Le Top-10 des jeunes de 23 ans et moins du Canadien!

Aujourd'hui c'était la suite du classement annuel des banques d'espoirs des équipes de la LNH par Corey Pronman, expert en espoirs de The Athletic.

C'était au tour de la banque d'espoirs du Canadien de Montréal d'être évaluée, alors que le groupe, dont il a dû soustraire Jesperi Kotkaniemi parce qu'il évolue maintenant sur une base régulière dans la LNH, se classe en 6e position dans la LNH.

De tous les espoirs de l'équipe à ne pas jouer régulièrement dans la LNH, c'est le jeune attaquant Cole Caufield, plus récent choix de 1ere ronde de l'équipe au dernier repêchage, qui se classe au premier rang de la liste de Pronman qui le voit devenir dans le futur un attaquant élite dans la Ligue Nationale, rien de moins.

Pronman en a également profité pour faire le classement des 10 meilleurs jeunes joueurs de 23 ans et moins de l'organisation. Voici ce à quoi ressemble son classement:

1. Jesperi Kotkaniemi - C (19)
2. Cole Caufield - AD (18)
3. Nick Suzuki - C (20)
4. Ryan Poehling - C (20)
5. Josh Brook - D (20)
6. Cayden Primeau - G (20)
7. Victor Mete - D (21)
8. Alexander Romanov - D (19)
9. Noah Juulsen - D (22)
10. Jesse Ylonen - AD (19)

Êtes-vous en accord avec ce classement? 

Ça promet pour le futur à court et moyen terme du Canadien! 

1. Cole Caufield, RW, USNTDP-USHL

Jan. 2, 2001 | 5-foot-7 | 163 pounds

Tier: Elite NHL prospect

Caufield scored 72 goals this past season. That wasn’t a typo. Caufield’s shot is special. There’s plenty of snipers out there, but Caufield’s wrist shot technique is like a slingshot. He gets control of the puck and fires it a million miles an hour on target. He’s not going to pick a corner every shot, but his finishing rate is very good and he scored some of the most amazing goals I saw all of last season at any level.  He’s got a good one-timer/slap shot, but it’s his wrist shot that is special. He’s more than a shot, as in most games Caufield would have four-plus scoring chances. Part of that was due to having Jack Hughes as his linemate, but mostly it was due to Caufield’s skill set. His puck skills are fantastic. Every touch he makes is smooth. He can make the 1-on-1 plays versus defenders, but he has such quick, crisp touches that it allows him to get so many clean shots. His offensive timing is excellent, and he reads how plays develop very well. He’s got great vision with the ability to make plays off the rush or on the power play. He’s not as elite a skater as you’d hope for at 5-foot-7, but he’s got pull away speed and skates very well overall. His size is his main drawback, but Caufield competes well and attacks the net to score goals.

I think Caufield is an elite NHL prospect. It was clear this past draft a lot of the NHL scouting industry did not feel the same as he went 15th overall. Sources cited a myriad of concerns: some felt he lacks elite speed, some felt his vision isn’t that great, some felt he needed a driver like Hughes and some felt he won’t be able to penalty kill in the pros if he doesn’t score. I don’t agree with some of those arguments, and he will become one of the most debated prospects going forward. It’s worth noting I was on a bit of an island in the scouting community by putting him at No. 5 on my 2019 draft board. Even those NHL scouts who loved him were slotting him into the top 10 rather than top 5, and I’m going to take it on the chin if he doesn’t end up becoming the player I think he is capable of becoming.