23 points in 29 games. Not a bad production rate. 14 of those points were goals. That’s how good Logan Cooley was playing before Dec. 5. Set to break every career high he set in his sophomore season, the forward was leading the charge for the Utah Mammoth, who, despite struggling in November, were around the playoff line. The team was coming off a big 7-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into a game against the lowly Vancouver Canucks, momentum was the highest it had been for the Mammoth.
Up 2-1 in the third period, it seemed like the Mammoth were heading towards their second straight win. Cooley, looking to double up his team’s lead, drove towards the net with Quinn Hughes on top of him. Cooley’s attempt didn’t make it by the goaltender, but at full speed, he hurtled towards the net while falling down to the ice.
The forward’s right leg hit the goal post first. It was his foot that clipped the post. However, his left knee, at full speed, hit the inside of the post and whipped forward, curving it at a weird angle. Cooley stayed down on the ice with a trainer rushing out to him. While he (somehow) skated off the ice with his own power and later reappeared on the bench, all the replays showed that this might be a serious injury.
Mammoth announce Logan Cooley will be out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury.
Cooley crashed into the net against Vancouver on Friday and hit his leg on the post pic.twitter.com/sdPgQDnO8F
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 8, 2025
That feeling that Cooley’s collision was worse than it first might’ve seemed only strengthened after he didn’t dress in the Mammoth’s next game against the Calgary Flames. A couple of days later, it was finally announced that the forward would be out for the foreseeable future with a lower-body injury.
Eight weeks of pain, reflecting, and recovery was something Cooley had never experienced before. A long, grueling road to recovery after that lower-body injury was a teaching point for the young forward, who has come back and picked up where he left off nearly three months later.
The Road to Recovery
When Cooley first lay on the ice after colliding with the net in December, he thought he could just get back up and return to play. Everything was fine, he thought.
“I didn’t think it was anything major at the time,” Cooley said. “It hurt for a while, but I stood on it, and I felt it was a little loose. Then we got an MRI when we got back from the trip, and I knew I was gonna be out for a couple of months.”
Rewatching the play where Cooley sustained his injury, it was almost exactly what happened to Steven Stamkos back in 2013, when the Tampa Bay Lightning forward broke his tibia and was out nearly five months. Around the time Cooley was injured, the Mammoth were around a .500 team. With the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars playing fantastic hockey, and the Minnesota Wild joining them after acquiring Hughes, it became quite clear that the only path to the playoffs for the Mammoth was going to be through the wild card.
Losing Cooley was a massive blow for the Mammoth. Especially after a poor November, the team needed everyone they could get. Losing their superstar center was the last thing they needed.
Cooley’s rehab process started almost immediately. For the first month, he couldn’t even walk on the leg. To regain the ability to walk at a faster rate, he did a lot of exercises in the pool. With the brand-new practice facility in Sandy, he had everything he needed, making the process easier. That also came true when Cooley started hitting the gym to regain his strength.
“It was long in the first couple of weeks,” Cooley said. “I couldn’t do much, couldn’t really walk on it too much. I was doing a lot of stuff in the pool, trying to get my walking back, some stability. As I started to get some more strength, I was able to lift a little more in the gym. Then I was fortunate to get on the ice a week sooner than I originally was supposed to. It was a long process.”
December ended up being another middling month for the Mammoth as the team went 6-8-0. However, everything changed with the turn of the calendar. In January, the Mammoth went 10-4-1, a stretch that included an eight-game point streak, firmly implanting them in a wild card spot.
Forced to be in the stands during all 15 games, Cooley was happy the Mammoth were winning. Despite that, there was nothing he wouldn’t have given to celebrate those 10 wins on the ice with his team.
“It was obviously great to see the team winning, and it’s big, especially going for a playoff push,” Cooley said. “But it comes down to you want to be out on the ice, you want to be competing, and it’s no fun being in the stands. It was tough the whole three months, but I’m happy with the way it feels right now.”
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Outside of the rehab, Cooley made appearances around Utah, most notably during the announcement of the 2027 Winter Classic that will take place at Rice Eccles Stadium. He continued traveling with the team, inching closer to returning every day.
Finally, at the end of January, Cooley returned to the ice. Ahead of the Mammoth’s game against the Lightning, he participated in practice wearing a non-contact jersey. With his continued involvement in practice and some big games coming up before the Olympic break, every game became a potential return for Cooley.
