F Cole Caufield - USNTDP Juniors, USHL (2019, 15th, MTL)

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I agree that there is no way in hell Caufield turns pro this season. In fact I wouldn't doubt he spends two years in college before turning pro.

For fun here are the 5'7" and under NHLers over the past 5 season as per NHL.com

Nathan Gerbe - 5'4"
Rocco Grimaldi - 5'6"
Joe Whitney - 5'6"
Alex DeBrincat - 5'7"
Blake Lizotte - 5'7"
David Desharnais - 5'7"
Chris Conner - 5'7"
Stephen Gionta - 5'7"
Brian Gionta - 5'7"

B. Gionta was good. DeBrincat is pretty good. The rest suck.

 

[HOPE]

For all we know it is still very possible Caufield grows an extra inch or 2. I think both his dead and his brother were 5'10"

Gaudreau as well. If he’s 5’9 then I’m 6’1.

to be fair i think Gaudreau is realy 5'9, he's just realy thin. Look at a picture next to marchant, who i think is around weak 5'8

 

[HOPE]

For all we know it is still very possible Caufield grows an extra inch or 2. I think both his dead and his brother were 5'10"

his brother is listed as 5'8, his father is listed at 5'10 but stats were super boosted back then...

Caufield would be very lucky to hit 5'8, who knows he could end up 5'9 but i realy doubt it. i could care less, it doesn't change that he's already a strong kid, he's pretty built for his size, just looking at his jaw structure and neck, you can tell the kid is gonna be thick. he's 18 and shooting like this... Kids gonna be the real deal.

 

[Omark]

just looking at his jaw structure and neck, you can tell the kid is gonna be thick. he's 18 and shooting like this... Kids gonna be the real deal.

This is an excellent point. For example I was 180cm and I worked my ass off in the gym and got lot of muscle.. Still I was too small for hockey because my bones were too thin. Pencil neck / jaw / wrists etc. Caufield could destroy me in physical side of hockey even though I would beat him in bodybuilding contest and i’m 10cm taller.

I would add wide waist to plus side in hockey genetics. That gives a lot of mass and general strength. I didn’t have that either - Caufield has.

Johnny Gaudreau is miracle. He is thin boned and short but still elite player. Caufield is a tank whose success in the NHL won’t be about size in my opinion.

 

[montreal]

his brother is listed as 5'8, his father is listed at 5'10 but stats were super boosted back then...

Caufield would be very lucky to hit 5'8, who knows he could end up 5'9 but i realy doubt it. i could care less, it doesn't change that he's already a strong kid, he's pretty built for his size, just looking at his jaw structure and neck, you can tell the kid is gonna be thick. he's 18 and shooting like this... Kids gonna be the real deal.

his brother was listed at 5'9 last year on Wisconsin's site.

2018-19 Men's Hockey Roster | Wisconsin Athletics

 

[Michoulicious]

Great shot there.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Great shot there.

His shot is obviously already at NHL level.

 

[Legend123]

His shot is obviously already at NHL level.

its better than NHL level.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

its better than NHL level.

For fear of being a homer, I'll say this anyways, his shot would easily be in the upper echelon of NHL players.

Problem is, he needs to get other parts of his game better, first.

 

[Legend123]

For fear of being a homer, I'll say this anyways, his shot would easily be in the upper echelon of NHL players.

Problem is, he needs to get other parts of his game better, first.

Well, its not homer at all. Lets look at the Habs for instance, an above average team last season. The Habs were the 14th best team in scoring goals (at 249 minus 3 from the S/O wins). Yet, if Caufield made the team he would instantly have the best shot in the team except, for now, Gally. He's got a better one than Domi, who scored 28 goals. Drouin scored 18 and certainly doesnt have the best shot out there. Caufield would be one of the best shooters on an above average team.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Well, its not homer at all. Lets look at the Habs for instance, an above average team last season. The Habs were the 14th best team in scoring goals (at 249 minus 3 from the S/O wins). Yet, if Caufield made the team he would instantly have the best shot in the team except, for now, Gally. He's got a better one than Domi, who scored 28 goals. Drouin scored 18 and certainly doesnt have the best shot out there. Caufield would be one of the best shooters on an above average team.

You might be forgetting about some Weber guy. But yeah I agree Caufield would instantly be one of our biggest threats based on pure shooting. Domi's shot is better than what was advertised when he was traded but it's not 30 goals good honestly.

Caufield has tremendous accuracy and a sneaky quick release on his shot, kinda reminds me of how Patches in his heyday used to just roof it regardless of the amount of space given.

 

[CauZuki]

He's a mini-Ovi in terms of being deadly from the left side just a much smaller version. I think with the way the NHL is going in terms of skill and speed , he will have a great opportunity to use that shot of his and his lack of size shouldn't impede him much.

 

[Tim Wallach]

This is an excellent point. For example I was 180cm and I worked my ass off in the gym and got lot of muscle.. Still I was too small for hockey because my bones were too thin. Pencil neck / jaw / wrists etc. Caufield could destroy me in physical side of hockey even though I would beat him in bodybuilding contest and i’m 10cm taller.

I would add wide waist to plus side in hockey genetics. That gives a lot of mass and general strength. I didn’t have that either - Caufield has.

Johnny Gaudreau is miracle. He is thin boned and short but still elite player. Caufield is a tank whose success in the NHL won’t be about size in my opinion.

