Cole Caufield

Cole Caufield (born January 2, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 15th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

Following success with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP), Caufield played collegiately for the University of Wisconsin-Madison of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. He won the Hobey Baker Award and was the leading goal and point-scorer for the 2020–21 NCAA season.

Internationally, Caufield has represented the United States in numerous tournaments including winning a gold medal at the U17 WHC, a silver and bronze medal at the 2018 U18 WJC and 2019 U18 WJC respectively, and a gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Early life

Caufield was born in Mosinee, Wisconsin to a hockey-playing family and started skating at the age of two. In addition to ice hockey, Caufield also played baseball and football as a child. His father taught him to shoot from the right as he believed that right sided shots have an easier angle to access a goaltender's glove hand. He played Bantam AAA for Team Wisconsin and Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH), scoring 75 goals over two seasons for a total of 145 points before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in Plymouth, Michigan during spring 2017.

In his first year with the USNTDP, Caufield led the combined U17 and U18 team with 54 goals and 26 assists, falling one goal shy of matching the single season record of 55 set in 2014–15 by Auston Matthews. He likewise made a verbal commitment to play college ice hockey at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In the 2018–19 season, Caufield scored 72 goals and 28 assists, overtaking the all-time USNTDP goal record previously held by Phil Kessel as well as Matthews' aforementioned single season goal record.

Leading up to the 2019 NHL entry draft, Caufield was considered a top prospect and was ranked eighth by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau amongst North American skaters. On June 21, 2019, he was selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens. Shortly thereafter, he attended the Canadiens' annual development camp.

Playing career

Collegiate

2019–2021

Caufield played for the Wisconsin Badgers of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2019 to 2021. During his freshman season in 2019–20, he recorded 19 goals and 17 assists in 36 games, leading the Big Ten in goals scored to win the conference scoring title. For his efforts, Caufield was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, All-First Team, and was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming the second Badger to win the award after Trent Frederic in 2017.

With uncertainty surrounding the 2020–21 NCAA season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Caufield opted not to turn professional with the Canadiens and instead returned for his sophomore season with Wisconsin, saying that this decision was the "best thing for me...to come back, get another year, get stronger and faster and dominate more and become more of a leader".

During the aforementioned season, Caufield led the entire NCAA with 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games and became the first back-to-back Big Ten scoring champion. He was likewise selected to the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team, the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and earned both First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Player of the Year honors. On April 9, 2021, Caufield was named to the AHCA First-Team All-American and recipient of the annual Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA Division I men's ice hockey player, becoming the second player in school history to win same following Blake Geoffrion over a decade prior.

Professional

2021–2023

On March 27, 2021, Caufield was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by draft team the Montreal Canadiens. After the conclusion of his collegiate career, he was first assigned to the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket. He made his professional debut for Laval on April 9, recording two goals and one assist in a 5–3 win against the Toronto Marlies. Appearing in two AHL games for Laval, Caufield was recalled to the Canadiens' taxi squad on April 16 but was unable to be assigned to the active roster due to salary cap issues. Following injuries to teammates Paul Byron and Jonathan Drouin, Caufield made his NHL debut as an emergency recall in a 2–1 victory over the Calgary Flames on April 26. On May 1, he scored his first career NHL goal in a 3–2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, in a 3–2 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he became only the third player in NHL history to score his first two career goals in overtime. He concluded the regular season with four goals and an assist in ten games played.

After being a healthy scratch for the first two games of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, Caufield made his NHL playoff debut in a 2–1 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 24. He scored his first NHL playoff goal in a 4–1 Stanley Cup semifinal loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on June 14. A few days later, Caufield scored the go-ahead goal in the Canadiens' series-clinching win over Vegas. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals, he recorded three assists en route to a series loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Collectively, Caufield appeared in twenty games in his inaugural postseason run. His 12 points (four goals and eight assists) trailed only Claude Lemieux (10-6—16 in 1986) and Jacques Lemaire (7-6—13 in 1968) for the most by a Canadiens rookie in a single postseason. Caufield also became the first rookie in league history to record three overtime points in a single postseason.

Entering the 2021–22 NHL season as a favorite to win the Calder Memorial Trophy, Caufield struggled amidst the Canadiens' poor start, recording just a single assist in his first ten games. On November 1, he was sent down to play for the Laval Rocket, where he scored two goals and three assists in six games. The Canadiens subsequently recalled him to the main roster on November 18.

Both he and the team continued to struggle and, at the thirty game mark, Caufield had only one goal and seven assists to his credit. After the midseason replacement of head coach Dominique Ducharme with retired NHL star forward Martin St. Louis in February 2022, Caufield quickly saw his ice time increase, returning to the team's top line alongside Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson. He proceeded to score six goals in his next seven games, along with four assists, and was recognized as the Canadiens' player of the month for the first time. On March 15, Caufield scored two goals in eight seconds in a game against the Arizona Coyotes, the fastest two-goal performance for the Canadiens franchise since Stéphane Richer in 1987. He was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for March 2022, a period in which he led all rookies in goals (7) and total points (15). With this, Caufield became the first Canadiens player to receive this distinction since Carey Price in March 2008. In the final game of the season, Caufield scored his first career NHL hat-trick in a 10–2 victory over the Florida Panthers. He finished the season with 23 goals, tied for second in rookie goal-scoring behind Tanner Jeannot of the Nashville Predators with 24.

