MONTREAL \u2014 Cole Caufield emerged from the dressing room and took a seat on the visitors\u2019 bench in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, not quite sure what he was about to see.<\/p>\n
He knew he\u2019d be shown some video from his days at the University of Wisconsin, but that was basically it, and it would have been fair for him to assume the video would include him scoring a goal because he scored 49 of them in 67 collegiate games.<\/p>\n
Instead, he was shown the opposite.<\/p>\n
Caufield watched videos of himself after practice during his freshman season in Madison, Wis., in the fall of 2019, a few months after the Montreal Canadiens selected him with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. The Badgers were working on shootout attempts on goaltender Jack Berry, and Caufield was not scoring.<\/p>\n
Not a single one.<\/p>\n
He laughed as he watched the video this week, but as he was shown more, it got progressively less funny.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I 0-for-3?\u201d he asked after the second one.<\/p>\n
He was.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did I not score any of them?\u201d he pondered when asked what was going through his mind while watching those videos. He was still laughing but a bit annoyed, too.<\/p>\n
The noteworthy part of those videos is what Caufield did after every failed attempt: He grabbed a puck, any puck, and put it in the net behind Berry while the goaltender was focused on the next shooter. The process epitomized Caufield\u2019s identity at the time \u2014 a pure goal scorer judged solely on that trait.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, for sure,\u201d Caufield said, agreeing with that assessment. \u201cI think that\u2019s the way I am. I just like seeing it going in.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is how Caufield defined himself back at Wisconsin and when he first arrived in the NHL mid-pandemic. He does not define himself that way anymore, at least not solely. By learning the importance of rounding out his game since his college days, he\u2019s become one of the most prolific goal scorers in the NHL, finishing with 51 this season, none of which were scored with the opposing goalie pulled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always room for improvement, but I think the strides taken these past couple of years, I just always want to improve my game; set those standards and follow them and try to reach higher ones,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cI think definitely my all-around game has gotten better, which has led to more opportunities and more looks. And I think that\u2019s even going to make my goal-scoring better, just by playing the right way and doing those things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cole Caufield’s NHL scoring by season<\/p>\n
Season<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Games<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Goals<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Points<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2020-21<\/p>\n
10<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
5<\/p>\n
2021-22<\/p>\n
67<\/p>\n
23<\/p>\n
43<\/p>\n
2022-23<\/p>\n
46<\/p>\n
26<\/p>\n
36<\/p>\n
2023-24<\/p>\n
82<\/p>\n
28<\/p>\n
65<\/p>\n
2024-25<\/p>\n
82<\/p>\n
37<\/p>\n
70<\/p>\n
2025-26<\/p>\n
81<\/p>\n
51<\/p>\n
88<\/p>\n
(Source: NHL.com)<\/p>\n
To be clear, Caufield still likes seeing it go in. He saw it go in 51 times this season. It\u2019s the process where Caufield has grown into the man he is today, as opposed to the kid he was in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say getting pucks back, hunting and not giving up on plays,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cThose second chances that allow you to create a lot more offence than just off the rush, extending those plays too, maybe not turning the puck over as much trying to make hope plays, just trying to make the more mature play and not hoping you\u2019re getting it back, but putting it in a place where you have a better chance of getting it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s kind of where the better players can take over, it\u2019s after that second touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting that second touch is as much of a skill as being able to put a puck in the net, though they are valued much differently. You have to understand the flow of the game, its rhythms and tendencies, and apply that knowledge in real time on the ice, without thinking.<\/p>\n
Martin St. Louis\u2019 arrival as Caufield\u2019s coach was a big factor in learning those rhythms and applying that knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get to this level and everybody\u2019s so good and detailed; it takes you failing and trying things,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cWe were obviously lucky enough to have Marty come in and let failure kind of happen to figure it out, with the right intentions, obviously. But he\u2019s definitely helped a lot of us grow with confidence, and not taking the stick out of your hands was huge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s calculated ways to do it, and obviously, we\u2019re slowly figuring it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
While St. Louis deserves a lot of credit for prioritizing that side of the game with Caufield, Caufield deserves at least as much credit for buying in and applying it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need courage, you need the brain, and you need the work ethic,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cTo go win a puck, you need to anticipate, and anticipation, you have to bring pace to that, and then you have to be close enough where you can have a hard action. The way that Cole\u2019s going to do it might not be exactly the way Slaf\u2019s going to do it; they\u2019re different players, different bodies, but it\u2019s got to be part of his intentions on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slaf is, of course, Caufield\u2019s longtime linemate Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd, who, as St. Louis mentioned, is on the opposite end of the spectrum of NHL body types from the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Caufield. Slafkovsk\u00fd is a massive human and has learned to take advantage of that in the NHL. Still, Slafkovsk\u00fd considers Caufield\u2019s size to be an advantage, because it allows him to catch opponents off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he surprises a lot of (defencemen) or a lot of players on the other team with how strong he is,\u201d Slafkovsk\u00fd said, before becoming very uneasy. \u201cUh, I don\u2019t want to say that he\u2019s small because then he\u2019s going to get mad at me, but he\u2019s not the tallest guy, but he\u2019s really strong for his size.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that surprises guys that maybe think they have an easy battle with him, and then he catches them with his physicality.\u201d<\/p>\n