The inaugural season for the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth) is officially over. The team finished with a 38-31-13 record while their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, finished with a 34-32-4-2 record, which was good enough for the seventh playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Roadrunners went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs 2-1 to the Abbotsford Canucks.
With the season in the books, it’s time to look at the 48 Utah players under an NHL contract (excluding Connor Ingram for obvious reasons) and grade their 2024-25 seasons. We’ll also reflect on how they did during the 2023-24 season and see if they improved or did worse, along with what their future holds. We’re going alphabetically by first name. Next up is Logan Cooley.
Last Season
In the offseason, Cooley surprised most by signing his entry-level deal with the Arizona Coyotes. After losing in the NCAA championship, it was expected that the 2022 third overall pick would return to the University of Minnesota to try to help them get over the hump and win the NCAA title for the first time since 2003. However, the top prospect for the Coyotes decided to head to Tempe for his first season in the NHL.
In the preseason, Cooley quickly made headlines after scoring an impressive goal against the LA Kings. In the Coyotes’ first preseason game in Australia, the young forward spun around to avoid a Kings player and then shot the puck past the goaltender while falling to produce arguably the prettiest goal during the preseason that year.
After his impressive preseason and training camp, Cooley made the Coyotes. He made his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils, where he tallied his first NHL point in the form of an assist. In his first six games, he produced five points, all of which were assists.
Related: Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Liam O’Brien
Cooley got his first goal in the first game in November against the Anaheim Ducks. A couple of games later, he had his second multi-point career game, producing three assists against the Nashville Predators.
Throughout the season, Cooley was fairly consistent. He had a point in almost every other game. However, come January, the rookie started scoring goals constantly. Part of the reason was because of the placement of Dylan Guenther on his line. The two formed an instant connection. A prime example of this was a March game against the Washington Capitals, where Guenther was able to send the puck all the way up the ice to Cooley in the Capitals’ zone for him to score his 10th goal of the season.
It was a late game in March against the Predators where Cooley showcased his raw talent. Against a red-hot Nashville team, he produced his first NHL hat trick to lead the Coyotes to an 8-4 win, ending the Predators’ 18-game point streak.
In his final four games of the season, Cooley produced three points, two of which were goals. One of those goals was an OT winner against the eventual Pacific Division champions, the Vancouver Canucks.
In his first season in the NHL, Cooley played all 82 games with the Coyotes. He scored 20 goals, becoming one of six Coyotes to do so that year. It also tied him for third place among NHL rookies in that category, behind only Connor Bedard and Marco Rossi. He also produced 24 assists for 44 points, which placed him in fourth place in rookie scoring in the entire NHL.
This Season
Cooley began his second NHL season and his first in Utah on a high note. In his first three games, he had five points, all of which were assists, to help Utah win their first three games in franchise history.
In his ninth game of the season, Cooley scored his first goal against the Kings. He followed that up by putting up four points in his next five games.
Heading into November and December, Cooley had some of his best stretches of offense in the first half of the season. In late November, he had eight points in five games. Four of those five games were against eventual 2024-25 playoff teams. In late December, right before the Christmas break, he once again produced eight points in five games.
“I think offensively, I showed strides of being dominant,” Cooley said. “Defensively, I took a lot of pride in being good with my stick and being on the right side of the puck. Little things like that make teams successful and make players successful. That’s what I want to continue to keep adding to my game and keep working on.”
In January, shortly after another stretch of five games where Cooley racked up more than a point per game, it was announced he was out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. That injury would keep him out until the end of February.
Cooley came back with a vengeance in the first couple of games, scoring two goals and tallying four points in three games. However, he cooled off a little bit, going pointless for six games.
It was after that pointless stretch that Cooley took another step forward. He produced seven points in five games, including a three-point outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which helped Utah stay in the playoff hunt. In his final six games of the season, Cooley had nine points, including two back-to-back games where he produced three points.
LOGAN COOLEY 🥶
— NHL (@NHL) January 21, 2025
The former third overall pick now has 42 points in 46 games! pic.twitter.com/g84ixP7wI8
In total, Cooley played in 75 games, producing 65 points, a 21-point jump from his rookie season totals. 25 of those points were goals, while the other 40 were assists. He was second on the team in points and third in goals.
