Michel Therrien was on the JiC show to talk about a few things, including Cole Caufield, who was recently sent to the AHL. In Therrien's eyes, as well as in the eyes of many of you, a stint with the Laval Rocket will only be beneficial for Caufield.
He is far from the only one to take this route. Nikita Kucherov did it, and then he is one of the top ten players in the league. Kris Letang has also been there, and has long been recognized as one of the best in the business. While we're on the subject of Letang, you should know that it was Michel Therrien who brought him to the NHL.
"We gave him seven games at 19 and sent him back to junior to get some experience. Then, in his first professional year, we didn't have room for him, he started in the AHL.
But as soon as we needed to call up a player, even if it was a forward, I told Ray Shero (the GM at the time) that we were going to call Letang up. So he started as a right winger and not many people know that. That said, he quickly made his way to defense because he was better than some of the defensemen on the team!" - Therrien
Yes, I was one of the people who criticized Caufield's demotion, but I still believe he will get a full tank of confidence. That confidence will certainly allow him to come back and haunt opposing NHL goalies and pick up where he left off last summer.
