歪歪漫画

MINNEAPOLIS 鈥� An uncanny ability to abruptly change directions with the puck is one of the myriad skills that made Logan Cooley one of the top rookies in college hockey last season. An abrupt change of direction in regard to his career path means that Cooley鈥檚 first season with the Minnesota Gophers 鈥� in which he led the Big Ten in scoring, helped the U of M return to the national title game for the first time in nearly a decade and was named USA Hockey鈥檚 national College Player of the Year 鈥� was also his final season of college hockey.

On Thursday the Arizona Coyotes announced they signed the to an entry level contract. The move came after Cooley announced in May his intent to return for a sophomore college hockey season, although after attending the Coyotes development camp earlier in the month, he changed his description of a return to college from 鈥渨hen鈥� to 鈥渋f.鈥�

Details of the contract were not disclosed.

Eric Miller / Gopher Sports

For their part, the Coyotes seem to have offered a strong recruiting pitch to Cooley, literally.

At an Arizona Diamondbacks home game in early July, Cooley went to the pitchers mound during the pregame festivities and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a crowd of thousands, receiving a rousing ovation while wearing a D-Backs jersey with his name and the number 18 鈥� which he wore with USA Hockey 鈥� on the back.

The Coyotes picked Cooley third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, and he proved to be as good a prospect as advertised. Centering the Gophers top line between Jimmy Snuggerud and Matthew Knies, the trio was called the best line he had ever seen by one college coach. Their dynamic offense paved the way for Minnesota鈥檚 Big Ten regular season title, a return trip to the NCAA Frozen Four and nearly a national championship.

"We are thrilled to sign Logan to an NHL contract," Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. "Logan is an incredibly skilled player who had an excellent season with the Golden Gophers last year. He has established himself as one of the top prospects in the world. He is a very important player for us, and he has an extremely bright future ahead. We look forward to watching him play for the Coyotes for many years to come."

Cooley relayed a message via the Gophers Twitter account after his signing, thanking coach Bob Motzko, staff, teammates and "the best fans in college hockey."

"When I posted about coming back to school a few months ago, I was fully planning to return for my sophomore season. Over the past months, I have realized that deep down, I feel ready for the challenge of playing at the highest level in the world and I want to fulfill my lifelong dream of being an NHL player," Cooley said.

"Obviously not the news you want to get in late July, losing arguably one of the best players in college hockey," Gophers head coach Bob Motzko told The Rink Live shortly after Cooley signed. "He had a tremendous freshman year, but that's the nature of the beast. That's the bad news. The good news is we've got a whole pile of Gophers raising their hand for those ice minutes, and we've got a lot of great players. We move on, we'll survive it, and that's what you do."

Knies and Cooley were two-thirds of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, won by Michigan freshman Adam Fantilli. With Knies joining the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of the college season and Fantilli signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets after they picked him third overall in 2023, all three Hobey finalists are expected to play in the NHL in 2023-24.

Originally committed to Notre Dame, Cooley made an , deciding to follow Snuggerud 鈥� his linemate with USA Hockey鈥檚 National Team Development Program 鈥� to the U of M. As a Gophers rookie, Cooley scored 22 goals and added 38 assists while playing in 39 of the team鈥檚 40 games. He missed one game, a win at Michigan in November, due to a Big Ten-mandated suspension for a hit deemed dangerous by the conference.

If Cooley had returned, the 2023-24 Gophers planned to have 87% of their forward offense back in uniform. That number is now at 60%, and it is likely Motzko will look to add one or two more incoming forwards before the team announces its official roster for the coming season.

While the team did not announce details of Cooley鈥檚 contract, under NHL rules for rookies, he can expect a three-year deal with a $95,000 signing bonus for each season, a NHL salary of $855,000 per year and a salary of $82,500 if he plays for the Coyotes鈥� AHL affiliate in Tucson. Added all up, the contract will mean around $4 million or more with incentives over the course of the three years.

Motzko had that front-row view to many of Cooley's on-ice performances.

"Tremendous talent, I love his compete level," he said early Thursday afternoon. "Ultimately when a coach works with athletes, they look for that fire and that compete, and he has it. We were fortunate he was here for the year that he was. Wish he could've gone another one, but we wish him the best and we move on."