Get To Know The Utah Hockey Club: Who is Logan Cooley?

Aug 9, 2024, 2:26 PM

Utah Hockey Club Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – With the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season right around the corner, it’s time for fans to begin familiarizing themselves with the roster to better understand who will be putting on the Utah sweater and what to expect from Logan Cooley when the puck officially drops in Salt Lake City in October.

Moving on to one of the club’s most exciting young players, forward Logan Cooley is the next player profile to help fans get to know the Utah Hockey Club roster.

Utah’s Logan Cooley

Cooley is a 20-year-old center from Pittsburgh, PA. As a Pittsburgh native, Cooley actually got his start in hockey as a participant in Sidney Crosby’s Little Penguins Program.

“I was the first to do the Crosby program. I don’t remember too much because I was around 4 years old,” Cooley told ESPN. “They gave you free equipment, the chance to skate around and have fun out there. That’s what I really remember. And then any time you had Crosby out there and you learn from one of the best players in the world, that’s pretty cool at such a young age.”

Junior Career

Later in his junior career, Cooley took the National Juniors by storm for the United States, stealing away some of the headlines from eventual 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard. In just five games, Cooley had five goals and six assists, second only to Bedard in the tournament.

After cementing his name at the World Juniors, Cooley then committed to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota where he scored 22 goals and registered 38 assists in 39 games during the 2022-23 season.

While he originally committed to play for the Golden Gophers for the 2023-24 season, Cooley had been selected by third overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Draft and was given an incredible opportunity to demonstrate his skills at the highest level for the Coyotes last year.

Professional Career

After wowing the coaching staff in training camp, Cooley was given his shot with the Coyotes last season and did not look back as he made the opening day roster. From there, Cooley exploded in terms of production, finishing the season with 20 goals and 24 assists which would earn him a spot on the NHL’s All-Rookie Team.

Fans should absolutely be excited about guys like Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin from this year’s draft, but Cooley is someone they can be excited about right now as he’s proven his game at the NHL level.

Cooley is a wizard with the puck. His puck handling skills are top notch and the way he moves his body allows him to do things that very few others are capable of. He also has the ability to consistently put the puck in dangerous areas and can light the lamp in a myriad of ways. He picks his spots, he crashes the net, and just finds different ways to find the back of the net.

With his skills and abilities, Cooley should be a franchise player for a long time, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of leap he makes in season two.