Despite surrendering 10 goals over the weekend, the Wisconsin Badgers came away with a 1-1 record thanks to a trio of freshmen with big college hockey debuts.

Last week, FloHockey posed the question of the Badgers' recruits coming through in 2019-20, and they hardly disappointed in the opening weekend.

After a 20-win campaign in coach Tony Granato’s debut NCAA season, the Badgers have had a pair of disappointing campaigns. Granato, who spent 14 years on NHL coaching staffs, is showing off his own recruits in his fourth season with the Badgers.

Those recruits showed through the first weekend of play that the team will go where they take it. Alex Turcotte and Cole Caufield highlight the roster after considerable success last season with the USDP.

Turcotte posted 62 points (27 G, 35 A) in 37 games, making a name for himself as a superb two-way center with great hockey sense and offensive skill to match. He was drafted fifth overall by the Los Angeles Kings.

The native of Island Lake, IL, recorded an assist in his debut before a three-point performance (2 G, 1 A) in his second game helped the Badgers secure an 11-5 victory over Merrimack.

Caufield set USDP record for the most goals in a single season, netting 72 of them in just 64 games. He added 28 assists for 100 total points in 2018-19, which places him sixth for single-season scoring. Concerns about his 5-foot-7 frame saw him slip in the draft, landing at 15th overall to the Montreal Canadiens.

Caufield is wasting no time fending off the doubters after a two-goal performance in his NCAA debut. Perhaps he has a chip on his shoulder following the NHL draft, or maybe he’s just a pure goal scorer.

Evidence points to the latter, as the diminutive forward scored another three points (2 G, 1 A) in Saturday’s 11-5 win, becoming the first Badger player with multi-goal games to open his NCAA career.

It's never been done before.

First Badger in the modern era (since 1963) with multiple goals in his first two games. @colecaufield pic.twitter.com/XdnMIugcXV

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) October 13, 2019

Turcotte and Caufield spent the first two games together on a line with junior Linus Weissbach, a seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2017. Weissbach posted 25 points (8 G, 17 A) in 27 games with the Badgers last season, tied for third on the team in ten fewer games.

But there’s more to the Badgers’ revamped lineup than a pair of USDP alumni — because there’s a third one making his own mark.

Owen Lindmark, a fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers this summer, also played with the USDP last season, scoring 25 points (11 G, 14 A) in 56 games as a depth player.

Lindmark’s stat line doesn’t match up to his USDP colleagues, not those who joined him in Wisconsin or those that committed to other NCAA teams, which included Boston College and the University of Michigan.

But that hardly points to a lack of skill. Lindmark, an Oklahoma native who didn’t start skating until the age of 8, can certainly appreciate and understand his teammate Caufield’s strive to silence the critics.

And he’s doing just that. Lindmark is fourth in team scoring through the first tow games with a goal and three points. Lindmark, sophomore Roman Ahcan, and junior Ty Pelton-Byce combined for seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the team’s win over Merrimack.

But, like any top-end NHL draft pick playing in college, there’s always concern about an early departure when that NHL team comes calling with a pen and paper. Depending on sustained success from the trio this season, namely Turcotte and Caufield, Granato could be staring down a pair of one-and-done players in Madison.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.