Player Discussion Cole Caufield - Part 12

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bobholly39

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I was disappointed by his play in the finals. He had a few obvious mistakes/misplays with puck, which he didn't really do as often in earlier rounds. Not 'blaming' him, he's young, it's ok to make mistakes. I just was so impressed by his skills earlier on that I had a bit unrealistic expectations going into the finals, and he fell short of them.

Do you draft Caufield over Hughes if you had to do it all over again?

I don't know, maybe. He's still really small, and in the end still hasn't shown a whole lot at the NHL level yet despite our excitement. So there's at least some risk left to him. Hughes didn't have a great 18yr old NHL season, but he was drafted #1 for a reason.

If a redraft happened today - Caufield at least gets some serious looks at #1, whether they pull the trigger or not. Which is amazing on its own. Still believe Hughes gets taken first in the end though
 
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supsens

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So do leafs/sens/oilers fans still think Robertson/Pinto/Holloway is better?

As a Sens fan I say Pinto. Won't know for a few years but he was stealing passes and playing extremely well in his small sample this year.
6'2 solid derensive center is a hard thing to pass on. CC has a tough battle ahead trying to be 'the guy' they are the biggest target.
 

Habs Halifax

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No and I am a huge Caufield supporter. C > W

If tomorrow NJD offer us Hughes for Caufield I would pull the trigger.

I think Hughes has a lot of untapped potential.

I'm not sure how this will age but I would be undecided if I had to decide tomorrow. I realize the skill and potential Hughes has and I also realize we have seen a small sample from Caufield but I like what I see.

Will be interesting to see how this changes as time moves forward
 

BLONG7

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CC had a great playoffs also, that being said yes he had moments where he seemed to be a passenger, the kid is 20 and played 10 games of pro hockey before the playoffs....
This kid is a pure sniper.....the one thing that amazed me, is how unselfish he was with the puck, and is a great playmaker too.
He will have his challenges of course......but man what a player...
That crossbar is the final game, goes in, and who knows.....anyhow glad he dropped to 15 that draft!!
 

Habs Halifax

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When is the last time the Habs started the season with a legitimate rookie of the year candidate?

Kotkaniemi because he "didn't look out of place" as an 18 year old! :laugh: Funny but annoying at the same time.

Good question. Someone else said Subban which is probably the right answer
 

Habs Halifax

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CC had a great playoffs also, that being said yes he had moments where he seemed to be a passenger, the kid is 20 and played 10 games of pro hockey before the playoffs....
This kid is a pure sniper.....the one thing that amazed me, is how unselfish he was with the puck, and is a great playmaker too.
He will have his challenges of course......but man what a player...
That crossbar is the final game, goes in, and who knows.....anyhow glad he dropped to 15 that draft!!

The part of his game that was ahead of the expected development was his skating and vision. A nice bonus to see in the early stages. Drouin needs to watch how this kid don't stop moving his feet. Caufield has dealt with more physical players his entire time playing hockey and he's figured it out. He needs to skate, skate, skate, and have no hesitation when he gets that open space.

He's a good one. He will never be a physical type along the walls but he's smart enough to work around that and overcome it with creating offense in other areas.
 
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BaseballCoach

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I was disappointed by his play in the finals. He had a few obvious mistakes/misplays with puck, which he didn't really do as often in earlier rounds. Not 'blaming' him, he's young, it's ok to make mistakes. I just was so impressed by his skills earlier on that I had a bit unrealistic expectations going into the finals, and he fell short of them.
At least the brass did not screw with his head by benching him while playing a 7th round draft choice and an over-the-hill 4C over him.
 

GobigorGohome

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Only question will be his durability.
He is technically Tiny in a Big mans physical sport .By accident or on purpose some 230 lb player is going to destroy him.
 

Non Player Canadiens

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Jan 25, 2012
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Only question will be his durability.
He is technically Tiny in a Big mans physical sport .By accident or on purpose some 230 lb player is going to destroy him.
from what I can tell though the tiny guys (5'9 or less) don't often take big hits from big players nowadays. maybe they're afraid of hitting the head, which is good. I could be wrong but haven't seen it in a while

or maybe those small players who do make it to the NHL made it there because they're really really good at not putting themselves in that position. kind of like a survivor bias hah.
 
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FrankMTL

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from what I can tell though the tiny guys (5'9 or less) don't often take big hits from big players nowadays. maybe they're afraid of hitting the head, which is good. I could be wrong but haven't seen it in a while

or maybe those small players who do make it to the NHL made it there because they're really really good at not putting themselves in that position. kind of like a survivor bias hah.

Yes, like you say, when you're that small, you almost have a sixth sense about not getting hit. You know exactly when it's coming (for the most part) and how to avoid it. Their heads are constantly on a swivel.
 
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Picaroon

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Only question will be his durability.
He is technically Tiny in a Big mans physical sport .By accident or on purpose some 230 lb player is going to destroy him.
I always hear this narrative but is their any evidence behind it? St. Louis and Theo Fleury were pretty damn durable in a way way more physical era.

Edit: same could be said for Gaudreau and Kane. They have been relatively healthy and no more injured than the average player.
 
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tooji

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Only question will be his durability.
He is technically Tiny in a Big mans physical sport .By accident or on purpose some 230 lb player is going to destroy him.
he just played against some pretty huge guys at the highest level of competition and came out fine. He’s also always been the smallest player, even in college. He knows how to protect himself.
 
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Garo

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Jul 30, 2005
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I'm not sure about Caufield or Hughes but as a massive Zegras stan I might take him before both of them
 

Skip Bayless

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I'm not sure about Caufield or Hughes but as a massive Zegras stan I might take him before both of them
Zegras is the only guy I'd take above Caufield in retrospect as well. I just think looking back, if Caufield was 3-4 inches taller, he would've been #1. His goal scoring stats were insane.

Zegras was always my favorite prospect out of the USMNTDP, I never bought the Hughes hype as him being the clear cut #1 out of that draft class. Not to say that he'll bust or anything, he will most likely become an amazing player, but Zegras is more exciting IMO.
 
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