Caulfield, 22 (3/19/01), completed his senior season at the University of North Dakota in 2022-23, recording 10-9=19 points with a +8 rating and 12 penalty minutes (PIM) in 39 games while serving as an assistant captain. He tied a career high in assists, while matching his personal best in appearances. Among team leaders this season, he ranked second in plus/minus, and fourth in points and goals.
The 6-4, 212-pound forward appeared in 133 career NCAA games with North Dakota from 2019-23, scoring 29-33=62 points with a +39 rating and 31 PIM. He set single-season career highs in scoring (11-9=20) and goals in 2021-22. He completed his junior season leading the club in shorthanded goals (3) while he was tied for second in goals. He also helped the Fighting Hawks to a NCHC championship in 2020-21.
Originally selected by Pittsburgh in the fifth round (145th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Caulfield scored 26-48=74 points in 123 games at the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) from 2017-19. He was teammates with Trevor Zegras and defenseman Drew Helleson. A native of Grand Forks N.D., Caulfield helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2019 U-18 World Championship and gold at the 2017 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.
Nickl, 21 (12/4/01), collected eight assists (0-8=8) and 69 PIM in 47 games with AIK of the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden's second division) this season. The 6-foot-2, 176-pound defenseman recorded 2-16=18 points in 88 career HockeyAllsvenskan contests with AIK and Mora IK from 2020-23. Nickl also skated in 15 games with Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in 2020-21.
Selected by Anaheim in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Nickl earned 10-29=39 points and 43 PIM in 58 games for Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in the 2019-20 season. The Klagenfurt, Austria native helped his country to a gold medal at the 2020 World Junior Championship Division 1 Group A tournament (second tier), and consecutive appearances at the 2018 and 2019 U-18 World Championship Division 1B tournaments (third tier).
