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4 Nations Tournament : With 16 goals, Caufield makes a strong case for his selection

 Michaël Petit
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4 Nations Tournament : With 16 goals, Caufield makes a strong case for his selection
Credit: Despite the Montreal Canadiens’ bitter defeat by the Boston Bruins, there was one bright spot in the game. Cole Caufield scored two more goals to bring his total to 16 in 24 games. He’s now on pace for 54 goals this season. Incredible, though, especially considering that after more than a quarter of the season […]

Despite the Montreal Canadiens’ bitter defeat by the Boston Bruins, there was one bright spot in the game.

Cole Caufield scored two more goals to bring his total to 16 in 24 games.

He’s now on pace for 54 goals this season.

Incredible, though, especially considering that after more than a quarter of the season done, the Habs’ diminutive forward finds himself 3rd on the all-time scoring list.

He’s tied with Brayden Point, but only two players are ahead of Caufield at the moment: Sam Reinhart (18) and Leon Draisaitl (17).

Could this be the first time in ages? It’s not often that a Habs player is in the running for the Maurice-Richard Trophy, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be one of the finalists.

If he continues to score at such a high rate, he could also force Team USA ‘s hand for the famous 4 Nations Tournament.

Eric Engels still doesn’t believe there’s room for Caufield in the line-up (and rightly so).

While the majority of projected U.S. rosters don’t have Caufield, it’s important to understand that this season, Caufield is scoring in spades.

And yes, I know, it takes more than just finesse players in a well-stocked lineup like international lineups.

But the U.S. can count on big men and other players who do well defensively.

Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Tage Thomson, Matthew Boldy (selected three rows ahead of Caufield in 2019) and J.T. Miller are all players who bring a different dimension than pure talent.

If Team USA‘s Craig Button’s projected line-up is anything to go by, Caufield isn’t on it, but Luke’s brother Alex Tuch is.

Tuch is a big guy who is capable of putting it in. However, he lacks consistency and has often struggled with injuries

This season, he has 22 points in 24 games, but Cole Caufield has just as many points on an atrocious team and has twice as many goals as Tuch.

16 goals at this stage of the season is nothing to sneeze at.

International games are more often offensive, and in those moments, you need a guy like Caufield who brings an elite shot on one of the last two lines.

Because, obviously, Caufield won’t be in a top-6 role on the U.S. team.

For him to make the roster, you have to make room, and based on Button’s projection, there aren’t many options.

Alex Tuch would be one, but his physical appearance weighs heavily in the balance.

Jake Guentzel is one of the finesse depth players who could make room for CC22 on a bottom-6.

22 points in 23 games is good, but I’d rather have Alex Tuch in a depth role than Jake Guentzel.

I could see Caufield on a fourth line alongside a Matthew Boldy, since they played together with the American development program.

Paired with Dylan Larkin, this would be a very dangerous fourth line.


Overtime

– Impressive.

– Scottie Barnes developed his arsenal well and came very close to recording his 7th career triple-double (which is very impressive for a 23-year-old).

– RJ Barrett is having an excellent season and he proved it again in the game against the Miami Heat, in which he collected 37 points, in addition to seven rebounds and five assists.

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