While both playing a similar brand of hockey, Logan Cooley and Connor Bedard have taken two totally different paths to get to where they are today.
Arguably the two top rookies in the NHL, Logan Cooley of the Arizona Coyotes and Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks are set to go head-to-head for the very first time.
Cooley was selected by the Coyotes with the third pick in the 2022 NHL Draft while Bedard was picked first overall in the 2023 Draft.
While both are rookies competing for the Calder Trophy, these two young forwards took different paths to get to where they are today.
Cooley grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent his years playing hockey in America. He really established himself as a potential top draft pick during the 2021-22 season where he had 27 goals, 48 assists and 75 points in 51 games for the U.S. National U18 Team.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Cooley however. Despite arguably having the most raw talent in the 2022 draft class, potentially due to his size both the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils decided to pass on Cooley in favor of Juraj Slafkovsky and Šimon Nemec.
The Coyotes had the third pick and general manager Bill Armstrong saw the potential Cooley possessed and picked him over center Shane Wright who many thought would go first overall to Montreal.
Upon being selected by Arizona, Cooley decided to take the college route and played a year in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota where he flourished tallying 22 goals, 38 assists and 60 points while putting himself in the Hobey Baker conversation.
That all leads to where he is now, seven games into his NHL career ready to go face off against a rookie that needs no introduction.
Bedard grew up in North Vancouver, Canada and took a much different path compared to Cooley.
The spotlight is nothing for Bedard as he was projected by almost everybody to be the 2023 first overall pick for years. Bedard played the majority of his teenage years in Canada where he really made a name for himself.
It was during the 2021-22 season a full year before even being drafted where he established himself as arguably the best prospect since Connor McDavid putting up 100 points for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.
If he couldn’t get any better, Bedard topped his 100-point season tallying a whopping 143 points in just 57 games proving to the world that he is indeed the real deal.
Before even playing a single NHL game, Bedard was widely considered by all hockey fans to be the next great superstar. Once the Blackhawks won the draft lottery getting the first pick, they did not hesitate to pick Bedard.
Now fast forward back to today, October 30, 2022, where these two centers who both have a ton of weight on their shoulders to kind of revitalize the franchises they play for, are set to have their NHL paths meet for the first time.
While both their journeys to get to this day are different, the way they play the game of hockey is actually awfully similar.
Cooley and Bedard have a way of getting fans out of seats due to their electrifying speed and ability to make plays out of almost nothing.
With the puck of their sticks in open space, it seems they are almost skating by themselves on the ice due to the way both are able to juke defenders and create scoring chances.
While these two rookie phenoms have a long way to go before truly putting themselves amongst the NHL’s top players, Bedard and Cooley have the potential to be special in this league.
As of right now, Cooley currently has five assists compared to Bedard's three goals and two assists.
Who knows, tonight can be the start of a rivalry that pundits around the NHL talk about for years to come.