The Montreal Canadiens have had a poor start to the 2024-25 NHL season, currently sitting at the bottom of the league standings, despite Cole Caufield’s impressive performance, leading with 12 goals. With the 4 Nations Face-Off approaching, the Wisconsin-born player is aiming to secure a spot on the American team. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Caufield is not expected to make Team USA.
LeBrun indicated that although no final decisions have been reached, it seems that despite Caufield’s strong offensive start, he is not likely to make the 23-man roster. He emphasized the exceptional depth of the USA team, which is arguably the best it has ever had in best-on-best hockey. While it remains a possibility for Caufield to join the team, the final selections are narrowing down to about four or five players. Though the 23-year-old has excelled offensively, he has faced challenges in other areas of his game, particularly defensively.
As of Thursday, Caufield is tied for the NHL lead with 12 goals but only has one assist and subpar defensive metrics, with a minus-2.4 expected defensive goals above replacement, ranking him among the lower performers in NHL forwards according to Evolving-Hockey.
LeBrun mentioned that the depth of Team USA will likely affect Caufield’s chances, given the presence of established players like Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, and Jake Guentzel. His defensive struggles make it harder to justify including such a young player on the roster.
Even if Caufield is not selected for this tournament, he is expected to have a spot on the roster for the 2026 Olympics, where he will be a year older and should improve defensively after missing out this time around. Additionally, he could serve as a potential asset for American fans if scoring becomes a challenge. While his exclusion carries some risk, the abundance of scoring options lessens that concern.
As long as Caufield maintains his scoring pace for the Canadiens, he is likely to earn a place on Team USA during his career. It seems he has peaked at a great time for top-tier competitions. Since the 2010 Olympics, there has only been one such event—the 2016 World Cup—but two are already scheduled for the upcoming year.
Should Caufield continue to score prolifically over the next two weeks, he could surprise everyone and secure a spot on the team. If he leads the league in goals by the roster finalization in December, he might just don the Red, White, and Blue.
