Cooley, Trocheck had connection long before Mammoth

The photo is fun to see now.

Here’s a young Logan Cooley, standing in front of a concession stand in a Pittsburgh ice rink with a local player who had made the NHL. Here’s Vincent Trocheck, 11 years older, wrapping his arm around the kid.

Cooley skated with Trocheck often growing up, and Trocheck marveled at what Cooley could do. Cooley, 22, and Trocheck, 33, will take the ice as teammates Thursday when the Utah Mammoth hold their first practice of training camp.

“I’ve always kind of kept an eye on him,” Trocheck said. “He was always super talented. He was a kid that you’d watch at 12, 13 years old. In my mind, there was just no way that he wasn’t going to play in the NHL.”

Really? That early?

“Yeah,” Trocheck said. “I mean, there’s very few, but there’s a couple kids every once in a while that you look at and you’d be shocked if they didn’t make it. He was one of them.”

This is a story about two centers, but also the Mammoth as a whole. At a time when Cooley and the rest of the young Utah core are trying to take the next step, they can follow the example of Trocheck and another veteran addition, 36-year-old forward Anders Lee.

“We’re right there,” Cooley said. “Adding Lee, Trocheck, guys that are experienced guys, I think that’s really going to help us.”

Trocheck grew up with one of Cooley’s cousins in Pittsburgh, and the families are close. Cooley said he has known Trocheck since he was maybe 8 and has skated with him in the summer since he was 10 or 12.

That would have been early in Trocheck’s NHL career. Trocheck played for the Florida Panthers from 2013-20, the Carolina Hurricanes from 2020-22 and the New York Rangers from 2022-26.

At some point -- Trocheck said it was probably when Cooley was 15 or 16 -- Cooley started skating with Trocheck and a group of pros.

“I was a little scared, to be honest,” Cooley said. “I remember not wanting to give him a bad pass or being scared they’re going to yell at you. But no, they were always great, super supportive. It was great they invited us out there.”

Cooley was scary good back then, and he’s still improving.

“It’s crazy to see,” Trocheck said. “A lot of the kids nowadays are all really skilled, but he’s kind of on another planet, and then he thinks the game really well, and he’s got a little bit of that Pittsburgh in him where he’s gritty. He’s not going to take any (garbage).

“I’ve loved watching him kind of evolve and turn pro. He’s been fun to watch. It’s frustrating, honestly, watching his ability.”

Trocheck laughed.

“It doesn’t make much sense to me,” he continued. “The way he skates is just insane.”

The Arizona Coyotes selected Cooley with the No. 3 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. He had 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 82 games as a rookie with Arizona in 2023-24, then 65 points (25 goals, 40 assists) in 75 games for the Utah Hockey Club in 2024-25.

He had 43 points (24 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games for the Mammoth last season, missing 28 games with a lower-body injury. That projects to 65 points (36 goals, 29 assists) over an 82-game schedule.

Like a lot of his teammates, Cooley got a taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time when the Mammoth played the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference First Round. He had three points (two goals, one assist) in three games as Utah took a 2-1 series lead, then went without a point as Vegas won the final three games and the series.

Loaded with playoff veterans, the Golden Knights keyed on Cooley, holding him longer, drawing him into scrums and goading him into wasting energy.

“You need to find different ways to still be able to produce and play the game the right way,” Cooley said. “For me, that’s something that I’m still learning. When guys are keying on you a little more and it takes away your Plan A, I think you always need to rely on, like, a Plan B.”

Cooley called it “an unbelievable learning experience” for Utah as a team. 

“It’s getting over that hump, I think, is the hardest part,” Cooley said. “It’s great to get to the playoffs, but at the end of the day, it’s nothing if you just lose in the first round, so you want to make sure you’re capitalizing when you’re in the playoffs and playing at your best down the stretch and winning the series too.”

Along with Cooley (six), Mammoth forwards Lawson Crouse (15), Clayton Keller (15), link-placeholder-2 and Dylan Guenther (six) have played a combined 52 playoff games in the NHL. 

Lee, who signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract ($5.4 million average annual value) July 1, has played 46 playoff games in his NHL career, advancing as far as the Eastern Conference Final with the New York Islanders in 2020.

Trocheck, who was acquired in a trade with the Rangers on July 1, has played 56 playoff games in his NHL career, advancing as far as the conference final in 2024. He also helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Each brings another element too.

“I feel like we have a lot of similar guys that like to possess the puck, but I think we can get caught on the outside a lot, so I think adding those guys who love being at the net will definitely help,” Cooley said.

Trocheck said he is excited to help Utah on and off the ice. He has been there for a month already.

“They start school early here,” he said, “and I’ve got two kids.”

Well, two at home. More at the rink.