When the Montreal Canadiens drafted Cole Caufield 15th overall at the 2019 draft, fans and personnel alike couldn’t believe it. For a franchise that had been starved for offense for so long, the promise of a genuine sniper after his collegiate stage was almost too good to be true.

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Almost six years later, after two college years, a rookie season that included ups and downs and poor deployment, a sophomore season cut short by shoulder surgery, and a year in which he worked on his 200-foot game, Caufield finally hit 30 goals last night. I use finally because it feels like he’s been a member of the Canadiens for ages, but he’s still only 24.

The Canadiens still have 21 games to go, and if the first line keeps firing on all cylinders, the diminutive sniper could hit the 40-goal mark, something that hasn’t been seen in Montreal since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94, the season after Montreal won its last Stanley Cup.

Caufield is on pace with 30 goals in 61 games for precisely 40 goals. It must be an excellent feeling for the right winger who changed his number from 22 to 13 before the start of the season to honour his tragically fallen idol, Johnny Gaudreau. The 5-foot-9 athlete paved the way for athletes of small stature in the NHL and inspired the Wisconsin native.

The Canadiens' elimination from the playoffs last season allowed Caufield to play with his idol at the World Championships and even to forge a friendship with him. The Americans couldn’t get past the quarter-final stage, but the Canadiens’ sniper undoubtedly forged memories that will last a lifetime.

While he’s not very active on social media, he never misses an opportunity to share the tributes made to his idol this season or happenings with his family. When the Nationwide arena sang happy birthday to Johnny Junior, Caufield shared it on his Instagram.

Having a career year after switching his number to honor his idol is worthy of a Hollywood movie, but it really is happening for Caufield, who is reaping what he sowed throughout his career. Watching him go, though, it’s clear that we haven’t even seen his ceiling yet.

Had Patrik Laine not landed in his spot on the power play, Caufield would most probably have even more goals this season, but it's reassuring that he didn’t let that get him down; he just got his goals in another manner. Twenty of his goals came at even strength, and the same number came on the road when Martin St-Louis couldn’t pick the matchups, which makes the feat even more impressive.

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