reason, that one guy simply can't put it in the net....just doesn't happen.

So, yeah....eye test suggest Caufield is a good player, lots of potential....his stats over last 50 games are coming through.....my point is pump the brakes a bit on calling him a superstar, right now it's just signs and potential.....it's not a knock on the player, it's the same thing most would say about any player.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I'm suprised at the player haters out in full effect the kid is actually gross. Habs have had ass forwards for 20 years at let us have one or two nice thing boys lmao

The eye test revealed that before he even joined the league. But my "we can't have nice things offensively in mtl " complex compels me to not get too excited.

Becoming the best winger in mtl since Lafleur isn't as great a feat as some might think.

Also this. Becoming the best winger since lafleur is not really some incredible achievement . He's not there yet but sky is the limit for him

 

[Voight]

How about just watching him play?

Yea he looks good out there some nights. But I'm not going to say hes turning into a legit superstar. Too early.

 

[ottawa]

If only the season was played from. February 10th until November 7th with 2.5 months of nothing in the middle of it.

It's not easy to take a 2.5 month break and pick up exactly where you left off, a very very few amount of people can do it. This kid is an absolute animal.

 

[Voight]

The eye test revealed that before he even joined the league. But my "we can't have nice things offensively in mtl " complex compels me to not get too excited.

Becoming the best winger in mtl since Lafleur isn't as great a feat as some might think.

Seriously. Who have they had since? A couple years of Mats Naslund, one or two good years of Richer/Kovalev/Bellows, early career LeClair and a couple of Recchi's prime years.

 

[Fainting Couch]

I could really care less.

I can tell. If you couldn't care less you wouldn't have posted.

 

[Wats]

His shooting % looks unsustainable to me, at least at 5v5 where he's close to 19%. If you look at 5v5 unblocked shot attempts he's sitting at 14.3% while his expected shooting percentage is only 6.8%.

I doubt he keeps up this 50+ goal pace so I think you're right. Do NCAA/junior shooting% normally translate to NHL? Feel like he's always had good shooting%

Seriously. Who have they had since? A couple years of Mats Naslund, one or two good years of Richer/Kovalev/Bellows, early career LeClair and a couple of Recchi's prime years.

Pacioretty is pretty underrated even by Habs fans. From 2012-2017 he had very little help and still managed to score. He was essentially the one-man offensive threat up front for teams that had decent regular season/mediocre playoff success. A better GM may have gotten him a real center. I don't think Caufield is as good as Pacioretty yet as we haven't really seen him produce without Suzuki (who is legitimately a star IMO, makes everyone he's with better).

 

[BKarchitect]

He’s a great young player the Habs should be thrilled to have for a long time coming. He’s absolutely a building block. Where he fits in the pantheon of top players in the league (the “rankings” or labels people are so obsessed with because we all like to view sports as an EA game that we can easily digest) is very much yet to be determined.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Lets see him actually hit 35+ goals and 60+ points in a full season before saying hes turning into one. Not 50 games spread out over two seasons.

if he stays healthy theres no way he doesnt hit 60 points this year


Suzuki/Caufield is legit 50% of our goals this season these 2 will hit 60+ ( unless injuries of course )

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

if he stays healthy theres no way he doesnt hit 60 points this year


Suzuki/Caufield is legit 50% of our goals this season these 2 will hit 60+ ( unless injuries of course )

They have an on ice shooting percentage around 17% right now - to give perspective, Matthews/Marner last year had around 11.5%.

I am not saying they can't keep it up, but I think they will need to carry play a bit more, and get their shot volumes up to keep up this kind of pace 5v5. Or maybe the PP just goes nuclear, that's possible too.

I'm a Caufield believer, btw. This isn't an attempt to create doubt.

 

[Haatley]

The "nothing" you're referring to goes by the name of Dominique Ducharme.

So... who coached the Canadiens in 20-21 when you guys were praising him after 10 regular season games and 20 playoff games?

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

They have an on ice shooting percentage around 17% right now - to give perspective, Matthews/Marner last year had around 11.5%.

I am not saying they can't keep it up, but I think they will need to carry play a bit more, and get their shot volumes up to keep up this kind of pace 5v5. Or maybe the PP just goes nuclear, that's possible too.

I'm a Caufield believer, btw. This isn't an attempt to create doubt.

yea i guess i shouldnt of said "theres no way he doesnt hit 60" when hes not even half way there yet Lol but those 2 kids have been amazing for us its been awhile we havent had forwards with ppg potentiel i dont think Caufield scores 80 points this year but i would be surprised if he doesnt hit 60+

So... who coached the Canadiens in 20-21 when you guys were praising him after 10 regular season games and 20 playoff games?

