Meet Cole Eiserman, the 2024 NHL Draft’s scoring superstar drawing comparisons to Matthews, Ovechkin

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Cole Eiserman (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

BASEL, Switzerland – It’s fitting that a kid who wears No. 34 idolizes another No. 34. And plays like him, too.

Cole Eiserman is an exceptional prospect. Very few have a shot like his. That’s why, with eight goals in four games, he has the all-time U-17 American scoring record at the men’s U-18 World Hockey Championship. And there are still potentially three games to go for him to tie the all-time single-tournament record of 14, shared by Cole Caufield and Alex Ovechkin. With Eiserman at 68 goals this year, Caufield’s United States National Development Team single-season record of 72 is definitely in jeopardy.

So, yeah. Special indeed.

Special enough that scouts are starting to compare Eiserman to Auston Matthews, often regarded as one of the greatest players to come out of the USNTDP ever. Matthews recently had his single-season points record broken by Gabe Perreault. But given how his career has transpired with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his time with the American national team was just a sign of things to come.

And Matthews is someone that Eiserman, projected to go in the top three of the 2024 NHL Draft, greatly admires.

“Watching Auston Matthews as an American who is dominating the league is awesome,” Eiserman said. “I think I play like Auston Matthews. Just a guy who can score kind of from anywhere and can stickhandle a little bit and make plays.”

It’s one thing to model your game after a superstar. It’s another to have a similar career trajectory.

Like Matthews, Eiserman jumped up to the U-18 USNTDP lineup as a 16-year-old. Matthews had modest numbers, scoring 12 goals and 17 points in 20 games. In comparison, Eiserman has 25 goals and 30 points in 17 games with the U-18 team, highlighted by his eight goals and nine points in four World Championship games. Eiserman’s season has been one of the best in USNTDP history, which, considering some of the talent that’s come through like Matthews, Patrick Kane, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel and Jack Hughes, is quite astounding.

“We’ve seen it all year from him at the NTDP,” said coach Dan Muse. “He’s been playing with most of this U-18 team now for a couple of months. He’s a top goal-scorer. He’s a unique goal-scorer, too, in the way that he gets himself open, not just on the power play, but 5-on-5 as well.”

According to Eiserman himself, he doesn’t do anything extraordinary to get his shot so good. At home, he just practices with a homemade solution – just a good old driveway – for as long as he can. In warmups, you’ll see him waiting until there’s a free spot to fire his shot. Watching him in warmups is quite impressive, actually. You see a level of skill that only Bedard and Matthews show. And you can see just how dedicated Eiserman is to putting pucks in the net.

For the gear nerds, Eiserman says he uses a 77 flex with an extender to make it closer to 72. His idol, Matthews, uses 85, according to Pro Stock Hockey Sticks.

“I feel like the whippier it is, the more power you can really put into it,” Eiserman said.

There’s no denying that. His shot is his biggest weapon, allowing him to score from just about everywhere. He’s got incredible hands to pull off some mind-melting moves, but his wide variety of shots makes him so dynamic. Whether it be a quick wrister, a one-timer or a simple slapper, Eiserman’s shot looks NHL-ready right now. And some scouts have said the closest comparable in recent years might be Bedard.

A large reason for Eiserman’s success has to do with his main linemate, James Hagens. The pair became prominent at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge last fall, with Hagens leading the way with 21 points, and Eiserman sitting one behind in second. Together, they crushed Colin White’s previous single-tournament scoring record of 18 points, with Eiserman’s 12 goals tying Ovechkin for the record. The Americans were an unstoppable force, and it was the pair’s ability to find each other at will that raised eyebrows.

That chemistry continued into the regular season, and they were both called up a few months ago to finish the season with the U-18 team. The rest is history. It’s unfair watching them line up on USA’s third line with Will Vote, a group that’s better than most team’s top lines in Basel.

“I’ve never been able to step on the ice (with) someone that puts the puck in the back of the net that like that,” said Hagens, one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft.

Scouts have been in awe watching Eiserman in person this year. USA’s top line of Will Smith, Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard have become one of the best in U-18 World Championship history, but Eiserman’s exploits with the puck have brought back memories of guys like Ovechkin and Caufield. But a lot still point to what Matthews brought to the table at the same age as the best comparison.

“Matthews was always in the right spot at the right time, feeding off his teammates and making scoring look easy,” an NHL scout said. “There’s a reason he’s been so good in his career. He can shoot from anywhere and any way. That’s what you get out of Eiserman.”

The 2024 NHL Draft doesn’t have a phenom like Connor Bedard, but it’s still shaping up to have a solid high-end. Eiserman and Canada’s Macklin Celebrini are considered the best prospects for the draft. Finland’s Aron Kiviharju and Russia’s Ivan Demidov aren’t too far behind, either. There’s no consensus No. 1, but Eiserman has definitely stolen the show in Basel.

Regardless of what happens, we’re seeing greatness from Eiserman. And he’s only just getting started.

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