Devin Cooley‘s remarkable ascent from third-string Denver goaltender continued on Tuesday, with the senior signing a two-year contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

Cooley, who began his DU career behind Tanner Jaillet and Dayton Rasmussen, emerged at the start of his sophomore season while Filip Larsson overcame a lower-body injury that kept him out most of that fall.

Cooley displayed rare athleticism for a 6-foot-5 goalie and went 11-6-2 in the 2018-19 time share in net. Some other things that that caught scouts’ attention were his .934 save percentage and 1.85 goals-against average.

Those numbers fell a bit last season, when Cooley battled injuries and freshman Magnus Chrona emerged as option 1A in net. The California native still went 4-3-2 with .920 and 2.15 numbers.

His assumed return would have given the Pioneers two experienced goaltenders with the capability to win on any given night.

His departure, the timing of which is far from ideal (though the season not starting until at least late November helps), creates an even bigger hole in the goalie room.

It also comes on the heals of junior Michael Corson‘s transfer to Niagara during the summer. One wonders if Corson would have moved on had he known the No. 2 job was there for the taking.

That leaves Chrona, who filed an impressive rookie campaign (16-6-4, 2.15, .920), and newcomer Jack Caruso, who was added when Corson left. Caruso played two seasons in the North American Hockey League, but played in just 11 games last season. The 5-11 Caruso made 28 starts in 2018-19 but had numbers of .897 and 4.08.

So what now?

Cooley joins a franchise that has two established NHL goalies in Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros. Each has one year left on his contract, and given that Rinne is 37 he might not be back after the 2020-21 season.

Nashville also has an established  American Hockey League goalie under contract,  Connor Ingram. The guess is Cooley will be playing Milwaukee this season with Ingram. Behind them, the Predators have two drafted goalies still in NCAA hockey – Clarkson’s Ethan Haider and Connecticut’s Tomas Vomacka, each of whom are fifth-round draft picks.

As for DU, given that school has started, obtaining a grad transfer goalie (or a transfer for that matter) might be dicey if not near impossible.

The Pioneers’ best bet is to either bring in a commit who is slotted for a future season or comb the junior ranks for someone needing a spot, which ironically was one factor in Cooley’s arrival.

If it’s the first option, then DU will look to Matthew Davis, who is slotted to join their 2021 recruiting class. Davis, who committed to DU on Jan. 18, 2019, played last season for Spruce Grove in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, putting up 2.42 and .903 numbers as the Saints’ starter. Right now the mid-2001 birth year is scheduled to play for Green Bay in the United States Hockey League.

It would not be unprecedented for the Pioneers to move a prospect up a year, and in fact they’ve already done it twice in the offseason.

The early departures of defenseman Ian Mitchell and forward Emilio Pettersen to the NHL, signing with Chicago and Calgary, respectively, as well as the surprise transfer of forward Tyler Ward to New Hampshire necessitated the early arrivals of defenseman Michael Benning and forward Carter Savoie. Benning and Savoie are expected to be selected in the first three rounds of October’s NHL Entry Draft.

So Cooley’s signing is cause for celebration for the personable Pioneer (but a great loss to those searching for an elite DJ), it does leave DU in a bit of a roster bind a few months ahead of what already promised to be an odd season.

©First Line Editorial 2020