Prospect Info: Where They Will Play Season '20-'21

[The Great Weal]

Sign him and play in the AHL. Junior he will score like 60 goals but wont be challenged defensively or physically and it's a step back from the NCAA

Ya I wouldn't want him to develop bad habits that would only make him successful in juniors/college.

 

[Steve Shutt]

I wish Caufield would have signed his ELC as of 2020-2021

He wanted to but the Habs didn't think he was ready and would benefit from another year in College. Thinking might be different now that OHL, AHL, NHL won't start until December and College Hockey might be canceled. Is Europe an option to start and he gives training camp a go in Nov with the option to play OHL, AHL, NHL depending upon progress and development made playing 10-15 games in Europe.

I think he'll head back to Wisconsin in the Fall and put all his effort into strength and conditioning but we might see him go a different direction late Fall depending on options available then.

 

[FrankMTL]

Ya there's no way I would let a prospect of this caliber sit till some time in 2021. He needs to play.

I guess the options would be CHL, AHL or Europe.

 

[sharks9]

Sign him and play in the AHL. Junior he will score like 60 goals but wont be challenged defensively or physically and it's a step back from the NCAA

The AHL will be a lot tougher this year as well if other junior leagues/NCAA aren't running normally

 

[FrankMTL]

I'm also curious what will happen to Struble and Harris. These are both good prospects that need to play.

 

[Adam Michaels]

I'm also curious what will happen to Struble and Harris. These are both good prospects that need to play.

Both can potentially play in the QMJHL.

Struble was drafted by Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in 2017.
And Harris was drafted by Val-d'Or Foreurs in 2016.

Harris would count as an overager.

Although the news about the Big Ten is mostly about Football. Chances are the hockey season will also follow suit.







However, so far, the Hockey East is still looking for a way to start as usual, favoring conference play. Because their schools are in much closer proximity to each other than other conferences, if there is one of the conferences to pull it off, it would be them.

 

[DAChampion]

Will there actually be an AHL season?

 

[Treb]

Will there actually be an AHL season?

Supposed to. Some teams might forfeit as they are not financially backed by NHL teams and need the gate revenue.

 

[montreal]

With the OHL and AHL looking at a Dec start, NCAA could be looking at a Jan start as a wild guess as that's when the 2nd half of NCAA hockey starts so if they do opt to push the season back, starting in Jan makes sense.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Looks more and more that Caufield and the Habs should be looking at other options. If not Laval, maybe Europe. College looks like a long shot at this point and he needs to continue to develop.

 

[ahmedou]

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I’d like to see Caufield in camp personally.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Big Ten officially cancels their fall seasons.

Technically, this doesn't include hockey, which is considered a winter sport. The sports cancelled here are football, volleyball, cross country, field hockey, and soccer.

But you have to expect the winter sports like hockey will end up being cancelled, as well.

 

[ahmedou]

How the COVID-19 pandemic might affect Cole Caufield’s upcoming year

Option 1: The CHL

The CHL is the league closest to the NCAA in terms of it’s development quality overall. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two leagues is that the CHL is for more free-flowing, loose hockey compared to the NCAA being a more defensively inclined league. What this means for Caufield is he could slide himself into a league that plays very much to his strength: scoring goals by the truckload.

Option 2: Sign ELC, assigned to the AHL

Since he wasn't drafted out of the CHL, he can be assigned to the AHL before the age of 20, which is a huge potential bonus for the Canadiens organization. The Laval Rocket, under the watchful eye of Bouchard, have begun to fix many of the long-standing issues that plagued development and prospects for years.

Option 3: Sign ELC, join the Canadiens
The Canadiens need goals. Caufield scores all of the goals. It’s a match made in hockey heaven.

Option 4: Wait it out, hope for an NCAA season
While football appears to be done in the Big Ten for now, hockey remains up in the air. Given current projections related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be shocking if hockey starts on time. Caufield and the Canadiens were both strong in their statements about his return to the NCAA, so it’s clear the forward wants to bring some trophies back to Wisconsin.

