Logan Cooley has had Tuesday’s game circled for quite some time.
The 19-year-old rookie forward returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, set to face off against the team he grew up watching locally. Yes, Cooley grew up as a fan of the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin, but if not for Sidney Crosby’s learn-to-play program, the talented young forward may never have laced ‘em up.
At just five years old Cooley participated in the program, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“It’s super special,” Cooley said of the program. “Hockey’s an expensive sport and there are some families out there that can’t afford it. For [Crosby] to give free equipment, and just for kids out there to have fun and see what it’s all about; When I first set foot on the ice I knew I loved it and wanted to do something special with it.”
That passion stayed with him throughout his childhood, where he first grew with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite teams before eventually graduating to the US National Development Program, and finally the University of Minnesota, where he finished as a Hobey Baker finalist with 60 points in 39 games.
Now, he continues to check off bucket-list items during his first NHL season. He’s played at the revered Madison Square Garden earlier this season, and scored the game’s first goal against his favorite childhood team, the Capitals, just last week.