NHL players are like everyone else; they enjoy working in good company, and during the summer, they all have different trading partners. Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky trained back home in Slovakia alongside Tampa Bay Lightning’s Erik Cernak, Ivan Demidov spent a lot of time on the ice with Patrik Laine, and Arber Xhekaj skated alongside brother Florian.

NHL prospects are no different, and Canadiens’ fourth-round pick at the latest draft, John (or L.J., short for Little John) Mooney, has also been training in good company with his cousin, Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley. The 5-foot-7 and 157-pound speedster impressed at the Habs’ development camps, and he’s putting in the work this summer in readiness for his University of Minnesota debut.

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Mooney will be following in his cousin’s footsteps, as Cooley was also a USNDT program product, and he then played for the University of Minnesota for one season in the NCAA before making the jump to the pros. In 39 NCAA games, Cooley gathered 60 points. Chances are, Mooney won’t have the same kind of numbers, but he is a hard worker, and judging by his development camp work ethic, he could turn a few heads.

Last season, with the USNDT, he scored 51 points in 51 games and caught the attention of the Canadiens’ scouting staff. Despite his small stature, Mooney has plenty of confidence, and landing in a team that doesn’t hesitate to bet on undersized talent (such as Cole Caufield, who’s 5-foot-8, and Lane Hutson, who’s 5-foot-9) must be yet another motivational factor. Unlike Hutson, though, he didn’t turn up at the combine with a note from his physician attesting to the fact that he wasn’t done growing up (he wasn’t invited to the combine, so he couldn’t have), but when the media asked him if he was done growing up, he replied with a big grin on his face: “It doesn’t matter”.

Canadiens: LJ Mooney Is Living The Dream Games got underway on Sunday at the Summer Showcase, and Montreal Canadiens prospect LJ Mooney turned heads in Team USA’s game against Sweden. The Habs prospect got a goal and an assist in USA Blue’s 5-2 loss against Sweden.

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