Paul Cotter makes you watch him. Every game, every period, every shift.
Take your eyes off Cotter and you'll miss something. He's big, can skate and plays with an edge. He gets to the puck, wins battles and makes plays.
Cotter anticipates the play and as such is always involved. A Cotter shift is anything but uneventful.
These qualities have taken him from an off the radar prospect selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the fourth round of last summer's NHL draft to a burgeoning talent chasing down a spot on Team USA for this season's U-20 world championship.
Cotter Opens Eyes At World Junior Summer Showcase With USA Hockey
Cotter finished strong last season with the USHL's Lincoln Stars scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 51 games. The 6-foot, 191-pound forward will play this season at Western Michigan University for long-time NHL coach Andy Murray.
Cotter was invited by USA Hockey to the World Junior Summer Showcase and moved his way up from 13th forward to a spot on the top line alongside Josh Norris and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Team USA invites 44 players to the Summer Showcase and makes cuts midway through the event. Cotter was far from a sure bet to make it the entire way through the event.
"We tried to come into camp with an open mind and Paul played his way into the favor of the staff. He plays with an edge, he's a big body who moves well and he can finish," Team USA coach Mike Hastings told VGK.com. "In an international tournament where you play a lot of games in a short time - it's great to find a player who can consistently play a heavy game - game in and game out. It's rare and Paul showed he can do that. You know what you're going to get from him shift in and shift out."
Hastings will have a big voice on what players make this team for the World Junior Championship to be played over Christmas in Vancouver.
"Paul's definitely in the mix. If he can go to Western Michigan and grow his game - he's in good shape to make our team," said Hastings. "We're excited to see how he starts his collegiate career and we'll be watching him from the start of the season on."
Cotter understands he's taken a step forward but still has work to do.
"I was pretty low on the pecking order but slowly built my way up. At the end of the tournament, I was on the first line and I take really big pride in that," he said. "There's so much talent there. I thought I played my game. I spoke with coach [Mike Hastings] a little bit towards the end of the tournament and he said that, going into the tournament, they thought they had their team pretty much picked out. I was basically set to go home during cut time and I opened their eyes a bit with the first two games. I know they probably hadn't seen me play but the coach liked my style, got me to stay and I kept climbing. I had to change my role which is fine. I had to put the skill and finesse to the side and put a little more hard-nosed speed and high energy into my game to fill the role that I was given. Ultimately, I thought I played the best that I could and I'm trying to stay positive from here on out."
Improving his play and making Team USA is only one of Cotter's goals right now. Playing well for Western Michigan and growing his game in order to one day play in the NHL for the Golden Knights is also on his mind.
Golden Knights director of player development Wil Nichol was in Kamloops, B.C. at the Summer Showcase and liked what he saw from Cotter.
"He played really well. He always supported the puck, the puck always found him because he was always in good position, he gets inside the opposition, he just plays the right way," said Nichol. "He showed sense, he showed skill and he showed the ability to finish. When you look at a kid playing a 200-foot game, I really felt that he did it with and without the puck the whole week, he had a really good week up there."
Cotter is back at Western Michigan now and getting ready for his first collegiate season.
"I can't wait. Right now I'm trying to beat my roommate at ping pong," he laughed. "But games start soon and I'm looking forward to learning from the coaches and here and fitting in with my teammates."
