The Montreal Canadiens weren't supposed to pick Cole Caufield in 2019 and everything changed at the last second

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MarcO
December 10, 2022 (9:55)

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In 2019, when Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmins took the stage in the first round of the draft to announce the selection of Cole Caufield at No. 15, many Canadiens fans were excited to see a natural goal scorer of his caliber come to Montreal.

The fact that he was still available at #15 gave some scouts reason to let him go because of his small size, but let's just say that three years later, some teams probably regret letting him go, especially the Flyers who preferred to select American defenseman Cam York, one spot ahead of #22.

While Caufield is collecting points on the Habs' first line with Nick Suzuki, York is currently playing in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

But did you know that Marc Bergevin didn't expect Cole Caufield to be available for the Habs' turn to go with his selection?

As reported by Nicolas Desrosiers of Marqueur.com, the former Habs GM revealed that Caufield's agent, Pat Brisson, advised him not to invite his client to dinner before the draft, as he was convinced he wouldn't be available at that rank in his opinion.

Listed by NHL Central Scouting at No. 8 and considered a top-five prospect by some experts, the Habs were fortunate enough to find that Caufield was still available and Bergevin did not hesitate to draft him.

In fact, according to Caufield's former coach in the American program, John Wroblewski, his small size was the only reason he fell all the way down to No. 15, because he had broken records wherever he played.

"That had to be the only reason. He broke every record at the college level, which doesn't guarantee a career in the NHL. He tied Alex Ovechkin's 18-and-under record in international competition. His size is the only thing that could have been a factor."

Now we know the rest. Currently, Cole Caufield is the fourth leading scorer of the 2019 crop with 69 points in 98 games and his 39 goals place him second, trailing only Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils.

While some first round picks in the Bergevin-Timmins era have proven to be disappointments over the years, it's safe to say they hit a real home run with the selection of Cole Caufield.