First of all, if you've not watched his post draft interview with the media you really should! You can find it here on the Canadiens' website:
Caufield charms the media and it's also worth watching what Marc Bergevin had to say:
The GM's thoughts on the pick
For me, the most interesting part of these interviews is the fact that Caufield clearly wants to play in the NHL as soon as possible. Of course, that cannot be next season since he's signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Wisconsin:
What is a NLI? I looked into that this morning and here's the lowdown on it:
They key point? This means that Caufield is committed to attending the University of Wisconsin full time for one academic year but after that? He's free to do as he pleases and judging by his interview he's not going to complete his degree before turning pro. The other takeaways from that interview? The kid took to the cameras like a fish to water, kind of reminded me of Max Domi's arrival in Montreal. Caufield seems like a player that will thrive in Montreal's intense hockey market.
As for Bergevin's interview, it was quite clear that he was incredibly pleased with the pick and that he was quite surprised to see the youngster still available when the Habs' turn to pick came. It was interesting to see his reaction when a journalist asked him what he would have done had Philadelphia not picked York and had he had to chose between the two American prospects. He declined to answer but the laugh that came out said that it would have been a dilemma for the Habs' brass. Bergevin said that he was won over by the kid's personality when they took him to dinner in Buffalo and by how important hockey was for him. Simply put, he said that hockey what his life and that he was just a great kid from a great family and even compared him to Brendan Gallagher. If there's one comparison that Habs' fans can get on board with, it's this one!
Caufield has already confirmed that he will be present at the Canadiens' development camp. While the dates and invitees have yet to be officially announced, but the Bell Sports Complex schedule in Brossard is out and it states that the camp will be held from June 25 to 28. Just like every Habs practice, the on-ice session are opened to the public and since I've got the week off, I think i'll make the drive up there for at least one of the days. What better way to check if the future is indeed bright than attending the development camp?
While the first round is now history, the Canadiens still have 9 picks left in this year's draft which will resume at 1 PM eastern time. Montreal will speak 46th and 50th in the second round, 77th in the third, 108th in the fourth, 131st, 136th and 138th in the fifth, 170th in the 6th and finally, 206th in the seventh. Unless of course some trades are made...
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