“I Want To Take A Big Step”: Logan Cooley On Utah’s Rise, Demidov And A PPG Push

The Utah Mammoth arrived in a new city with an eager fan base, a promising young core and plenty of questions about how quickly everything could come together.

A couple of seasons later, the atmosphere around the franchise has evolved into something special.

The building is full, the city has embraced its team, the roster has become deeper and more experienced and, more importantly, the Mammoth are not entering this season hoping merely to stay in the playoff picture.

They want to take over the Western Conference.

At the center of that push is Logan Cooley, the dynamic young center whose own growth could go a long way toward determining just how dangerous Utah can become.

The Mammoth learned quickly that reaching the postseason and winning once there are two very different challenges.

The pace changes. The physicality rises. Every shift gets harder to manage, especially for a young team still learning how to turn skill into results when the games mean the most.

It is something that has fueled Cooley’s preparation for this season.

“Making the playoffs, we realized how hard it is to make the playoffs and win,” Cooley said. “The intensity of the camp is on another level. There’s a different feel. It’s much faster, and it applies to the core that we have and the hunger we have.”

The Mammoth did not stand still after getting that taste. The additions of Anders Lee, MacKenzie Weegar and Andrew Peeke over the last few months give the group more experience in difficult moments, with players who understand how quickly a playoff series can turn.

“As a player, you want the most competitive team you can possibly have,” Cooley said. “Getting guys like Lee, Weegar and Peeke, these are guys that have been in the league for so long. They know what it takes to win a series. For us younger guys, it’s good to be able to rely on them.”

Utah also added a player Cooley knows particularly well.

Cooley made the case for Vincent Trocheck to come to Utah. The two share Pittsburgh roots, and Cooley saw an opportunity to bring in an established two-way center who could make the Mammoth more difficult to play against while adding another veteran voice to the room.

“He’s a Pittsburgh guy that I skate with all summer,” Cooley said. “I was on him to get him to come out here. He’s always top-five in the league in faceoffs, he’s a good two-way guy, he won gold with Team USA and he’s such a great guy to lean on.”

Trocheck’s decision to waive his no-trade clause on July 1 gave Utah another measure of validation. Prior to his decision to change representation, Trocheck preferred to stay in the East to be closer to family. For players with that type of control to change their minds, they need to believe in the market, the people running the organization and the direction of the team before agreeing to relocate.

Cooley’s pitch focused on exactly that.

“I was telling him how Utah’s developed as a team and how involved the ownership is in our success,” Cooley said. “When you hear all those things, you want to be on a team that’s going to win. Choosing Utah is a step toward winning for him.”

The excitement is not confined to the locker room. Since arriving in Utah, the Mammoth have found a city eager to make hockey part of its identity.

“You really didn’t know what to expect when we moved,” Cooley said. “But right from the start, the passion and the caring, they’re super supportive and the rink is full every night. The whole city feels like it’s willing us on. It becomes a really easy sell to players across the league.”

Management and ownership deserve much of the credit for the on-ice product’s improvement, but Cooley is quick to praise the fans, who have quickly incorporated the Mammoth into the city’s cultural beat.

“Ever since we got here, they’ve been insane,” Cooley said. “Everyone’s in jerseys, it’s on license plates. It’s a special place and I enjoy it.”

Long before he was recruiting veteran NHL players to Utah, Cooley was one of several hockey-obsessed kids in a Pittsburgh family.

His cousin, Canadiens prospect L.J. Mooney, lived directly across the yard. Cooley’s two brothers also played. Competition was constant, whether it was a skate, a shooting session or any other chance to get better.

“I had two brothers that played and obviously L.J. there,” Cooley said. “We were always shooting pucks together. We were always pushing each other. To be able to have them all, it was awesome. It’s the reason why we’re having success. Our whole family was always surrounded by hockey. It’s 24/7 for us.”

The Pittsburgh hockey scene gave Cooley and Mooney a powerful example to chase. They grew up watching the Penguins set the bar in the NHL for more than a decade, then set their own sights on the league.

“The fans are so passionate,” Cooley said. “It’s an underrated city in terms of hockey, especially with Crosby, Malkin, Letang. Me and LJ, our goal was to one day be like them and play in the league. They were a big reason why we got into hockey.”

Cooley has had a close-up view of Mooney’s development from the start. He sees a player with rare quickness and offensive instincts, but also one whose ability to read the game could set him apart as he begins his professional journey.

“We lived across the yard from each other,” Cooley said. “It’s so fun to be able to skate with him and see what he’s accomplished. In my opinion, Montreal is going to be the best spot for him. I see how hard he works every summer and the work is paying off.”

Cooley believes the rest will take care of itself.

“He’s so skilled, fast and quick, and a lot of people can’t process the game like him,” Cooley said. “He hasn’t played in the NHL yet, but he already thinks quicker than most NHL players. I’m excited to see what he does this season. He’s going to play in the league for a long time.”

Cooley’s eventful summer also took him to Montreal for a sponsorship event, but he used his time there to squeeze in sessions with Canadiens director of hockey development Adam Nicholas.

“Adam Nicholas is such a great skills coach and is so smart,” Cooley said. “I love doing different things with him. I had to do a CCM event there and I knew the practice rink wasn’t too far.”

Having worked with Nicholas in prior years, getting on the ice at the Canadiens’ practice facility in Brossard offered Cooley an opportunity to skate with a young Canadiens player whose talent has already become a major talking point around the league.

It did not take long for Cooley to appreciate why Ivan Demidov has generated so much anticipation in Montreal.

“In my opinion, he’s one of the most skilled players in the league already,” Cooley said. “The way he processes the game is elite and just being able to skate with him was huge to learn off each other. He’s going to be one of the best in short order. Montreal’s very lucky to have him.”

There was one notable absentee from the skate, though.

“The only thing that sucked was not having Lane (Hutson) there,” Cooley said. “That would have truly been a sick skate.”

The Mammoth’s rise will depend on the collective, but Cooley’s own season is one of the most important variables in the equation.

The push for a lengthy playoff run has changed the focus for one of the league’s most exciting young players.

“Coming into the league in Arizona, at that time, the playoffs weren’t even in sight,” Cooley said. “Now you’re in the playoffs and surrounded by that. It gets you hungry to continue to win in the playoffs. We have so many great young guys coming up like (Caleb) Desnoyers or (Tij) Iginla, plus Keller, Schmaltz, Crouse. It’s a special group.”

After working through injuries over the past two years, Cooley is entering this season with a direct personal objective: stay on the ice, produce at a higher rate and turn a strong summer into the type of breakthrough campaign Utah needs.

“Stay healthy,” Cooley said. “The last two years, dealing with those injuries was tough. I want to take a big step in producing and being at or over a point-per-game. It’s such a tough league to produce, and each year you find different ways to improve and apply it on the ice. I had a great summer and my body feels good.”

The Mammoth will not get an easy runway in the West, especially in the ultra-competitive Central Division that includes teams such as Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota. Even organizations with the latest NHL hockey betting tips think the Mammoth have their work cut out for them.

But Cooley welcomes that challenge.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s the toughest division in the league. You’re going to have to play the best players in the league to get by to the next round. That’s what makes winning the Cup so special. I feel like we match up well with Colorado and Minnesota, but we know it’s going to be a dogfight.”

Utah has the fan base. It has new expectations. It has a roster built to make noise.

Now, with Cooley healthy, hungry and positioned to take another step, the Mammoth have a chance to prove that last season was only the start.

“I can’t wait to go and show everyone what we’re capable of,” said Cooley. “We’re set to be competitive for a long time and that starts right now.”