Utah Hockey Club Center Becoming Franchise Cornerstone

A second-year center for the Utah Hockey Club is becoming a franchise cornerstone.

Nov 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) skates up ice with the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Kevin Hayes (13) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Utah Hockey Club is within the playoff race in the Western Conference, entering the holiday break just two points out of the final wild card spot. With a 16-12-6 record, there's hope Utah's inaugural season results in a playoff berth.

Leading the way for Utah is a group of forwards performing extremely well, but one center in particular is emerging as a franchise cornerstone. Second-year center Logan Cooley is having an explosive breakout campaign. Through his first 34 games of the 2024-2025 campaign, he has eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points.

His playmaking has taken a considerable step forward in his second NHL season and he's looked a lot more like the amateur player he was. When the former Arizona Coyotes drafted him third overall in 2022, it was after he dominated the United States National Team Development Program with 75 points in 51 games during his draft year. He followed that up by being one of the best freshmen in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota, scoring 22 goals and 38 assists for 60 points in just 39 games.

As a rookie, Cooley impressed, but was limited. He netted 20 goals and set up 24 to finish with 44 points in 82 games. It was a solid base for him to build on, but instead of building slowly, he's erected a skyscraper over an offseason.

It's evident on the ice with every shift. Cooley is much more confident and composed in his second season and it's allowed him to utilize his vision and playmaking with success. Of his 22 assists, 12 have been the primary one, meaning he is the last player to touch the puck before the goal scorer. With more than half of his assists coming this way, it shows how involved he is in Utah's scoring this year.

The Utah Hockey Club are ecstatic with the progress of their second-year center. He's quickly reaching the potential the organization envisioned for him and he's becoming a franchise cornerstone for an up-and-coming Utah squad.

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