This is another year where we’re likely to see the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) well represented in the first round of the draft, and the first name to pulled from there is center Logan Cooley.
It was a successful season for him by all counts—it saw him scoring at a 1.48 points per game pace during the regular season, put up 10 points in six games at the U18s, and be the youngest player selected for the US World Junior team. It was a productive year, and quite impressive, and his stock’s been rising steadily. He’s one of the most exciting prospects in this year’s draft, he’ll be a great asset to some NHL team down the line, but in the meantime, he’s going to be a really fun addition to an already very good University of Minnesota team next season.