Coyotes select Logan Cooley with 3rd pick

The Arizona Coyotes chose Logan Cooley with the third overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Logan Cooley

Position: Center
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 180 lbs
Age: 18
Club: U.S. National Team Development Program
Nationality: American

(Stats source: EliteProspects.com)

Cooley came into the draft as a consensus top-three pick along with Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky. He even made a push to be among the first two names called with a strong finish to his draft year.

The Pittsburgh-born forward was the No. 2 North American skater in NHL Central Scouting's midterm and final rankings. He piled up 1.5 points per game in the USHL and posted nearly the same rate with the American Under-18 squad, racking up 75 points over 51 contests.

Nine of the top 29 North American skaters on Central Scouting's final rankings hail from the U.S. NTDP, but Cooley is the most highly touted of the group. Isaac Howard was the only player in the program to outproduce him this season, but he played nine more games than Cooley, who bested all of his teammates in points per game.

Cooley has represented his country numerous times on the international stage, suiting up in the Under-18 World Championship in each of the last two seasons.

He's committed to the University of Minnesota for 2022-23.

What they're saying

"Cooley is a dynamic player. When he has the puck on his stick, you instantly notice him because of his high-end speed, skill, and offensive IQ," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote in late May. "He can make highly creative dekes and passes at full speed. The pace of his game is why I think he will be a top NHL player. He takes pucks up the ice and to the net often. Cooley lacks size, but he plays hard."

"(He's) confident enough to attempt and often execute the unthinkable," Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino wrote in June. "(He) plays with pace and skill and is a fierce competitor." Cosentino also said Cooley could become a franchise player and would be a "cornerstone addition for the team that drafts him."

The Athletic's Scott Wheeler called Cooley "a Swiss Army knife player who combines NHL speed and skill with a working attitude to push the pace, make plays, win races, stay involved, and get onto the ice in all situations."

"He's obviously a really gifted skater, but I think that he's ultra-smart, and he's competitive," USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 team coach Adam Nightingale told NHL.com. "When you combine all those together, those guys seem to have success. He's a driven kid, he's low maintenance, so, obviously (there should be) a really bright future for him."

Tap here to watch some of Cooley's highlights.