Connor Bedard, Logan Cooley set to meet on NHL ice for the first time Monday

Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the National Hockey League’s top rookies are slated to go head-to-head for the first time in their professional careers when the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Monday.

Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Cooley, the No. 3 pick in 2022, have previously faced off multiple times at international tournaments, with Bedard playing for Canada and Cooley on Team USA.

But this will be their first time playing on opposing sides in an NHL game, and it could provide some fascinating insight into what should be a highly entertaining race for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Bedard and Cooley both sit at five points through the first few weeks of the season. Cooley has played one fewer game, but all five of his points have been assists; Bedard already has three goals to his name.

Having been drafted a year earlier, Cooley is also a year older than Bedard. The two players finished first and second in scoring at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, with Bedard managing an eye-popping nine goals and 23 points in seven games (Cooley racked up seven goals and 14 points in the same timeframe).

Much like the rest of the Coyotes roster, Cooley has relied heavily upon power-play situations to produce in the early goings of the season. All five of Cooley’s assists have come with the man advantage. Arizona’s PP has converted at 26.7 percent efficiency, enough to rank sixth in the NHL.

Bedard has been asked to do more with far less support around him in Chicago. He’s averaged 19:54 of ice time through his first eight NHL games (Cooley is at 16:47) while notching four of his five points at even-strength play. But he’s also a minus-four to start (Cooley is even).

Perhaps the biggest difference in how Cooley and Bedard see the game pertains to what they prefer to do with the puck on their stick. Bedard always looks to shoot, and the numbers have reflected that in the early goings: he’s up to 25 shots on goal in eight games.

Fans have been eagerly tracking Bedard’s progress since he burst onto the scene as a member of the WHL’s Regina Pats in 2020–21. The North Vancouver product has always been a goal-scoring machine, most recently amassing 71 tucks in 57 games with the Pats during the 2022–23 regular season (and adding 10 goals in seven playoff contests).

Conversely, Cooley is a pure playmaker — sometimes to his detriment. He scored 22 goals in 39 games with the University of Minnesota in 2022–23, but he’s still searching for his first NHL goal due in no small part to his taking a mere seven shots in seven games to begin his career.

Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny limited Cooley’s minutes in the third period of the team’s frustrating 5–4 loss on home ice to the L.A. Kings on Friday. He rationalized that decision in his media availability two days later.

“Just part of the growth. I had a tremendous discussion with a super smart young man this morning and he knows exactly why [and] what was the expectation. And what I really loved about our conversation is that he told me before I told him. So, he knew. He knew exactly what happened and why it happened.

“He’s a young man who’s extremely competitive. His focus was not in the right place. It was all about compete with him. He was competing, but not at the right area.”

Cooley logged just 11:33 of ice time in that loss to the Kings. He’s still hunting for his first goal as a Coyote. And now, he’ll get a chance to go up against one of his premier young counterparts in Bedard.

All those ingredients should add up to a whopper of a game in the desert on Monday night. Opening puck-drop at the Mullett is slated for 7:00 p.m. MST (10:00 p.m. out east).

Connor Bedard, Logan Cooley set to meet on NHL ice for the first time Monday

Recently by Mike Gould