Badgers in the NHL: Cole Caufield named Rookie of the Month for March

Montreal Canadiens, and former Wisconsin Badgers, right wing Cole Caufield, who led all rookies with seven goals and 15 points (7G, 8A—15 points) as well as three power-play goals (tied), five power-play assists and eight power-play points (3G, 5A—8 points) in 15 games, has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for March.

The Wisconsin native started off March red-hot, scoring at least one point in eight of his first nine games, including multi-point showings against Edmonton (1G-1A), Philadelphia (1G-1A), Arizona (2G) and Dallas (1G-1A), with the last three being in consecutive outings. His goal against the Flyers was his fourth overtime/game-winning goal of his young career and the multi-goal game against the Coyotes was the second of his career.

Caufield’s scored the most points by a Montreal rookie in a single calendar month since Michael Ryder in January 2004 (7G, 9A—16 points in 14 GP) and he was first Montreal player to be named Rookie of the Month since goaltender Carey Price in March 2008.

It seems as though the coaching change in Montreal, going from Dominique Ducharme to Martin St. Louis, has been especially great for Caufield.

And if you thought this was just a “March thing,” Caufield scored a goal on April 2 in a 5-4 Montreal win over Tampa Bay, kick-starting his campaign to win Rookie of the Month for the second straight month.

Caufield’s charismatic personality is unchanged even though he is finding success in the NHL. If you haven’t brushed up on your French recently, and can’t hear what he says in the video, the, uh, vertically challenged Caufield requested a stool for team picture day.