Here is a status report on the progression of Coyotes' rookie Logan Cooley and why the second half of this season will be promising for the young center.
The progression of Logan Cooley throughout the season has been a rollercoaster ride for Arizona Coyotes’ fans.
The 19-year-old center is in the midst of his rookie campaign where he has six goals, 19 assists and 25 points in 48 games.
Over the course of this season, Cooley has moved around all throughout the lineup as he has played alongside practically every player on the team, even moving to the wing for a period of time.
To start the year, Cooley was the talk of the town. It was exciting to watch him put his young energetic and explosive play style on display for the NHL world to see.
Despite being raved about as a goal scorer, it wasn’t easy for Cooley to find the back of the net. It took him nine games to finally tally his first NHL goal.
Cooley has been forced to deal with some growing pains through these first 48 games. It’s not easy to go from playing at the collegiate level to the pros.
At times it seemed Cooley had some trouble adjusting specifically defensively. In order to help Cooley’s development, coach André Tourigny has plugged him in on both the top-six and bottom-six. He views it more as lessons, not demotions.
During these past couple of weeks leading into the All-Star break, Cooley has really found his game and is playing his best hockey since arriving in Arizona.
The Coyotes called-up Dylan Guenther from the Tucson Roadrunners and Tourigny decided to pair up Cooley and Guenther together. These two have incredible chemistry and continue to show flashes of what is to come for this franchise in the future.
It’s hard to explain, but Cooley recently has been playing more freely, with an increased speed and explosiveness. He has improved defensively and is slowly molding into a really solid two-way center.
Cooley actually has four points in his last four games marking the hottest stretch of his young career thus far.
It feels that Cooley is on the verge of truly breaking out. He is a blossoming young star in the making and Coyotes’ fans should be very encouraged by the progression he has made as a player.