Olympic Games: Cole Caufield wouldn’t take part if it started today (according to Pierre LeBrun)

Dose
Crédit: (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

Cole Caufield has scored 12 goals in 15 games so far this season.

Only one NHL player has hit the back of the net more often than him so far… and that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who has 14 goals to his name.

But Caufield’s offensive brilliance doesn’t guarantee him a place in the Americans’ line-up for the next Olympics. Far from it, in fact…

According to Pierre LeBrun on RDS, Caufield would not be taking part in the event if the competition began today. The informant maintains that the little forward “is close” to securing his place, but that he obviously still has some points to win for it to happen.

Well… Are Americans stupid, or what, as my colleague Maxime Truman wondered last week?

What more will Cole have to do to prove he deserves a spot in the U.S. lineup?

The answer is: he’ll have to grow at least a few inches, because obviously, his height still bothers people. He’s clearly seen as a one-dimensional player by U.S. officials, and that’s unfortunate in a way, because Caufield has improved the rest of his game so much in recent years.

He’s become more responsible on the 200-foot ice and he’s no longer a problem defensively. Caufield knows he has to be involved in every facet of the game to be even more successful, and there’s a reason he’s having his best NHL moments right now: he’s doing things the right way, and there are even more results.

But hey. If Americans can’t recognize that, too bad for them. If they decide to deprive themselves of one of the best goal scorers on the planet right now, that’ll be their problem.

I think it’s a shame for the player, for example. Because he’s really proving that he deserves to be in the Olympics…

Overtime

– I love it.

– Yes.

– I’m going with Bedard!

– Great story.