Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield has been named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for March. He becomes the first Habs player to win the honour since Carey Price in March 2008.
Caufield led all rookies in the league over the past month with seven goals and 15 points in 15 games. He had three goals and five assists for a total of eight power play points.
Caufield was favoured over teammate Rem Pitlick (3-8-11 in 15 games), centre Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks (3-7-10 in 13 games), left wing Michael Bunting of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1-9 in 10 games), goalie Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins (6-2-0; 3.10 GAA; .893 save percentage) and Vegas Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson (5-3-0; 2.73 GAA; .916 save percentage; one shutout).
Caufield, who has the most points for a Habs rookie in a calendar month since Michael Ryder in January 2004 (7-9-16 in 14 games), had at least one point in 11 of his 15 games in March.
He has played in 53 games this season and is among the NHL's top rookies in goals (fourth with four), assists (fifth with eight) and points (fourth with 12) on the power play.
The 21-year-old American was a first-round pick (15th) in the 2019 draft.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 1, 2022