Thickness and bone structure are incredibly under-rated pieces of the size evaluation. I'm a big guy who on sight should have been a good prospect, but I never held a candle to two cousins who made it - one of whom is 7 inches shorter than me. The difference? They are thick. Solid as a brick and the skeletal difference is so hard to make up for.

And that's true of every single pro/semi-pro guy I played with. The ones I knew personally were all thick. It means more than height for sure. Just ask Dale Hunter.

 

[57special]

Yeah, look at how thick Gretzky was!

Talent comes in all shapes and sizes.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Even if he stays at 5"6 I think he's gonna be jacked when he makes it to the NHL. He seems rather strong with a very low body fat % already. I'm hoping he's a gym rat like Martin St. Louis

 

[tealhockey]

Even if he stays at 5"6 I think he's gonna be jacked when he makes it to the NHL. He seems rather strong with a very low body fat % already. I'm hoping he's a gym rat like Martin St. Louis

Sometimes a little 'draft fall' can be the best thing that happens to a guy. If he goes top 5 he might feel like he can enjoy himself and just do his thing as the big man on campus. He isn't even the top drafted guy in their freshman class lol. Going at 15 despite that year he had + to a franchise like MTL, seems like a situation that could get him keeping the pedal to the medal.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's a mini-Ovi in terms of being deadly from the left side just a much smaller version. I think with the way the NHL is going in terms of skill and speed , he will have a great opportunity to use that shot of his and his lack of size shouldn't impede him much.

He’s very different in how he scores his goals. He’s much better at finding space around the ice. He doesn’t stand still in one spot and hammer pucks by goalies as much as Ovechkin does. His shot is above-average, but he’s a better goal scorer than shooter.

 

[CauZuki]

He’s very different in how he scores his goals. He’s much better at finding space around the ice. He doesn’t stand still in one spot and hammer pucks by goalies as much as Ovechkin does. His shot is above-average, but he’s a better goal scorer than shooter.

I find that early Ovechkin was a lot like you described , he evolved into a less aggresif more strategic shooter (imo). This is the only comparison I am making of course and I don't want anybody to think I am comparing them in any other way except the way they both are thirsty for goals and seem to be able to find the hole that many others can't.

 

[tealhockey]

He’s very different in how he scores his goals. He’s much better at finding space around the ice. He doesn’t stand still in one spot and hammer pucks by goalies as much as Ovechkin does. His shot is above-average, but he’s a better goal scorer than shooter.

He doesn't have that booming basically-unstoppable shot that ovechkin does. He's a pretty high-end playmaker too, he's very good off the puck and making plays. Just a classic 'nose for the net' type guy

 

[Kamiccolo]

He's a mini-Ovi in terms of being deadly from the left side just a much smaller version. I think with the way the NHL is going in terms of skill and speed , he will have a great opportunity to use that shot of his and his lack of size shouldn't impede him much.

So I am the last one to doubt size in the modern NHL, but ehhh on this. People said the same about Laine, and teams have found a way to shut down his shot. Habs fans are right, they are smart to develop other parts of his game. You don't want him to come into the NHL based on his shot alone and then become type casted as a shooter with little room to grow based deployment.

 

[CauZuki]

So I am the last one to doubt size in the modern NHL, but ehhh on this. People said the same about Laine, and teams have found a way to shut down his shot. Habs fans are right, they are smart to develop other parts of his game. You don't want him to come into the NHL based on his shot alone and then become type casted as a shooter with little room to grow based deployment.

Laine is 5th in NHL history for goals before the age of 21, I can't say I agree with your assessment of him being "shut down". He's been very streaky for sure but he is still an elite and productive sniper. Caufield is looking very promising in terms of his hockey IQ , deadly shot and the fact that he is built strong even for a short player.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Laine is 5th in NHL history for goals before the age of 21, I can't say I agree with your assessment of him being "shut down". He's been very streaky for sure but he is still an elite and productive sniper. Caufield is looking very promising in terms of his hockey IQ , deadly shot and the fact that he is built strong even for a short player.

His decline of goal scoring is well graphed. This year he scored 90% of his goals in 1 month.

 

[CauZuki]

His decline of goal scoring is well graphed. This year he scored 90% of his goals in 1 month.

The length of data is no where close to make that assessment or establish any kind of pattern.

 

[Kamiccolo]

The length of data is no where close to make that assessment or establish any kind of pattern.

You guys are getting defensive over what was not even intended to be a shot. I said it is a good thing to let him develop more of a skillset. Jets fans are wishing Laine can reinvent his game and get a new tool or two, and with his shot, become a generational goal scorer like Ovi.

Nothing wrong with learning from that mistake and letting the kid get a bit stronger and work with your development staff to add a few tools before he hits the NHL. That's it.

 

[Legend123]

You guys are getting defensive over what was not even intended to be a shot. I said it is a good thing to let him develop more of a skillset. Jets fans are wishing Laine can reinvent his game and get a new tool or two, and with his shot, become a generational goal scorer like Ovi.

Nothing wrong with learning from that mistake and letting the kid get a bit stronger and work with your development staff to add a few tools before he hits the NHL. That's it.

Despite obviously being known as a pure goalscorer, hes got a few other elite skills. His IQ and Skills are elite for his age