Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield has fun in his AHL debut with Rocket

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What a day for Cole Caufield.

First he was named the Hobey Baker Award winner as the top player in U.S. college hockey this season, then he scored two goals and added an assist in his pro debut Friday night in Toronto, leading the AHL’s Laval Rocket to a 5-3 win over the Marlies.

“He did very well, right?” Rocket coach Joël Bouchard said after the game. “I think we all enjoyed it. I think the players and the staff enjoyed it. I’m sure people at home enjoyed it that watched the game (on TV). He handled it very well.

“It was a big day for him,” Bouchard added. “First game pro, he wins the Hobey Baker. He was in the office watching his name called before the game. We wanted him to live that moment with us and see it. So I think he’s going to sleep well tonight. He did really well.”

But Bouchard also warned that it was only one game for Caufield, who was selected by the Canadiens in the first round (15th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.

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“I don’t think we can go crazy tonight,” the coach said. “It’s one game … it’s a pro game. It’s going to take time, he’s only a 20-year-old kid. But I think we’re allowed to be happy and excited that in his first game he scored a couple of nice goals and we won the game. We cheer on our guys individually, too. We were very happy. We cheered in the dressing room when he won the Hobey Baker before the game. We put him in the starting five so we could kind of give him a clap. So I think it’s OK, but you got to realize that he’s a young guy and my job is to coach him. I’m not a fan, I’m a coach.

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“So I’m happy for him like I’m happy for all the guys when they do well,” Bouchard added. “But I got to go back and I got to keep coaching him. So again, I think it’s fine that we’re happy. We just got to be realistic on the pro game and adjusting.”

Caufield said he was having fun on the ice in his pro debut and it showed.

“I mean, hockey’s the best thing to do in the world,” he said. “So any time I can get out there I have the best time and it always feels a little bit better when you win.”

Caufield’s first goal was a highlight-reel one-timer on a power play and his second goal came on a rebound off his own shot.

Caufield also said he wasn’t nervous before the game.

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“I was just really excited to play a game,” he said. “I mean, it’s been a couple of weeks since my last game so it doesn’t feel like the season ever ended. I was just happy to be out there again.”

Caufield posted 30-22-52 totals in 31 games this season at the University of Wisconsin before signing a three-year, NHL entry-level contract with the Canadiens. He had to go through seven days of COVID-19 quarantine after arriving in Montreal from Wisconsin before he could join the Rocket.

“It was a fun night,” he said. “Obviously, it was special with the award, but all my focus was here with this game. So it felt good to get the win.”

The win improved the Rocket’s first-place record in the Canadian Division to 18-5-2, while the second-place Marlies fell to 10-10-1. Xavier Ouellet, Ryan Poehling and Yannick Veilleux (empty-netter) also scored for the Rocket, who will play the Marlies again Saturday afternoon (3 p.m., RDS2).

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Bouchard tipped his hat to University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato and his staff for how they helped develop Caufield over the past two seasons, noting the 5-foot-7, 170-pound right-winger has put on some muscle while becoming quicker and more dynamic. Bouchard added that there are still things he can teach Caufield about playing without the puck.

“It’s easier to teach this than to teach how to score goals, that’s for sure,” Bouchard said. “I cannot teach what he did tonight.”

scowan@postmedia.com

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