Logan Cooley
Cooley is a top-six forward and a first-unit power-play fixture for Utah, and the open question is whether he plays second-line center or left wing.
Role
Inside the Rink's projection for the Nov. 1 game at Philadelphia has him on line 2 with Vincent Trocheck and Lawson Crouse. Keller, Schmaltz and Guenther are on line 1. The same page has Cooley on PP1 with Schmaltz, Keller, Guenther and Sergachev. The 5V5 Hockey and gamedaytweets pages also show him on PP1. The Morning Puck's table, dated about nine days before today, has Cooley at right wing beside Trocheck, with Crouse on the left. ESPN's line page lists him at left wing on line 2 with Trocheck at center. Line 2 has changed from game to game. Early October had Lee-Cooley-Guenther, and the Oct. 29 preview had Cooley-Trocheck-Guenther. Nov. 1's projection has Guenther on line 1 instead. Competition for the work comes from Trocheck, who runs PP2 and the penalty kill, and from the Keller/Schmaltz group on PP1. The Morning Puck's page showed Cooley at 18:10 in one game. I did not read Daily Faceoff's page, so none of this comes from it. Ice-time totals for the season are not confirmed.
He sits on PP1 alongside Keller, Schmaltz and Sergachev, and the lines page lists him in the top six. Last season's 17 points in 15 games included 9 on the power play, so the power-play role is where his production came from. Last Word on Sports (Sept. 25) called his situation ideal: a Guenther linemate, and PP1 with Keller and Schmaltz, who led the team in points last year. He completed a hat trick in overtime at Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, and scored the only goal in the Oct. 27 loss to Minnesota.
His even-strength role is not fixed. Different outlets show him as center, left wing or right wing, and his linemates have rotated almost every game. On the Nov. 1 projection he is on line 2, behind a Keller-Schmaltz-Guenther first line. Last season's 15 games and 274 minutes are a small sample, and he finished at -3. Last Word on Sports said last season was cut short by injury. His 5V5 Hockey line shows 8 points in 9 games at that point, which is a modest start. Much of his value rides on staying on PP1.
Where analysts split
The split is where he plays even strength and with whom. Some outlets have him at center on line 2 (Last Word on Sports preseason). Others list him on the wing next to Trocheck (ESPN, the Morning Puck). Guenther has moved between Cooley's wing and the first line, so who plays with Cooley is also in doubt. His PP1 spot is not in dispute across the sources I read.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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