If you’ve followed the Arizona Coyotes, it’s obvious they’ve had no luck with the draft lottery, where they’ve never moved up once. The highest they’ve drafted has been third overall, where they’ve selected Kyle Turris and Dylan Strome at that spot. These two players didn’t pan out in the desert as Turris was rushed to the NHL, and Strome was just not producing at the level a third-overall pick should be.
Related: Rise of Utah GM Bill Armstrong: The Quest for a Cup
They also selected third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, where history wasn’t on their side, but general manager Bill Armstrong had a chance to change that, as there was plenty of talent at the top. Slovak winger Juraj Slafkovsky, Shane Wright, Simon Nemec, and many more were highly touted prospects entering the draft in Montreal. After the Montreal Canadians and New Jersey Devils selected, Armstrong and the Coyotes were on the clock. Drafting Wright would have made sense since he was still on the board, but they went with the American Logan Cooley.
Cooley is coming off an impressive rookie season in the desert and will look to make waves in Utah in 2024-25, but will he see a surge or slump?
Cooley Coming Off Hot Rookie Campaign in Arizona
After Cooley’s impressive freshman season with the Minnesota Gophers, he signed his entry-level contract with the Coyotes, making the 2023-24 season that much more exciting. They were also coming off signing veterans such as Nick Bjugstad (again), Jason Zucker, and Travis Dermott; thus, there was a lot of buzz around the team. He made his introduction down under in Australia, where he scored a beautiful spin-o-rama goal, which had the Australian fans in attendance in awe.
His name slowly started gaining traction, and after a strong preseason showing, Cooley was one of the bright young stars in the league. The regular season saw plenty of ups and downs for Cooley. At some moments, he was atop the world; at others, it looked like he couldn’t keep up with the competition. He capped off the season with 20 goals and 44 points, which ranked fourth among rookies Brock Faber, Luke Hughes, and Connor Bedard.
Cooley saw plenty of success with Dylan Guenther, where they developed chemistry like no other on the team at the end of the season. Although, Utah will have much more talent around the 20-year-old this season.
No Shortage of Talent Surronds Cooley in 2024-25
As mentioned above, Guenther and Cooley found instant chemistry towards the latter half of last season, which propelled the team down the line. He also developed good chemistry with Josh Doan, who was called up for 11 games and registered nine points in that span. So, needless to say, the youth movement is on, and Cooley has already seen tons of success with some other youngsters.
Cooley also has the new additions of John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev on the blue line to help further guide his development. Ian Cole and Kevin Stenlund, two of Armstrong’s significant signings, will also help guide the 20-year-old. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense if we didn’t mention Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, and Matias Maccelli, others who will undoubtedly help the Pittsburgh native grow in his sophomore season.
Armstrong is building Utah the right way. While trading away players like Conor Geekie and J.J. Moser has a cost, there’s no question a player like Sergachev will help Cooley out this season.
Will the 20-year-old See a Surge or Slump in Production?
Now begs the question, will Cooley see a surge or slump in production this season? While there are a lot of variables we touched on already, I’d bet on Cooley seeing a surge in production, and that’s for a combination of reasons. First, as we already mentioned, the talent around Cooley is undeniable. Armstrong is setting up the younger players for success, having players who’ve already won Stanley Cups and are veterans of the game. These are players who will drive some of the youth in the correct direction.
Also, it is important to factor in Cooley simply growing on his own, trusting his talents, and taking that next step forward. We all remember Keller’s struggles in his second and third seasons in the NHL, and part of that was due to the lack of support he had. Sure, he had ups and downs as a player, but it took him a while to get going. With the current stage of the rebuild, Cooley could take off this season.
We won’t be able to predict Cooley’s exact stat line with goals and such, but he’ll take a step in the right direction this season, especially the way last season ended.
High Expectations for Cooley Entering Utah’s Inaugural Season
All eyes will undoubtedly be on Utah as they take the ice this October for their inaugural season—it’s bound to happen when you’re the newest franchise in the NHL. Coupled with that, there will be plenty of eyes on Cooley as he enters his sophomore season in Salt Lake City. There will be high expectations for the 20-year-old, but there’s one thing to be said: everywhere Cooley has played, he’s increasingly gotten better as time passed, so expect him to take a step forward in 2024-25 with a vastly improved Utah team.
