Team USA's Logan Cooley is thriving at the world juniors. His details and skill make him one of the tournament's best players – except for that one Canadian.
HALIFAX – In any other year, Logan Cooley would be this tournament's main attraction.
This is the third-overall pick we're talking about, after all. He's one of the top players outside of the NHL regardless of age. He's an unstoppable freshman racking up monster numbers for one of the best programs in college hockey, and has now spent the 2023 world juniors guiding his country to a legitimate shot at a gold medal.
This may be the first you're hearing of this, though.
Cooley's name has been largely absent from the headlines through the preliminary round of the tournament – and, frankly, it's hard not to see why. Generational talent has a habit of dominating the public consciousness, and Connor Bedard has done just that over the past week with a record-setting performance that has established him as one of the best players in tournament history.
Even Cooley's coach can't argue with the brilliance of Canada's young sniper.
"Connor Bedard, I mean, it's pretty special what he's done," said American bench boss Rand Pecknold to reporters on Tuesday evening.
"So, I don't know if I even agree with (Cooley being overshadowed). But Logan has been excellent for us."
That excellency deserves its day in the sun, too. And with USA and Canada meeting on Wednesday for a semifinal grudge match to determine who moves on for a shot at gold, there's no better time than the present.
"He's probably one of the smartest players I've ever played with," said USA defenseman Lane Hutson of his high-scoring teammate.
"You see the way he skates, the way he moves. He's super skilled and super shifty... He's always putting himself in the right spot, and on top of that, he's just got some really great speed. You can put him anywhere in the lineup, and he's going to make everyone around him better."
It's safe to say that Team USA is comfortable putting Cooley at the top of their lineup moving forward.
The 18-year-old is second only to Bedard in tournament scoring at the moment, having racked up a whopping five goals and six assists for 11 points in five tournament games.
That eye-popping total also happens to include Cooley's four-point effort in the quarterfinal on Monday, during which the Coyotes' draft pick pumped a hat trick past an outmatched German squad while adding an assist for good measure, stamping USA's ticket to the semis.
"He's probably one of the smartest players I've ever played with." - Lane Hutson on Logan Cooley
Each year, the teams that make it far at the world juniors have their own hero. So far, Cooley has been that guy. And his teammates are well aware of it.
"The stuff he pulls off, I wouldn't even think about doing during a game," laughed defenseman Jack Peart, a second-round pick of the Wild in 2021.
"It's just really cool to play with him and see some of the moves he pulls off."
When the topic of Bedard stealing Cooley's thunder came up, Peart took a second to ruminate before answering. Biased as he may be, given how they share a locker room at the moment, Peart isn't convinced that Cooley has been completely overshadowed by Bedard thus far. At least, not to the extent some may think.
"I mean, they're both great players in their own aspect, and they both can do great things," continued Peart.
"He's going to deserve all the recognition he's going to get, and same with Bedard."
If you ask Pecknold, Cooley's offensive "wow factor" hasn't even been his most impressive trait at this year's tournament. The details caught the coach's eye – the lesser-known minutiae that go unnoticed to casual observers and yet will ultimately be responsible for inching Cooley closer to the NHL with each passing game.
"I'm really happy with his 200-foot game," explained Pecknold of his young star.
"I'm really happy with his decisions on his shift management. He's done a lot of little things that have impressed me, that he needs to do as he moves forward to pro hockey."
Cooley's biggest test has yet to come, of course. A strong performance in Wednesday's semifinal against USA's fiercest international rival will do wonders to cement Cooley's name within the annals of world juniors history. But appreciating greatness as it comes is important, too. And as all who have watched him over the past five games can attest, Cooley truly has been great.
Now, he's finally starting to get praised for it.