However, it wasn’t just his offensive game that improved. His defensive game also noticeably improved. On the ice, he played a better two-way game. Off the ice, his stats improved as well. His plus/minus stat went from minus-13 to plus-1. On top of that, his faceoff win percentage went from 38% to 44.7%.
“I want to be one of the top guys in the league,” Cooley said. “Being a two-way player is so important in this league. You look at teams that have won, and when (Jack) Eichel was with Vegas when they won, just how good defensively he was, it allows teams to win every game. For all of us, we take a lot of pride in playing defense, and that’s going to translate to offense.”
The Future
After the season ended, Cooley was named to Team USA for the World Championship. He was placed on a line with Mammoth teammate Clayton Keller, where he produced 12 points in 10 games en route to helping his country capture gold in the tournament for the first time in 92 years. Cooley was also named to Team USA’s Olympic Orientation Camp for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.
Perhaps one of the pressing matters around the Mammoth organization is Cooley’s contract. His current deal ends after next season, and as one of the biggest parts of the Mammoth core, they’ll want to extend him for the long haul. On their end, they’ll want to extend him quickly, similar to what they did with Guenther last summer.
On Cooley’s end, he’ll probably want to make the most amount of money possible. If he has another great season and makes the Olympic team, his value might go up. Both sides want him in Utah and signed long-term. It will more than likely happen before the end of the 2025-26 season.
For Cooley, improving on his 65-point season is his primary goal. Similar to Guenther, the young forward can be a star player in this league and could be one day, a 90 to 100-point player. He mentioned Eichel being someone he looks at and wants to be like. While Eichel hasn’t hit 100 points yet, he’s been close with his 94 points last season. He’s been a fantastic two-way center for the Vegas Golden Knights, which is what Cooley wants to be for the Mammoth.
Going forward, Cooley wants to improve on faceoffs and overall be a better center. Right now, he is the team’s first-line center, usually on a line with Keller and Nick Schmaltz. However, this season, taking a step forward and establishing himself as one of the top centers in the league is something most want to see out of him.
“It’s always been my shot, finding ways to get better at that, and faceoffs are super important being a center,” Cooley said. “I want to keep building on that.”
Cooley will be in the top six next season, but who he’ll be on a line with will be interesting. The Mammoth’s acquisition of J.J. Peterka will bolster the top two lines, and he could be another highly talented player that Cooley can play with. More than likely, he’ll be back on the top line with Keller and either Guenther or Schmaltz alongside him.
Someone put out Wyatt Johnston as a comparable to Cooley and his growth in the NHL. Johnston, who is also a center who was drafted a year before Cooley and put up 65 points in his second season in the league, produced 71 points in his third season. That is definitely a number Cooley can put up, but it’s certainly possible that he can produce more. As mentioned before, 70-80 points is the goal for next season, along with the continued growth of playing as a top center in the NHL.
Final Grade
Similar to most of the top six players on the Mammoth, Cooley had a great first season in Utah. He improved on his rookie season and grew a lot as an overall player. Similar to Guenther, Cooley looks like a borderline star in the NHL already. If he can keep improving and growing, perhaps he can be a top player in the league.
If Guenther is the future goal scorer for the Mammoth, Cooley will be the future bona fide playmaker and center for the team. While he has yet to prove he’s a number one center in the league, he’s certainly on his way. If he can improve his two-way play even more and produce around 80ish points next season, he can prove a lot of doubters wrong.
Overall, Cooley is getting an A for this season. In every category possible, he improved from the prior season. He was second on the team in points, which is impressive considering that the Mammoth do have some other really good forwards like Schmaltz, Guenther, and Hayton. Yet, it was the young 21-year-old who racked up 65 points and was one of the biggest offensive contributors on the team.
Similar to other young players on the Mammoth, Cooley will be a big part in helping the team make the playoffs in their second season. If he can put up the numbers he did this season, along with help with the defensive side of the game, the team can be pretty solid. With the hard work and confidence that Cooley has, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s around a point per game player in the next couple of years, if not next year. He’s got all the tools and talent to be a great forward in this league.
