Wasilla grad scores chance to play college hockey

WASILLA — Andrew Cooley was a late bloomer in the game of hockey.

Cooley was 16 years old when he played comp hockey for the first time, and didn’t reach the youth AAA level until his senior year of high school. But powered by a relentless work ethic, the former Wasilla High School standout has climbed the hockey ladder. And after two successful years skating in the Tier III junior hockey league, the NA3HL, Cooley is set to start his college hockey career. The defenseman will play for Johnson and Wales University in the NCAA Division III ECAC Northeast Conference.

“I’m really excited to play college hockey,” Cooley, a 2014 graduate of Wasilla High, said recently.

Cooley, who skated for the Atlanta Capitals last season, spent his summer beginning each day at 5 a.m., working out in the gym for 90 minutes before a full workday.

“The off-ice determination has really helped me,” Cooley said. “A lot of guys say you can’t score goals in the gym.”

But Cooley is not known for scoring goals. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound blueliner did notch a career-best eight goals and 17 assists during his second year of junior hockey last season. But Cooley is better known as a top-4 defenseman, who can play on the special teams and log a ton of ice time.

“I kind of take pride in being a team player,” Cooley said. “Physically, I want to lead by example. Step in front of the net, banging bodies, getting pucks out deep. I take pride in making smart decisions, tape to tape passes.”

The off-ice training has helped him achieve his career goals, Cooley said. In addition to his steady work in the weight room, Cooley also ran track in high school.

Cooley said his experience with the Capitals franchise is a big reason why he has the opportunity to skate at the college level. He started his junior hockey career with the Topeka Capitals in Topeka, Kansas, recording 20 points win 47 games during the 2014-15 campaign. After the franchise was relocated to Atlanta, Cooley made the move to Georgia. In addition to his 25-point season in 2015-16, he was selected to play in the 2016 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament.

“I really liked it,” Cooley said of his junior hockey experience.

Cooley said it was a big jump from high school hockey to the NA3HL, but stepped in and was able to make an impact.

“As a bigger guy I was able to hold my own. The transition went well,” Cooley said.

Cooley said he’s happy with his decision to play at the Tier III level.

“Of course I wanted to play Tier II, Tier I, but it is what it is. It got me to college hockey, so I can’t complain,” Cooley said. “Getting all of that ice time, it really helped me to develop into the player I am.”

Cooley said he was first noticed by Johnson and Wales when a Wildcats assistant approached him at the NA3HL prospects tournament. Cooley said he also considered Buffalo State, but the Providence, Rhoad Island, school proved to be the best place for him.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.