BROSSARD, Que. — A trip down memory lane Cole Caufield would prefer you not take: From Oct. 9-31 last year, when he scored 10 goals through the first 11 games of the season.
Did you forget he had more in that period than heâ€s collected through the first 11 games of this season?
Caufield didnâ€t.
But he also didnâ€t forget the feeling he had back then — and how different it was from what heâ€s feeling right now. The Wisconsonite may have been filling the net, but to say he was feeling unfulfilled by his all-around game would be understating it.
Caufield was downright frustrated with it, and he was especially disappointed by its impact on the Canadiens†4-6-1 start to the season.
But the Canadiens are 8-3-0 right now, and Caufieldâ€s all-around play is a huge part of that.
The nine goals have certainly helped. As colleague Jonathan Bernier of Le Journal de Montreal noted, four of them have given the Canadiens a lead, two of them have tied games, and the other three were scored in overtime.
But the 24-year-old is doing so much more than just scoring goals to help his team.
“My defensive side of the game has been a lot better,†Caufield said after practice Thursday. “I think, as a line, weâ€ve come a long way. All three of us are doing our own thing but coming together to make it work. I think weâ€re winning more battles and creating a lot more off the rush. Iâ€m winning more battles in the o-zone. I think that leads to more touches which helps a lot with scoring chances.â€
It’s what Caufield has been working on for three-plus years with Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.
Itâ€s not what they began working on immediately, though.
As St. Louis explained, there was a different priority then, when the Canadiens were playing out the string of a losing season and Caufield was stuck on one goal through 30 games and feeling miserable.
“When I took the job (in February 2022) there was 30-something games left,†said St. Louis. “I didnâ€t teach Cole how to play defence, I just played Cole. We talked offence a lot because, again, at the time, like with the rest of the team and the players, I needed to bring some enthusiasm (for him). The morale was really low. I think how you do that is talk about offence, because thatâ€s a fun part of the game.Â
“So, we got Cole in a good place mentally. He scored a lot of goals. And I felt like at that point he was ready to embark on the next chapter. When somebodyâ€s in a good place mentally, I feel like thatâ€s when you can do the most teaching. So, to me, it was building the relationship, lift his spirit, then teach.â€
The lessons took some time to pay off with consistency.
Caufield had 26 goals, 36 points and finished minus-10 through 46 games for a rebuilding Canadiens team in 2022-23. He was stronger all-around, but still a work in progress. He also played a lot of those games with a busted shoulder and then stopped to have season-ending surgery.
You could see Caufieldâ€s game really start to round out more the following season. With the Canadiens slowly building towards becoming more competitive, he had 28 goals and 65 points and finished a respectable minus-4.
Then Caufield had a career-high 37 goals and 70 points and finished plus-9 last season. He scored a ton of those goals at the start, but much preferred the way he played in the second half.
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And Caufield is particularly happy to have carried momentum from that second half into the start of this season.
With nine goals, Caufield once again has his share of the league lead. Scoring chances for the Canadiens at five-on-five are also 76-45 with him on the ice, which has as much to do with his offence as it does his urgency to play defence as soon as they lose the puck.
“Cole is playing the game,†said St. Louis. “Heâ€s understood the game demands you to do certain actions on the ice, and that from time to time the game will give you what you like to do on the ice, but you donâ€t know when thatâ€s coming. If you respect the rules at both ends of the ice, you get much more opportunity to do what you like doing. I think Cole gradually worked on that and has gotten to a place where he understands that and plays the game.â€
The work with St. Louis has helped.
The work in Michigan, during off-seasons, has also helped a lot. Caufield trains and skates regularly with a glut of American superstars there.
Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes are the group. Zack Werenski, Jake Sanderson, Kyle Connor and Trevor Zegras, too. And then thereâ€s Matty Beniers, Brendan Brisson, Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte, amongst other players who are “in and out,†according to Caufield.
“The sessions always start off pretty much the same, just getting your feet moving,†he said. “A lot of turns, a lot of speed stuff, a lot of moving, and a lot of shooting. Weâ€ve got Connor Hellebuyck and Scott Wedgewood in net, so that helps a lot and goes a long way.
“And then we work on game-like situations and finish with small games or battle drills.â€
When asked who he borrows from most out of the group, Caufield points to Connor, whoâ€s amassed 184 goals — second only to Auston Matthews among Americans — since the 2019-20 season (which was Caufieldâ€s first in the NHL).
“I would say just his attention to detail, and his ways of scoring are different every time,†Caufield adds. “He could score off the rush, one-timer, catch and release, just in all different ways. The way heâ€s able to do it and create for himself is pretty special, and heâ€s got a release thatâ€s pretty insane. Heâ€s able to go under the bar, and heâ€s also able to pick right under the hands, which is also something that I kind of picked up on a lot and tried to start using a little more to keep the goalies guessing. Heâ€s a really good guy to watch in drills and pick something off of to see if you can do it in games. Heâ€s a special player.â€
Caufield had potential to be one since well before he was drafted 15th overall by the Canadiens in 2019, but now he is one.
The five-foot-eight, 175-pound winger has gradually built himself into one of the most special and complete players in the league. He did it by refining his details away from the puck and focusing on winning his one-on-one battles despite almost always giving up size to his opponents.
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“I think heâ€s playing bigger,†said St. Louis. “I know heâ€s a small player, but he actually plays bigger now than his size, and thatâ€s something we talked about a lot. The way Cole is going to win a battle is different than (Juraj Slafkovsky is) going to win a battle, but thereâ€s still some kind of physicality involved in it. And itâ€s not necessarily blowing people up, but you canâ€t just come in there with chopsticks and try to win a battle. Canâ€t just pick the puck out and try to get involved. You need a pick and a shovel.â€
You need a calculated — and well-timed — approach, too, said Caufield.
“Itâ€s body positioning early and timing when to get under a stick. The stick battles are even more important.†he explained. “You almost have to get in there at the same time and then get out. And thereâ€s times when you canâ€t win a battle if youâ€re already in there, so timing is key. Thereâ€s other times when you have to try to win a battle youâ€re not likely to win because of timing or positioning, but you canâ€t win it if you donâ€t try.â€
Caufield consistently tries, though, and he consistently wins.
Itâ€s a big part of why the Canadiens are winning more consistently and itâ€s whatâ€s made him much happier than just scoring goals at the start of the season.
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