Montreal Canadiens' sniper Cole Caufield can do more than score goals; he can write, and he can be a leader, too.
Montreal Canadiens’ sniper Cole Caufield penned a fantastic letter to The Players’ Tribune and asked the website to publish it just before Game 3 of the Habs first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was well-played. Not that Canadiens’ fans need to be even more pumped up than they already are, but for one of their idols to open up about his hockey journey and to personally ask them to make the Bell Centre electric on Friday night is next level.
Caufield can clearly handle himself being a keyboard; he’s put together a very interesting read filled with unknown details about his life, his family, his teammates, past and present. He throws a lot of flowers in the article, most of which are for his dad, the man who was more than just his dad. As he was growing up, he was also his chauffeur and his unofficial coach. The winger explains that dreaming about playing collegiate hockey meant he had to play outside his native Wisconsin time and time again. Still, his dad never thought twice and was ready to roll to the next tournament each weekend, even if it meant eight-hour drives each way. It puts a bit of context to the tears we saw streaming down his father’s face as he saw his son score his 50th goal of the season.
What’s most impressive about Caufield, though, is just how humble he is all the way through. He tells us that growing up, he never dreamed of playing in the NHL because he felt it was unrealistic; he just dreamed of getting a free ride to play collegiate hockey for the Wisconsin Badgers. He explains that his performance at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program led his soon-to-be friend Jack Hughes to ask the coach why he didn’t cut him.
He goes down memory lane to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, telling the story of how he shot a puck straight at Carey Price’s head at a morning skate in round 2 and how clear one of the team’s veterans was about the fact that he had never to do it again. Clearly, he loved the experience he got in those playoffs, but he knows it wasn’t as great as it could have been with the crowd restrictions in the Bell Centre because of COVID.
If fans were disappointed that there wouldn’t be any Saturday night game in Montreal, Mr. Saturday night certainly wasn’t, and neither were his teammates, focusing instead on how electric the arena would be for a Friday night game. His appreciation for the fans is clear, as is his appreciation for his coach and teammates.
He praises Martin St-Louis saying it’s an honor to be coached by one of the legends of the sports, he praises Nick Suzuki for all the assists and the leadership, he praises Lane Hutson for his professionalism, talent and how he pushes the group up, he praises Juraj Slafkovsky, too, saying it’s crazy that he doesn’t even know just how good he could eventually be.
The piece is a great read, not only for the fans but also for his teammates. Caufield may not wear a letter, but make no mistake, he’s one of the leaders of this team. Take the time to read his piece; you won’t be disappointed.
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