After the Canadiens selected Cole Caufield in the first round of last Friday’s NHL Draft in Vancouver, the 5-foot-7, 163-pound right-winger said he was looking for the quickest route to the NHL.
After the Canadiens’ three-day development camp wrapped up Friday in Brossard, it looks like that route is going to go through the University of Wisconsin next season.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to go back to Wisconsin and I’ll train there for the summer and I guess see what happens,” Caufield said following Friday morning’s scrimmage. “I’m going to my exit interview right now.”
If Caufield, 18, does indeed go to the University of Wisconsin — the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds hold his junior rights — he will join his 20-year-old brother Brock, who is also a right-winger and posted 7-5-12 totals in 37 games as a freshman last season with the Badgers. Brock was invited to the Los Angeles Kings’ development camp this week. Cole had 72-28-100 totals in 67 games last season with the USA Hockey National Development Team Program’s U-18 squad.
Former NHL player Tony Granato coaches the Badgers.
“It was really cool to see him get drafted,” Brock said about his little brother during a phone interview Thursday night from L.A. “We grew up together and did everything together, so it almost felt like I was getting drafted. To see how hard he’s worked for that, it’s really special and he deserves it. We’d play sports in the back yard together — baseball, football, hockey. We did everything together growing up.”
Trying to keep up with his big brother in the back yard and in Wisconsin youth hockey definitely helped Cole’s development and they were teammates for one season in 2015-16 at Stevens Point Area High School when Brock posted 24-30-54 totals in 23 games as a junior and Cole had 25-33-58 totals as a freshman.
“I’ve always hoped for the best for him and he deserves everything,” Brock said about his brother. “Hopefully we’ll get to play together. That would be especially really cool for me if we do and I’m sure it would be the same for him.”
When Cole was asked Friday what he learned from the Canadiens’ three-day development camp, in which he displayed his wicked shot and quick release numerous times, he said: “Every day, you’ve got to show up, you’ve got to sleep like a pro, be a pro everywhere you go because everybody’s watching. And now that you go home, you kind of represent the Montreal Canadiens wherever you are. You’ve just got to carry yourself like a pro and act like it.”
Whatever happens, Brock said his little brother will just keep smiling.
“That’s just his personality,” Brock said. “No matter what’s happening, he’s just a smiley kid and he loves playing hockey. That’s just who he is and just the way he’s always been. He’s just a really happy kid.”
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