[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Calgary Boy Edition):

C/LW Miles Cooper was born in Calgary on August 4th, 2006, meaning he's one of the younger players in this year's draft crop. He was the 11th-placed Wenatchee Wild's Rookie-of-the-Year, with 18 goals and 46 points in 65 regular-season games, and added 5 assists in 6 playoff games as his team was eliminated by the Kelowna Rockets. Cooper didn't get the same head-start in Major Junior that other kids get, as he played almost the entirety of the 2022-23 season in Prep School, only getting an 8-game audition in the WHL with the then-Winnipeg Ice. He was drafted by the Ice in the third round of the 2021 WHL Draft, 67th-overall, and is currently ranked #141 (NA Skaters) by Central Scouting, who rated him as a "C" prospect on their preliminary list, betrothing him to be a 4th, or 5th-round pick in this year's NHL Draft.

The consensus is that Cooper possesses an elite brain, but has difficulty executing his ideas as his tools mostly rate as average-to below average, with no real dynamic qualities in his repertoire; even still, the puck seems to follow him around. Cooper is not particularly big or strong, at 5'11"and 165lbs, and isn't very fast with a lack of separation speed and explosiveness, although he still manages to play with pace. He's a pass-first player with a detailed game, and must rely on being the smartest player on the ice to offset his lack of high-end speed and his slight build. They say he thinks at an NHL-level, with top-tier anticipation to predict the next two moves ahead- he seems to always be at the right place, at the right time. Cooper uses a high amount of deception in the form of fakes and look-offs, and creates a plethora of opportunities for his teammates with his give-and-go style. He employs a skillful delay game to draw opponents, and to wait for the right lanes to open, to make the best play. Despite his lack of size, he still wins puck battles with his solid work-ethic and high motor, outworking opponents while lifting sticks, picking pockets, and using poke-checks. He manages to be a disruptive forechecker, and has a rather sneaky physical side. He cuts inside to shoot, but owns a shot that rates as mediocre right now, and hasn't shown himself to be a big scoring threat. He will however, drive the net hard to finish, or pick up rebounds. By the same token, his stickhandling is fairly average, and his pass-reception is sometimes sloppy.

Cooper diplays good passing skills, and possesses some creativity and vision with the ability to make more complex plays, such as cross-ice passes, and shot-passes. These skills, along with his ability to see the ice, help his effectivness in transition, using short-range plays, and give-and-go passes to push the pace. He positions himself well defensively, and brings his smarts and details to the backcheck- he may not be a stalwart, but he doesn't hurt his team in his own zone. His off-puck game is also solid, with intelligent positional awareness to support the play in all zones. Cooper will surely be a WHL star in the near future, but if he's drafted by an NHL team, he will have to wait until the later rounds.