In front of more than 13,000 fans in Australia, Arizona Coyotes rookie Logan Cooley scored one of the best goals you’ll see all year to help his team beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 to open the 2023 NHL Global Series on Saturday.
Cooley, 19, first showed deadly potential in transition, as a quick give-and-go opened up just enough room to create magic. Cooley then wowed the Australian crowd with an incredible spin move, then beguiled the Kings by scoring a dazzling diving goal.
There are pros and cons to watching Cooley’s goal in slow motion. On one hand, it gives your brain a chance to truly process the moves he makes. On the other hand, it may downplay the difficulty, as the young forward changed his stick and body position with blinding speed.
“That was one of the best moves I’ve ever seen,” Coyotes forward Clayton Keller said, via NHL.com. “The spin-o-rama was one thing, but then to have the patience to pull it to your forehand and then finish it, it’s definitely the best I’ve ever seen.”
Cooley could make Calder Trophy race interesting alongside Bedard
Even if that goal and win won’t “count” toward the Coyotes’ regular-season totals, you can forgive people for daydreaming about a more exciting team that features Keller’s underrated top line alongside the combination of Cooley and veteran forward Jason Zucker.
After being selected third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, Cooley scored 22 goals and 60 points in 39 NCAA games last season for the University of Minnesota. By Rob Vollman’s NHL equivalency formula, that would translate to a 42-point NHL season.
Some wonder if Cooley may even push Connor Bedard in a potential Calder Trophy race.
Could easily see a Connor Bedard goals/Logan Cooley points split in the rookie scoring race. Best narrative wins the Calder.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 23, 2023
Time will tell if that’s the case, but he’s already made a heck of an impression on hockey fans in the Southern Hemisphere.
