Cole Caufield’s missed date

It might not be little Roch who mistakenly receives a Maple Leafs jersey in the mail, but there’s a nice filigree hockey jersey story from the Dallas Stars’ visit to Montreal.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

Somewhere in the Dallas area, an 11-year-old boy named Nathan Pavelski is indeed impatiently waiting for a number 22 jersey from the Canadiens. Pavelski, as in Joe Pavelski, the Stars striker and father of Nathan.

It was Paul Caufield, Cole’s father, who tipped us off when we met last year in Vegas, during the playoffs. “I think Cole is his favorite player, maybe even ahead of Joe! laughed the father.

Wednesday noon, at the end of the Stars’ training at the Bell Center, we did the follow-up. Is Cole Caufield still Nathan Pavelski’s favorite player? The Stars veteran bursts out laughing.

In the meantime, Paul Caufield gave the Pavelskis one of the famous “Goal Caufield” jerseys that caused a stir last summer. Except that little Nathan still hopes to have the real vest of his idol.

“He’s been asking me for the jersey every week for months. He loves Cole, he loves everything about him. It’s the fun for me to see that, because it takes me back to my early days, when I was about Cole’s age. When Cole scores and I see the video pass, I send it to Nate. He’s a big fan. »

First duel

This relationship between Caufield and the Pavelskis is another example of the wheel of hockey turning. The bond that unites them, at the base: they attended the same high school in Stevens Point, a village in the middle of Wisconsin.

During his two seasons at the University of Wisconsin, Caufield wore 8 in honor of Pavelski, who wore that number with the Sharks for a dozen years.

Thursday evening, they will face each other for the very first time. Their first meeting was scheduled for January 18 in Dallas, but hours before the game, Caufield tested positive for COVID-19.

“I can’t wait to see him on the rink, in person!” Pavelski said. And it’s a big game for us. It’s a dangerous team. They are winning more and more, they are scoring more and more, they are playing hard and they are competitive. And we have just lost three games in a row. »

Like good wine

Pavelski can speak highly of Caufield all he wants, but he himself must have his share of admirers, because what he’s accomplished this season is not trivial.

At 37, here he is with 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 58 games. The American has always been productive, but he could finish the season averaging one point per game for the very first time in his career! If he succeeds, he would be the first player 37 or older to end a season with such an average since Martin St-Louis in 2013, according to Hockey-Reference data.

All that from a player who has never been known for his skating, in a league that is said to be getting faster and faster.

“It’s not hard for him to position himself well, because he thinks quickly, observes Jason Robertson, his linemate since the start of the season. You don’t have to be the fastest, you have to be in the right place at the right time. That’s how he finds success. He has good instincts around the net. »

Even though his production suggests he’s not about to break, Pavelski signed a short one-year contract extension last week.

“I’m very comfortable, because it gives us plenty of options,” he explains. We love Dallas, I love the team. People don’t realize that short-term contracts also have value. If there are changes, you are not stuck in a bad situation. »

With a one-year contract, for $ 5.5 million under the cap, Pavelski will indeed have no trouble finding a buyer if the Stars try a reset.

Richardson History

If the Stars are in a position to fight for a place in the playoffs, despite an aging core, it is thanks in particular to the emergence of Jason Robertson. Since the start of the shortened 2021 season, the American has 100 points in 101 games. This striker, drafted at 39^and rank in 2017, is also the fastest player to reach 100 points in the NHL in the history of the Stars. That said, he will have to make up for a poor performance, according to his head coach. Rick Bowness didn’t appreciate how Robertson held up in Tuesday’s 4-0 loss at Toronto. “His parents were there, it was his first game against his brother [Nick], it’s the NHL, the journalists talk about it, there’s noise and you have to evacuate that. But sometimes he stretched his presence. I talked to him about it today. He is entitled to a free pass this time, he will learn. A young person must learn to deal with that. The next time we go to Toronto, in front of his family, he will play better. »