A Pittsburgh rink photo has become a fitting marker for the Utah Mammoth’s next chapter: a young Logan Cooley beside hometown NHL player Vincent Trocheck, years before the two centers would share a training camp locker room. On Thursday, Cooley, 22, and Trocheck, 33, are scheduled to join their new teammates for Utah’s first camp practice, with veteran forward Anders Lee also arriving to add another playoff-tested voice.
Cooley’s old summer skate becomes Utah’s new connection
Trocheck knew Cooley long before the Mammoth acquired him from the New York Rangers on July 1. Trocheck grew up with one of Cooley’s cousins, their families have remained close, and Cooley remembers knowing him from around age 8. By the time Cooley was roughly 10 to 12, he was joining Trocheck for summer skates in Pittsburgh.
Trocheck was early in his own NHL run then, one that included Florida from 2013 through 2020, Carolina from 2020-22 and the Rangers from 2022-26. Around Cooley’s mid-teen years, he began skating regularly with a group of established pros. Cooley recalled being nervous about making a poor pass or drawing a sharp response, but said the older players were supportive from the start.
Trocheck said Cooley stood out even as a 12- or 13-year-old, the rare type of player whose path to the NHL seemed obvious. He has watched Cooley’s game develop from those Pittsburgh sessions into a young No. 1 center’s workload, praising both his skating and his ability to read the ice. Trocheck also sees a competitive edge in Cooley that comes from their shared hometown hockey background.
The Arizona Coyotes chose Cooley third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. He posted 20 goals and 24 assists in 82 games as a rookie in 2023-24, then followed with 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games during Utah’s 2024-25 season. Last season, his 24 goals and 19 assists in 54 games came despite a lower-body injury that cost him 28 games. Over an 82-game pace, those numbers would have worked out to 36 goals and 65 points.
Cooley and Utah reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time last spring, taking a 2-1 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference First Round. Cooley had two goals and an assist across the opening three games, but Vegas tightened its attention on him as it won the next three to take the series. The Golden Knights leaned on him after whistles, held him up and tried to pull energy from his game.
Cooley said that experience showed him the importance of finding another answer when opponents remove a player’s first option. He described the series as a major lesson for a club trying to move beyond merely qualifying for the postseason. Getting there matters, he said, but Utah’s aim is to be playing its best hockey down the stretch and to win rounds once it arrives.
Veteran playoff mileage joins a young core
Utah’s young forwards have not carried much NHL playoff experience into camp. Cooley has played six postseason games, Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller have 15 apiece, Nick Schmaltz has 10 and Dylan Guenther has six, a combined 52 games among that group.
Lee and Trocheck bring a different résumé. Lee signed a three-year, $16.2 million deal on July 1, carrying a $5.4 million average annual value. The 36-year-old has appeared in 46 playoff games and reached the Eastern Conference Final with the New York Islanders in 2020. Trocheck has played 56 postseason games, reached the conference final in 2024 and helped the United States win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Cooley believes both additions can help Utah in a practical way. He sees a roster with plenty of players who want possession, but one that can sometimes remain too far from the middle of the ice. Lee and Trocheck are comfortable working around the crease, an element Cooley expects to give the Mammoth more presence near the net.
Trocheck has already spent about a month in Utah, arriving early because his children began school before camp opened. The family reason brought him to town, but the rink will offer a larger classroom soon enough. For Cooley and the Mammoth’s young core, the player who once shared a summer sheet in Pittsburgh now arrives with the experience to help them handle the next playoff test.
SEO Title: Logan Cooley and Vincent Trocheck reunite at Utah Mammoth camp
SEO Description: Logan Cooley and Vincent Trocheck bring a long Pittsburgh connection into Utah Mammoth training camp, where veteran additions aim to help a young playoff team take its next step.