Cooley didn’t play a game before the Olympic break, giving him more time to recover and get back to 100%. Finally, after the break, nearly three months after sustaining the injury, Cooley returned to action in a game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Return to the Lineup
In his first game back, Cooley managed to produce an assist and played more than 17 minutes, which was some of the most ice time he had even before the injury. In his next game against the Minnesota Wild, the forward scored his first goal since Nov. 28. It was a big break for Cooley, especially after everything he had been through in the past couple of months.
“I was at a good start this season,” Cooley said. “I was feeling good, and the injury happened, and that was tough on me mentally. It was my first time I had been out for a while with an injury, and I think it just mentally made me stronger, finding ways to stick with things. There’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs in my career, just like everyone’s career. When I first came back, I tried to keep it simple, do what makes me successful, and I was fortunate to score. Hopefully, I can keep going from where I left off.”
Especially because it was Cooley’s first major injury, not playing for so long was hard on the forward’s mental health. Even towards the end, when he was attending practices, being on the ice and with his teammates, and then not playing later in the night was hard.
Throughout the whole process, Cooley’s teammates were super supportive and helped him out in whatever way possible. We’ve heard from so many players and coaches on how close the Mammoth locker room is. Their support during Cooley’s injury was just another testament to that.
“They’re great,” Cooley said. “We are a super close group of guys that love each other, want to be around each other, support each other, and that’s what you need. If you want to win games, win championships, you need a close group and guys willing to battle for each other, and they’ve been great to me.”
Dylan Guenther has played on a line with Cooley ever since the Arizona Coyotes days. The two have formed great chemistry and have combined for some big goals. The duo was recently reunited with JJ Peterka to bring back the “kid line.”
The line has been solid, providing the Mammoth with speed and producing dangerous chances. While consistent production hasn’t come from the line yet, Guenther is super happy his friend and linemate is back, especially during such a key stretch of games for the Mammoth.
“Getting Cools (Cooley) back is a huge boost to our team,” Guenther said. “Whenever you get one of your best players back, the team gets better. I thought we did a good job when he was out, to just keep our head above the water and get points anyway that we could, but getting him back is a huge addition. He plays with a ton of speed.”
A Learning Lesson and Stepping Stone
Head coach André Tourigny has been critical of Cooley at times. Call it tough love. The coach knows how good Cooley can be and wants him to continue getting better and better in every way possible. After the forward’s game against the Avalanche, Tourigny flat-out said that he looked rusty and slow.
After Cooley’s second game back against the Wild, Tourigny gave his player the praise he deserved after a much better outing. He also mentioned that as time goes on, the forward will continue getting better.
“He was attacking the net, skating, taking better decisions with the puck, and I think he was good on both sides of the park,” Tourigny said. “He still shows some hesitation at times, but it will get better every day. We must not forget he missed a lot of time, but I think you could see his competitiveness. He played really well in our zone. He was good on the breakout. He was good in a lot of those unsung areas.”
That time came on Mar. 7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a game that felt like a playoff game to a lot of the players on the team, Cooley scored two goals, including the overtime winner, to get a huge two points against a team hungry for them, looking on the outside of the playoff line.
LOGAN COOLEY OT WINNER!!! pic.twitter.com/vyBqsage9i
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 8, 2026
Since then, the Mammoth have built a small cushion between them and the handful of teams battling for the second wild card spot. The first wild card spot is the ideal route for the Mammoth, as instead of having to go through the juggernauts in the Central Division in the playoffs, they’ll get an easier path through the Pacific Division. It’s a position that Cooley and the Mammoth are happy to be in, although they know there’s still a long way to go before clinching a playoff spot.
Cooley has had some close calls since returning from injury, including a nearly identical play from the game in December against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Cooley needed help getting off the ice, but returned and played the rest of the game. He’s played every game since as well.
At such a young age, Cooley hasn’t had a lot of injuries. The lower-body injury he suffered against the Canucks that kept him out for two months was the longest he’s been held out of the lineup. Eventually, every player faces an injury that derails their career for a while. For Cooley, it was another lesson for him. Another stepping stone in his career.
“You’re playing this game you love, and boom, something can happen,” Cooley said. “You could have a season-ending injury. It put a lot of things into perspective for me, just to enjoy everything a little more, especially this game. It can be tough mentally sometimes, but for me, I gotta realize it’s a game that I love, and I want to be doing for a while.”
Obviously, no one wants to be injured and sit out for as long as Cooley did. One day, however, the injury might be looked upon as a big part of the forward’s development. Going through the process of rehabbing and returning from injury has shown Cooley how challenging the game can be and how rewarding it can be, too. With that, he’s certainly happy the road to recovery is over. Now, the forward is excited to help his team continue the road to the playoffs.
