Caufield, Struble invited to U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp

MONTREAL - USA Hockey revealed its list of players invited to the upcoming 2021 U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp, and two Canadiens prospects will be up for consideration: Cole Caufield and Jayden Struble.

The camp, which will take place from October 8-13 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, MI, is part of the evaluation process for selecting a roster for the 2021 IIHF World Hockey Championship, set for December 25, 2020-January 5, 2021 in Edmonton. It is being held after USA Hockey cancelled the 2020 edition of its World Junior Summer Showcase, to which both Caufield and Struble had been invited.
Caufield, 19, is coming off his freshman year with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, where he led the team in scoring after netting 19 goals for 36 points in 36 games. With 24 of his points coming in 24 games in the Big Ten Conference, Caufield was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year for 2019-20. He finished as the top goal-scorer in his conference and ranked second in points. The Stevens Point, WI native was the Canadiens' first-round pick (15th overall) in 2019.

For his part, Struble played 21 games in his freshman year with the Northeastern University Huskies, scoring three goals for 10 points to go along with 13 blocked shots. The 6-foot, 194-pound 19-year-old helped the Huskies to a third consecutive Beanpot title back in February. Struble, a native of Cumberland, RI, was Montreal's second-round pick (46th overall) in 2019.