ANDY BAGGOT Insider

BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider

MADISON, Wis. — They have resumes that look remarkably alike.

Joe Pavelski and Cole Caufield grew up 17 years apart in Stevens Point and became standouts for the Wisconsin men's hockey team.

Both led the Badgers in scoring as a freshman and a sophomore, a unique accomplishment given there are only two others in program history to manage such a feat.

Both wore No. 8 with UW and both had brothers who played at the Division I level.

Both had perceived physical limitations — either too small or too slow — which triggered skepticism around the NHL clubs that drafted them.

Both elected to turn pro after their second season at Wisconsin and both left Madison having been linked to significant pieces of hardware.

For Pavelski, it was the NCAA championship trophy from 2006.

For Caufield, it was the Hobey Baker Award, which he received Friday night as the best college player in the land.

National titles are extremely hard to come by. Wisconsin has six, but none since Pavelski and Co. did the deed 15 years ago.

"An incredible finish for us," he said. "I just remember this drive of winning, of shutting down teams."

Hobey Baker winners at UW are a very select club. The school has had 14 nominees since the award was introduced in 1981, but Caufield and Blake Geoffrion, the 2010 recipient, are the only ones to win the Heisman Trophy of college hockey.

"I never wanted credit for anything and still don't want credit for anything today," said Geoffrion, now the assistant general manager for the Florida Panthers of the NHL, "but it was just nice to be patted on the back a little bit. That was a nice moment for me, one that I cherish."

Geoffrion helped guide the Badgers to the NCAA title game as a senior, but they fell to Boston College 5-0.

Geoffrion, who played center, and Caufield, a right winger, have their own career commonalities as well.

Both led UW in goals in back-to-back seasons. Both played at the prestigious U.S. National Team Development Program. Both were national players of the year and first-team All-Americans. Both have distinctive ties to the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in NHL history.

Geoffrion's father Danny, grandfather Bernie and great grandfather Howie Morenz famously played for the Canadiens. Blake was drafted by the Nashville Predators, but was traded to Montreal in 2012 and was playing for its minor-league affiliate in the American Hockey League when he sustained a career-ending head injury.

Caufield, meanwhile, was chosen by the Canadiens with the 15^th overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft and made his professional debut with Laval, their minor-league affiliate in the AHL, while the Hobey announcement was being made at the NCAA Frozen Four in Pittsburgh.

An elusive skater armed with a precise, thermonuclear shot, Caufield is fresh off a season in which he led the nation in points with 52 and goals with 30 while playing 31 games. He's the first UW player in 31 seasons to reach the 30-goal plateau and the first in two decades to lead the country in scoring.

Pavelski, 36, said Caufield, 20, is more than worthy of the Hobey and appears ready for the next stage of his hockey career.

"Obviously he's got some great hockey sense there," Pavelski said. "Just a great talent. And that shot. There's no reason his game doesn't translate to the NHL at some point.

"That's exciting. That's probably the No. 1 thing. How do you blend those skills together to make it work as far as sharing the puck and skating and going into hard areas and having the confidence to shoot it and make plays?"

Pavelski, a center who leads the Dallas Stars in scoring, was chosen by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round of the NHL draft in 2003. One of the initial knocks on him was his skating, so he can relate to Caufield, whose doubters wonder if his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame will hold him back.

"He should have success early," Pavelski said. "I think he sees the game really well. He skates well. Everyone's going to always knock the size, but he shoots it good. He creates a lot of space for himself the way he skates and his agility on the ice. There's no reason with his skill level that he can't make it."

The respect Pavelski has for Caufield is mutual. Caufield specifically asked for No. 8 because Pavelski wore it with the Badgers. Pavelski said he exchanged texts with Caufield during the college season and spoke with him occasionally via phone.

Speaking of common ground, Pavelski and Caufield join Mike Eaves (1974 to '76) and Dennis Olmstead (1972 to '74) as the only Wisconsin players to lead the team in scoring their first two seasons.

Also, Pavelski's younger brother Scott played at New Hampshire, while Caufield's older brother Brock, a winger, skates for UW.

Caufield improved on a freshman season in which he scored 19-17-36 in 36 games to lead the Big Ten Conference in scoring. Pavelski said Caufield's willingness to be more consistent in all three zones and embrace his role as a leader will serve him well regardless of where he's playing. Pavelski called it a "breakout" season.

"For him to accept that challenge and understand there is a way to get better, it's just another stepping stone for him to improve and get closer to his goal," Pavelski said. "I think he handled it well."

Pavelski said he and Caufield have never spent a lot of time together, but looks forward to that possibly changing this summer. Pavelski lives in McFarland during the offseason and trains with other NHL'ers who call the Madison area home. He hopes Caufield will join the group.

What awaits Caufield in the pros?

"He'll be challenged," Pavelski said. "Guys will come hard at him at times when they get their chances, but it's nothing to be scared of or shy away from."