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SALT LAKE CITY — Logan Cooley was nervous.
At this point last season, the Utah Hockey Club forward was a highly touted prospect entering his first season in the NHL. Some anxiety was only natural.
"I tried to force things," Cooley said, remembering his first games as a pro.
A year later, Cooley is feeling a little more ... well, cool. The second-year pro will lead Utah into its first-ever preseason game on Sunday night (5 p.m. MDT, UtahHC+) in Iowa.
He's one of a handful of NHL regulars who will make the trip to Des Moines. Other notables who will skate for Utah include Dylan Guenther, Michael Kesselring, and Robert Burtuzoo.
The likes of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Mikhail Sergachev will make their Utah HC debut Monday at the Delta Center.
"It's special," Cooley said. "There aren't many times you get to come to a new city and be a new NHL franchise, so it's pretty special. I'm excited. It's going to be pretty cool to put on that jersey."
Cooley, Guenther and McBain will be Utah's top forward line on Sunday.
For head coach Andre Tourigny, it presents a chance for those three players to lead a group of young players. Cooley and Guenther are considered to be the future stars of the franchise.
"You see them in the future to be leaders on our team," Tourigny said. "But before you're a leader of an NHL team, they have to be a leader of those groups."
What's Tourigny looking for them to show?
"I want them to lead the way tonight by focus, by energy, not by their play," Tourigny said. "If they're playing good or bad at this point, I don't — it's whatever. That's not the point. If they don't compete? Whoa, that's a problem. If they're not focused mentally, OK, now, that's unacceptable. I want the young guys to leave and say, 'Wow, these guys are real pros.'"
After a strong second half of his rookie season — helped by Guenther's call-up from the AHL — Cooley feels ready to declare himself as a bonafide top-six center ( a player skilled enough to be on a team's top two lines).
He's more confident in his abilities on the ice and where he stands in the locker room.
"I was thinking about it the other day, just how much more confident I am and just my abilities," he said. "I know what to expect. Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect at all. And I'm more familiar with the guys, and it's easier to interact and hang out and it just makes you more comfortable on the ice."
And he's hopeful that comfort will lead to a few scoring chances on Sunday.
"I think just competing," he said when asked what he wanted to get out of Sunday's game. "Have fun, try to get a few goals, play the right way, and feel confident going into the regular season."
