Caufield: Year 1 (and change) in the books

MONTREAL - It's been 472 days since the Canadiens made Cole Caufield their first-round pick with the 15th overall choice at the 2019 Draft in Vancouver, and what a year, 3 months, and 14 days it's been.

After finishing as the eighth-ranked North American skater in the Class of 2019, Caufield saw his name called by captain Shea Weber at 15th overall at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

What followed was a whirlwind of handshakes, hugs, interviews, autographs, and flashing bulbs from photo shoots.

The 5-foot-7, 162-pounder got to meet with his slightly taller idol on the Habs, Brendan Gallagher. The Canadiens' alternate captain conducted Caufield's first interview for HabsTV.

Caufield traveled to Montreal shortly afterwards to skate in the Canadiens' 2019 development camp before setting off on his college career.

He got off to a hot start with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, becoming only the second player in the program's history to score two goals in each of his first three games. By the time the Badgers went on break in December, Caufield had racked up 12 goals for 20 points.

The freshman forward was named to Team USA for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. He suited up for five games for his country, scoring one goal - the overtime winner against the host country in the USA's final game of the preliminaries - and adding one assist, although the United States was knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinal.

Back in the NCAA, the Stevens Point, WI native finished the campaign leading the Badgers in scoring with 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 closed out the season as the top goal-scorer in his conference and ranked second in points.

Caufield was recently invited to the U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp taking place in October, where he will be up for consideration for Team USA's roster for the 2021 World Juniors in Edmonton.