I don’t know what many supporters have against Cole Caufield. For some reason, they hate it and they distrust it. Like he’d started flirting with their sister.
I read too much and I hear too many sports commentators getting carried away by giving importance to a small group of fans who say anything. But here, it’s not just a few people who seem to hate Caufield. There are many.
Especially since Juraj Slafkovsky’s improvement. The latter should be sanctified, while Caufield is made good for nothing.
And I dont understand why.
In his last 12 games, it’s true that Messiah Slafkovsky is solid. He has 11 points.
Caufield, the no good one, has 12.
If he doesn’t make a point in his last two games, he will end his season with 64 points. At 23, I remember him.
This will be the 134th best season in Canadian history and he would be the 17th youngest player to reach this number of points. Not so bad after all in 114 years.
It’s like Jacques Lemaire at the same age, Yvan Cournoyer at 26, Bobby Smith at 24, Guy Lafleur at 20 or Mats Naslund at 24.
He will be the 9th player since 2000 to reach this plateau.
He is the 5th highest scorer in his draft year, even though he was chosen 15th overall.
If he doesn’t score, is he useless?
What I hear most often from Caufield’s detractors is that if he doesn’t score, he’s useless. While Slafkovsky can be very useful without producing.
These people don’t watch the same matches as me. I asked the Sportlogiq bots to see if I was the one who was crazy.
Six inches taller, Slakovsky should block a lot more of the opponent’s passes than Caufield. But no. Cole is better (2.5 per game).
The big Slovakian should spear more pucks too. But no, both do it the same.
Besides, it’s not for nothing that Slafkovsky is -19 this season. Caufield is -4 and is among the team’s best in this regard.
The immense Jurai should perhaps create fewer turnovers than Caufield since he has an easier time protecting the puck. But no, Cole is better. He is even top 30 in the NHL in this regard. And remember that Caufield keeps the puck on average 46 seconds per game. That’s 15 seconds longer than Slafkovsky.
We can also imagine that with his speed and size, CH’s first overall pick could generate more chances to score when he enters with the opposing puck. Again, no, not at all. Caufield is 33rd in the league for that. Slakovsky is 253rd.
Not 50 goals, but not bad
My point is not to plant Juraj Slafkovsky. He shut me out the last time I did it. It’s true that his progress is fantastic. He remains much better than Caufield in one-on-one fights and blocked shots.
My point is more to expose how Cole Caufield is not a tourist on the first line. He’s had some rough patches this season, but overall it’s far from a bad season.
We would have liked him to score 50 goals. Him too, in my opinion.
I fear that the situation of several fans with Caufield is a bit of a microcosm of what will happen with the Canadian next year. We expected an extraordinary season from Cole, it was not the case. It’s just been a good season. Many expect much better for the CH next year and even a fight for the playoffs. If it’s only better, but not much better, what will happen?
The pressure will increase at the Bell Centre.
-With the collaboration of Sportlogiq