Logan Cooley's hockey journey - from 'Little Penguin' to top 2022 NHL draft prospect

Growing up in Pittsburgh as an Alex Ovechkin fan wasn't always easy for Logan Cooley.

«I definitely got a lot of hate for that,» said Cooley, an 18-year-old center for the U.S. National Development team and a top 2022 NHL draft prospect. «I was a big Ovechkin fan. Loved the way he played. Loved the way he scored goals. I just saw him on the Caps and became a big Capitals fan.»

Cooley was the only Capitals fan in his friend group deep in the heart of Pittsburgh Penguins country. Which made things awkward when the Penguins seemed to have their rivals' number in the playoffs — until they didn't.

«Definitely a lot of heartbreak for Caps fans. But 2018 was a good year,» Cooley said, referencing the postseason when Washington went through the Penguins en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

His Ovechkin fandom could be interpreted as a symbol of rebellion or a failure of indoctrination. Cooley actually got his start in hockey thanks to Ovechkin's nemesis, Sidney Crosby.

«He started off as a Sidney Crosby's Little Penguin, as part of the '04s [birth year], the first group we had,» said David Morehouse, former president of the Penguins and the executive who helped start Crosby's youth hockey program in Pittsburgh.

Crosby approached Morehouse with his desire to create a program that would enable local athletes who couldn't afford to play hockey with the opportunity to play it. The two sat down for lunch at a Pittsburgh Marriott and mapped it out: Crosby was with Reebok; the Penguins had Dick's Sporting Goods as a team sponsor; and both the captain and his team were willing to front their own money.

Thus, «Sidney Crosby's Little Penguins» were born.

«Sid didn't grow up a rich kid. For him, it was important to take away a lot of those