Caufield has 49 points in 49 gp since the coaching change

 

[Haatley]

I can tell. If you couldn't care less you wouldn't have posted.

I can have an opinion on a player. Calling me salty when Caufield's success level has absolutely no impact on my life as a hockey fan is what I am referring to. Try and follow the bouncing ball.

yea i guess i shouldnt of said "theres no way he doesnt hit 60" when hes not even half way there yet Lol but those 2 kids have been amazing for us its been awhile we havent had forwards with ppg potentiel i dont think Caufield scores 80 points this year but i would be surprised if he doesnt hit 60+


Caufield has 49 points in 49 gp since the coaching change so obviously that helped him alot

But who coached him when he had a successful start for a rookie?

 

[PaulD]

The eye test revealed that before he even joined the league. But my "we can't have nice things offensively in mtl " complex compels me to not get too excited.

Becoming the best winger in mtl since Lafleur isn't as great a feat as some might think.

Nazlund , Richer and Koveliv are the best winners since guy.
Caufield aiming to join that elite group.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

But who coached him when he had a successful start for a rookie?

Ducharme/Richardson

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Caufield, celebrating with teammates.

Interesting to note: His teammates couldn't actually see him down there, but they knew he was close by and did their best to encourage him. One eventually put a 4-step ladder over the boards so he could come off the ice.

View attachment 604528

ESPN says this is a real picture.

Seriously, what a joke of a company.

 

[Haatley]

Ducharme/Richardson

Oh.

So why was he able to perform under Ducharme? Could it be that maybe it has nothing to do with a coaching change and... believe it or not, young players go through struggles regularly?

 

[haak84]

I love that you're true to yourself and doubling down on your obsessive hate affair with Caufield. That'll make some great quotes to dig up in the near future along with those :

My mans brought a CVS receipt.

 

[Heldig]

Contract negotiations will be very interesting, I imagine.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Oh.

So why was he able to perform under Ducharme? Could it be that maybe it has nothing to do with a coaching change and... believe it or not, young players go through struggles regularly?

Caufield stats last season under Ducharme was 1 goal in 30 games

Caufield stats with MSL is 49 points in 49 games and one of the top scorers in the NHL

 

[MXD]

So... who coached the Canadiens in 20-21 when you guys were praising him after 10 regular season games and 20 playoff games?

The whole team cratered under Ducharme in 21-22. It's not a Caufield-specific thing. Everyone was awful. The effect was bigger for Caufield, because he was younger, thus lost more icetime. Yes, he had young players struggles, too, don't get me wrong on that. It's just that these struggles would normally have resulted in something like 8 goals in 30 games. Not 1.

 

[Gabe Kupari]

He's like a shorter Patrick Laine really... unreal offensive talent who will score 30 to 40 consistently but be one the ice for 50 goals against. Great O talent tho but has a ways to go defensively to be truly elite.

 

[BLNY]

He's a young star with the talent to be a superstar. The reason I think he'll get there is his dedication to improvement.

Watching him in his first season and a bit, it was clear that he wasn't the fastest guy on the ice. He's put in a tremendous amount of work since last year to not only improve his quickness but his overall speed. I don't know that he'll ever be top flight fast, but he's got the quickness to make space for himself and close on guys when playing without the puck. He's also working on other elements of his game. He's developing a one-timer. It's not there yet, but it shows he wants to be a multi-dimensional scorer.

 

[cedouimet]

I won't bash the guy, but I'm always very hesitant to call out a guy as a superstar or turning into a superstar until there is some sustained consistency. I think you've taken 2 very extreme positions here (I know exaggeration on purpose)....but there is middle ground.

If he's had a couple years of 40+ goals and 3rd looking no different and you have guys dragging him until he does it for 10-15 years, that's different. We are currently talking about a guy who's career high is 23 goals and 43 points. Doesn't matter what a reasonable person would agree his potential is, he hasn't proven anything yet.

Pulling goals scored for last 12 games or from Feb 10th last season to now also isn't a great way to gauge. If I were to name the most streaky thing that can occur in hockey....it's goal scorers scoring goals. Very, very few goal scorers are sure and steady just piling up goals, they come in bunches and this has been true over a long, long period of time. EXTREME example and very small sample size: Stamkos: first 5 games this year - #1, last 7 games - dead last.

Oh I 100% agree with you. Dont get me wrong, He is nowhere near "Superstar" level at the moment.

But acting like the guy is a 3rd liner hitting a hot streak....lucky rookie, or anything close to this is purely hating...

He is a very good player still working on his game. Goal scorer as good as they come. Lets find out if he can keep his rythm for a whole season.

 

[Tanknation]

Caufield has a fantastic shot, but he's also a defensive liability.

Not true at all. I would say he is average . In the middle of most offensive NHL players.