Chicago Blackhawks Draft: Cole Caufield a strong option at no. 3

The Chicago Blackhawks are going to select third overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Is another undersized pure goal scoring winger the answer?

There are plenty of options for the Chicago Blackhawks at third overall. There are some very good players for them to select at third, and this is a deep draft that they could even trade down and select a really good player.

There is a player that has been previously mentioned as a guy you would trade down and select, but recent events have shown him as a player that it might be worth taking third overall. His name is Cole Caufield and he is coming off of an incredible season for the United States National Development Program. He was also a member of the 2019 U-18 World Championship squad and had a record-breaking stretch there too.

The knock on this player is his size. He doesn’t really let his size keep him down when he plays hockey though. He is emerging as one of the best goal scoring prospects. He broke the all-time goals record for the NTDP. He can score with the best of them.

He is often compared to current Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat. The comparisons come because they are both small statured players. At 5-foot-7, DeBrincat has shown the entire NHL that they messed up letting him fall to the second round as he has become one of the best players from his draft. He benefits from playing with great playmakers like Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome but he has proven that he has great scoring ability everywhere he goes, including the NHL.

Caufield is hoping that he can do the same for whoever is bold enough to take him regardless of his size. If it were the Blackhawks, that could really add some goal scoring depth to their long term group. They would then have a winger to play with whichever center they wanted to use him with. He is probably going to play for Wisconsin for at least one season as he is already committed there. This could be the type of player that dominates the NCAA while he is there and then when his season is over, signs with the NHL team that drafts him in time for a late season push/postseason run.

Caufield had the luxury of playing on a line with Jack Hughes for a lot of 2018-19 and Hughes is going to be the first overall pick in this draft. Caufield being so successful with a guy like Hughes is something that might catch the eye of the Blackhawks. Hughes is often compared to Kane, so Caufield would certainly know how to play on a line with a guy of that skill set.

Whoever ends up with Caufield might be getting themselves a late-blooming draft gem and if the Blackhawks’ brass believes he is the third best player in the draft they should take him. His initial projection was in the latter half of the top ten or in the teens but Caufield has opened some eyes in the last month or so. This should be a great player once he reaches the NHL.