Option 1-4:

There really isn’t a bad choice for Caufield in this upcoming season, all things considered. In the OHL he’d very likely become one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the entire league, and Sault Ste. Marie has a long track record of developing NHL-quality players. If he were to sign an ELC with the Canadiens there’s a ready-made spot for him in the AHL with Bouchard, but he’d also have every chance to claim a spot on the NHL roster as well. And of course him returning to the NCAA should there be a season is just fine. He’s already proven himself to be a great goal-scorer for the Badgers, and he could put his mark on the entire NCAA in a second year.

 

[SpeedyPotato]

Is the NCAA season cancelled for hockey this year? If so does Caufield come with Laval? Does he go to the CHL?

 

[montreal]

Is the NCAA season cancelled for hockey this year? If so does Caufield come with Laval? Does he go to the CHL?

no not yet, nothing official has been announced yet for hockey. Some of the talk I've heard is they may push the start date back like many of the other leagues are doing. If they do cancel, we'll have to see what the Habs plans are for him, it's up to MB and Caufield to what they think is the best route.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Here is a board with each country's top leagues planned start dates. Some of them updated to new start dates.

So as far as European Habs prospects are concerned:

Liiga (Ikonen & Leskinen): October 1st (with 100% capacity)
SHL (Norlinder & Olofsson): September 19th

And in case someone like Khisamutdinov is loaned back to the KHL, their start date is slated for September 2nd.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Habs don't have any prospects in the Q, but if they draft any, the league will start October 1st behind closed doors:



There is also the possibility that maybe Struble and Harris play there.

Struble was drafted by Blainville and Harris by Val d'Or.

 

[ahmedou]

Suspension of sports in 2020 by NSIC: NCHC Updates

College hockey leagues still evaluating whether 2020-21 season can begin in late September, early October.

Fenton (NCHC commissioner) : “Men's hockey has a common start date of Oct. 3 and that's in the middle of the fall season, so we're having discussions about whether that's realistic or feasible.”

 

[ahmedou]

 

[CauZuki]

Romanov and the Draft are two of the few things I look forward to seeing from the Habs this fall.

Might get to see Caufield if the Big Ten gets cancelled for hockey (they already cancelled Football).

 

[montreal]

so as of now it's looking like the Euro leagues are still set to open on time, several more NHL teams loaned players there so it will be interesting to see what the Habs plans are.

the big question now is the NCAA which oddly hasn't said a word, as schools should be starting up next week or two.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Definitely one step at a time. Although I'm already looking forward to how he'll look when he gets to NHL camps in Septembers, first thing is to see him in the NCAA.

NHL camps, if all goes as scheduled, will be in November. Still no word on rookie camps, though. But I would bet those are off for the time being, as well. And then comes the question of what will the NCAA do with their schedule. They've cancelled their fall seasons, but that doesn't include ice hockey.

So a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.

 

[tazsub3]

NHL camps, if all goes as scheduled, will be in November. Still no word on rookie camps, though. But I would bet those are off for the time being, as well. And then comes the question of what will the NCAA do with their schedule. They've cancelled their fall seasons, but that doesn't include ice hockey.

So a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.

faling a vaccine break through doubt we start then, as no way a season can be done in a bubble

 

[Adam Michaels]

faling a vaccine break through doubt we start then, as no way a season can be done in a bubble

That is a very real possibility.

Have to keep an eye on a few other leagues with travel. MLB is off to a terrible start. But have to keep an eye out on if they improve on it. The MLS finished their tournament and are resuming their season with travel. And maybe take some pointers from European leagues that will begin their regular season with travel (and some even with capacity). The English Premier league completed their season with travel and had zero cases the entire way.

There will be a lot of logistics, but I can see them pulling it off.

We are in August right now. There is a lot of time until November/December.