{"id":467015,"date":"2025-04-19T13:12:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T17:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=467015"},"modified":"2025-04-19T13:12:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T17:12:40","slug":"cooley-guenther-utah-forwards-growth-bright-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/04\/19\/cooley-guenther-utah-forwards-growth-bright-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth of Utah Hockey Club Forwards Signals Bright Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the Utah Hockey Club wrapped up its <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/09\/28\/puck-drop-preview-2024-25-utah-hockey-club\/\" target=\"_self\">inaugural season<\/a>, two young forwards stood out as potential cornerstone pieces of the team. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/coolelo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-04-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Logan Cooley<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/guentdy01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-04-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Guenther<\/a> each had career years and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/02\/28\/utahs-playoff-push-difficult-path\/\" target=\"_self\">nearly lifted Utah into the playoffs<\/a> for the first time. Both players entered the season with high expectations, and exceeded them. Guenther and Cooley each took big strides in their development this season. Cooley recently had three points against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/04\/16\/nhl-predictions-april-16th-dallas-stars-nashville-predators\/\" target=\"_self\">Nashville Predators<\/a>, while Guenther recorded two assist against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/04\/12\/utah-hockey-club-vs-dallas-stars-nhl-predictions\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Stars<\/a>. The pair put the rest of the league on notice that Utah has two up and coming stars. This shows a promising future for them and the franchise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Utah Hockey Club Forwards Quickly Becoming Rising Stars\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cooley, the dynamic centre wasted little time establishing himself as a key contributor. Known for his skating and puck-handling, Cooley showcased flashes of brilliance throughout the season. His vision on the ice and ability to drive plays made him a constant threat. The 20-year-old ended the 2024-2025 season with 65 points, surpassing his 44 from last year. This was good enough to finish second-place in team scoring, behind Utah captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kellecl01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-04-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clayton Keller<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What a pass by the Captain \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>Cools makes it 3-1 game! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9vbqUCyUA3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/9vbqUCyUA3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Utah Mammoth (@utahhockeyclub) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/utahhockeyclub\/status\/1911950605125329074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While his early season was marked by moments of inconsistency, Cooley\u2019s development trended sharply upward. As the season progressed, so did his confidence, leading to more assertive shifts, better puck management, and a growing presence in all three zones. By season\u2019s end, he had not only improved his production, but also became a more complete player\u2014an encouraging sign for Utah\u2019s centre depth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, Guenther, the winger and another <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/04\/19\/dylan-guenther-scouting-report\/\" target=\"_self\">former first-round pick<\/a>, found his groove as the season wore on. Known for his quick release, Guenther continued to develop into a proven top-six forward. Early on, he adjusted to the demands of a larger role and tougher matchups, but his work ethic and steady improvement were evident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 21-year-old finished the season with a career-high 27 goals and 60 points, a significant jump from last year\u2019s 18 and 35. Guenther proved he could handle increased minutes and special teams responsibilities, scoring 12 goals while on the power-play. Guenther\u2019s offence will continue to grow, but he will need to round out his overall game to become a more complete player.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Birthday boy? Bubble boy? GUNNER SCORES! \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>Tie game, 3-3. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N9Yo9FWNnM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/N9Yo9FWNnM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Utah Mammoth (@utahhockeyclub) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/utahhockeyclub\/status\/1910531790650880427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Moneypuck, Cooley and Guenther played <a  href=\"https:\/\/moneypuck.com\/lines.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">37<\/a> games on a line with Keller, Utah\u2019s leading scorer. That surely helped in their growth. Cooley\u2019s playmaking and Guenther\u2019s scoring could form a dynamic one-two punch that fans in Utah will likely see for years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What This Means for Cooley, Guenther, and Utah<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the off-season begins, the front office\u2019s focus will shift toward re-signing their pending free agents, and possibly adding new players starting July 1. One thing is clear: with Cooley and Guenther leading the charge, Utah\u2019s future is already starting to take shape\u2014and it\u2019s looking bright. Guenther is signed for eight more years, while Cooley has one more year remaining on his entry-level contract.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For a team laying its foundation in a new city, the development of Cooley and Guenther provides more than just highlight-reel plays\u2014it provides belief. The chemistry they and their teammates displayed, both on and off the ice, was palpable in Utah\u2019s late-season push for the playoffs. Their progression could help lure top free agents to Utah and speed up the franchise\u2019s rebuild.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Jerome Miron- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Utah Hockey Club wrapped up its inaugural season, two young forwards stood out as potential cornerstone pieces of the team. Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther each had career years and nearly lifted Utah into the playoffs for the first time. Both players entered the season with high expectations, and exceeded them. Guenther and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5373,"featured_media":467135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,4547,4548],"tags":[1063,6737,6926],"class_list":["post-467015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mammoth","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-clayton-keller","tag-dylan-guenther","tag-logan-cooley"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467015"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":467136,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467015\/revisions\/467136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}