2024 NHL Draft Class - Cole Eiserman

Cole Eiserman scores goals.

Lots of them.

And he’s anxious to hear which NHL club will entrust him on providing future offensive returns come the end of June.

Hailing from Newburyport, Mass., Eiserman is the career goal-scoring leader with the U.S. National Team Development Program, setting a new mark with 127 goals for USA Hockey' U17 and U18 sides over the past two seasons.

He had 58 tucks in 57 games this year, tacking on 25 more in his first 24 games of USHL competition, and finished the season ranked #12 among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings.

Needless to say, a memorable campaign for the 17-year-old, but Eiserman is also bent on proving that there’s more to his game than tickling the twine.

“I’ve always been a goal-scorer, that’s kind of my identity and who I’ll be,” he said when reached by phone last week. “It’s just doing different stuff to be out there at the end of games, and be reliable defensively, so I can go out there and use my offensive skills but also be there to help the team, and shut (opponents) down."

His season concluded at the U18 World Championship in Finland, and he left his stamp on the tourney too, scoring nine times in seven games to help the U.S.A. reach the gold-medal game.

This year, Eiserman and co. were forced to settle for silver, falling in the final match to Canada.

A tough way to end the year, he admitted, but for Eiserman, the experience of representing his country on the international stage is all about perspective.

“It’s awesome, being able to put the U.S.A. jersey on is pretty cool,” he said. “There’s nothing really like it, because you’re playing for more than just hockey, you’re playing for people in the military and (people) who do the things that let us wear that jersey.

“That’s what you’re thinking of, and you’re trying to represent them in the best way you can.”

Eiserman comes from a big family.

He has four brothers - all hockey players - each of whom helped shape him as a player and a person.

To go along with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry, of course.

“It was pretty fun, I grew up watching them all play,” said Eiserman. “I was at a rink every weekend either for me, then I’d go watch them play. It was a lot of fun, I got to go to a lot of places, learn a lot of stuff too from them and their experiences, it definitely helped me out a lot.”

But Eiserman’s closest compatriot is fellow 2024 NHL Draft prospect Macklin Celebrini; their friendship is a cross-continent - and at times a cross-border one - but the two stay close no matter the distance between them.

“He’s my best bud, we were together at (Shattuck St. Mary’s) for two years and never really left each other’s side, whether it was in the gym, eating or shooting pucks together,” said Eiserman. “We still talk all the time, I’ll be friends with him for the rest of my life.

“It’s really cool to watch him play. We’re always there for each other.”

There’s a chance the pair could be re-united this fall, too.

Eiserman is committed to Boston University, while Celebrini won the Hobey Baker Award as a Terrier this past spring.

But Eiserman isn’t thinking that far ahead, especially with the NHL Combine on tap next week in Buffalo.

It’s an opportunity for him and his peers to break bread with NHL clubs - four days of interviews followed by a weekend of off-ice fitness testing, as the countdown to the NHL Draft in Las Vegas continues.

He’s looking forward to the experience, and eager to show his best in meetings with NHL general managers and scouting staffs.

“Being able to have face-to-face (conversations) with NHL teams is pretty huge, they can get a read on me as a person and player, maybe learn stuff that they didn’t know,” he said.

“I’m just trying to do the best I can to be a good person, and work my hardest there.”