The 2022–23 season was expected to be a development year for the rebuilding Canadiens. With Caufield and Suzuki an established duo on the team's first line, head coach St. Louis began experimenting with different players in the other winger slot. The early games saw Anderson, Sean Monahan and Mike Hoffman rotate through the position, before being given to the recently acquired Kirby Dach, the former 2019 third overall selection whom held initial expectation as a centerman. The line combination of Caufield–Suzuki–Dach generated strong initial results. On December 1, Caufield played his 100th career NHL game, and scored the game-winning goal, his 40th in the league. His 40 goals through his first 100 games was the fourth-highest for a Canadiens player in the preceding nine decades, behind only honored team members and Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Béliveau, and Bernie Geoffrion. After scoring 26 goals and 10 assists in 46 games, it was announced on January 21 that Caufield required surgery for a shoulder injury that he had been playing through for some time, resulting in a premature end to his season.

2023–present

Following the completion of his entry-level contract in advance of the 2023–24 season, Caufield signed a new eight-year, $62.8 million extension with the Canadiens on June 5, 2023. With hopes of continuing his scoring pace from the first half of the prior campaign, he would unexpectedly record the lowest shooting percentage of his career. Caufield's scoring difficulties were a subject of considerable media discussion, and partially attributed by observers to his recovery from surgery. Despite these struggles, he still set new personal highs in goals (28) and points (65), and was credited for improved off-puck play. His line with Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovský earned praise for its collective performance.

In September 2024, Caufield announced that he would be switching jersey numbers from 22 to 13 following the death of Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau the month prior, citing Gaudreau as an inspiration for players of smaller stature such as himself. Coincidentally, he would register his 13th goal of the 2024–25 season on the road at Nationwide Arena versus the Blue Jackets. He scored his 100th career NHL goal in a 3–2 Canadiens win versus the Vegas Golden Knights on December 31, 2024. Thereafter, he registered his 200th career NHL point on February 25, 2025 against the Carolina Hurricanes, effectively becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach this juncture dating back over three decades (263 games played) following Stéphane Richer, who achieved the feat in 243 games culminating over the course of the 1988–89 season. On April 14, Caufield registered his 100th career NHL assist in a 4–3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

International play

In 2017, Caufield was selected to the World U-17 Hockey Challenge (U17 WHC), where he tallied eight goals and five assists in six games, leading the United States to a gold medal. After concluding the tournament with the most goals scored, he was named to the U17 WHC All-Star Team. He likewise helped his country capture gold at the 2017 Four Nations Cup in Russia, appearing in three games with six goals and one assist. At the 2018 IIHF World U-18 Championship, he notched six points in seven games towards a silver medal podium finish.

Caufield would continue his stellar play internationally the following season. In late 2018, Team USA won the 2018 Five Nations Cup in the Czech Republic, during which he recorded seven goals and two assists in four games. On April 27, 2019, Caufield tied Alex Ovechkin's single tournament goals record with 14 at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championship (U18 WJC), en route to a bronze medal. Collectively, he was named the Most Valuable Player, Best Forward, as well as member of the tournament all-star team.

Joining the junior national team for the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Caufield recorded two goals and three assists in seven games, helping the United States win a gold medal.

Following the 2023–24 NHL season, with the Canadiens failing to qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Caufield accepted an invitation to make his senior national team debut at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. He scored two goals in the team's group stage match against Poland, his first at the senior level. The Americans were ultimately eliminated in the quarterfinal by the Czech Republic.

Personal life

Caufield has an older brother, Brock, who likewise played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team, and is currently a member of the Reading Royals in the ECHL. Their father, Paul, born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, played for the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UWSP) from 1988–92 and remains the team's all-time leading scorer. He returned to UWSP in 2002 to work as an assistant coach, but resigned in 2006 to assume his current position as manager of Ice Hawks Arena.

Caufield's paternal grandfather, Wayne, a member of the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame since 2011, played semi-professional hockey from 1963–76 for numerous teams, most notably the Milwaukee Admirals of the United States Hockey League (USHL), and spent over two decades coaching youth hockey and managing hockey clinics in the Milwaukee area following his retirement. He died on July 13, 2018, at the age of 75 years.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

Records

USA Hockey National Team Development Program:
* Most goals, regular season: 72 (2018–19)
IIHF World U18 Championships:
* Most goals: 18 (2018, 2019)
** Most goals, single tournament: 14 (2019)
National Hockey League:
* Most overtime points by a rookie in a single playoff year: 3 (2021)

Notes

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caufield, Cole
2001 births
Living people
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
American men's ice hockey right wingers
American sportspeople of Canadian descent
American expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
Ice hockey players from Wisconsin
Laval Rocket players
Montreal Canadiens draft picks
Montreal Canadiens players
NHL first-round draft picks
People from Mosinee, Wisconsin
USA Hockey National Team Development Program players
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players
Stevens Point Area Senior High School alumni
Hobey Baker Award winners
21st-century American sportsmen