IB次元官网网址檝e always been amazed by Jon CooperB次元官网网址檚 journey to the NHL.
Never mind the 3,256 miles from CooperB次元官网网址檚 home town of Prince George, B.C. to Tampa Bay, Florida, his route to being behind the bench for the Lightning has been a rather unorthodox one.
While most coaches have resumes that includes playing time in the NHL, Cooper does not.
He played hockey and lacrosse growing up and eventually wound up attending the prestigious Notre Dame Academy in Wilcox, Saskatchewan where he realized his dream of playing in the NHL wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to happen.
Cooper shifted his focus to lacrosse and wound up attending Hofstra University where he was a letterman for four years while earning a business degree. From there, it was off to Lansing, Michigan where he graduated from Cooley Law School and practiced law for five years.
Michigan is also where he became a coach for the first time with Lansing Catholic School. From there, Cooper had stints as a head coach in various developmental leagues in the U.S. before the Lightning hired him to run their AHL team in Norfolk.
The common denominator among all those stops?
Cooper won championships at every level, which was a harbinger of things to come in the NHL.
According to J.T. Miller of the Canucks, itB次元官网网址檚 the reason why Cooper has overcome the stigma of not ever having played in the league.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 been a winner on all levels. ItB次元官网网址檚 just in his nature to win. He has that swagger within him and I think heB次元官网网址檇 be the first to tell you. He also carries a confidence with the system that theyB次元官网网址檙e trying to preach,B次元官网网址� said Miller, who played for Cooper in Tampa during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
So when the Lightning came to Vancouver sporting a 13-11-5 record prior to Tuesday nightB次元官网网址檚 4-1 loss to the Canucks, I was wondering how Cooper was handling the situation with his team being on the playoff bubble.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e worked our tails off. WeB次元官网网址檙e just a different team. We have so many new faces now and guys in different roles. ThereB次元官网网址檚 been a lot of turnover but weB次元官网网址檝e got a group that works their tail off. If we keep working, weB次元官网网址檒l be okay,B次元官网网址� Cooper explained after the game.
Now the longest tenured coach in the league, Cooper is looking to get his hockey club back to a championship level.
One of the primary reasons for the LightingB次元官网网址檚 success over the years has been their ability to lock-down opponents when required but thatB次元官网网址檚 not been the case this year as they have now given up 106 goals which is tied for second worst in the league.
Not having all-world netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy available for the first 20 games of the season as he recovered from off-season back surgery didnB次元官网网址檛 help matters but the RussianB次元官网网址檚 return does have the team trending in the right direction as his 2.74 GAA would indicate.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no question we have to get better defensively. You canB次元官网网址檛 win in this league unless you do that. ItB次元官网网址檚 been tough for us. I think at the beginning, we were just been giving up way too many odd man rushes and shooting ourselves in the foot. It feels like in the first third of the year here we didnB次元官网网址檛 give up a chance forever, and when we did, it wound up in our net but weB次元官网网址檙e growing as a team. There are a lot of good things to pull from, but for sure the goals against, thatB次元官网网址檚 the one weB次元官网网址檝e got to clean up,B次元官网网址� said Cooper.
Despite their troubles defensively, Cooper feels optimistic about a group thatB次元官网网址檚 led by the likes of Vasilevskiy, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point among others.
B次元官网网址淎t some point, it will start clicking for us. There are times like this during a season. This year, itB次元官网网址檚 happened during the beginning. Other years itB次元官网网址檚 happened during the middle of the year. The big thing for us is that we canB次元官网网址檛 fall too far behind in the standings because it is hard to comeback,B次元官网网址� said Cooper.
Now in his 12th year behind the bench for the Lightning with two Stanley Cups to his credit and two other Cup Final appearances, youB次元官网网址檇 think burnout might be an issue with Cooper but thatB次元官网网址檚 not the case.
He actually chuckled when asked about it.
B次元官网网址淚 just love the competition. ThereB次元官网网址檚 nothing like game dayB次元官网网址eing behind the benchB次元官网网址rying to outdo the other team. That fire still burns. Even though weB次元官网网址檝e been to a few finals and won a couple of Cups, I feel like we havenB次元官网网址檛 won anything. So thereB次元官网网址檚 still a lot fire there,B次元官网网址� said Cooper.
OVERTIME
Fun Factoid B次元官网网址� Cooper played two games for the Western Lacrosse AssociationB次元官网网址檚 Richmond Outlaws in 1988, recording a goal and an assist.
Brock BoeserB次元官网网址檚 three goals in the Canucks win propelled him into a tie with TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Auston Matthews for the league led in goals with 21. It was the fifth hat trick of BoeserB次元官网网址檚 career. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was quick to point out in his post-game comments that itB次元官网网址檚 BoeserB次元官网网址檚 defensive play that has impressed him the most. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 a smart guy and knows the spots to go at but heB次元官网网址檚 sharpened up his defensive game. He still wants to get better at his defensive game but itB次元官网网址檚 night-and-day from last year,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet.
Next up for the Canucks is a visit from the Florida Panthers Thursday night at Rogers Arena. The organization will induct Roberto Luongo into its Ring of Honour prior to the game.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob B次元官网网址渢he MojB次元官网网址� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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