Another draft ranking is out, and this time it’s not Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky at the top. Chris Peters has released his list for Daily Faceoff, and Logan Cooley is in the No. 1 position. The scribe suggests that the young USNTDP forward has the highest ceiling among the top names and notes that he’ll probably be a one-and-done player for the University of Minnesota, stepping into the NHL by 2023-24.
The Montreal Canadiens did meet with Cooley at the combine as they prepare to make the first overall selection, and some have suggested that they are considering other options than Wright. Whether he goes first or further down the list, Cooley looks like a can’t-miss prospect that should be making an impact for whoever picks him.
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has walked back his comments a bit about Pete DeBoer, noting that he may have gone a little too far in saying that he expects the coach to join the Dallas Stars. DeBoer is a candidate in the Stars coaching search but general manager Jim Nill told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that they have only just started narrowing their list. With so many qualified candidates, coaching searches across the league could take a little longer than normal this year.
- After bouncing around the minor leagues his last few years in North America, Miikka Salomaki took his game overseas in 2021, playing for Orebro HK in the SHL and HIFK in Finland. This year, he’ll be in Switzerland, after signing a two-year deal with Lausanne HC. Salomaki actually racked up 167 regular season NHL matches, all of them coming with the Nashville Predators but hadn’t been a regular in several years.