Los Gatos native Cooley to make historic NHL start
Goalie Devin Cooley will make some history Sun- day when he starts for the Sharks against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Not only will it be Cooley's first NHL start, but the Los Gatos native, who was acquired by the Sharks last week, will be the first player from Santa Clara County to play a game for the team since its inception in 1991.
Coach David Quinn made the announcement Friday after the Sharks practiced in Columbus, Ohio ahead of their game against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Magnus Chrona, filling in as the team's No. 1 goalie the last four games with Mackenzie Blackwood on injured reserve and Kaapo Kahkonen traded to the New Jersey Devils, will start today.
Cooley will back up Chrona against Columbus as the Sharks look for their first victory on this fivegame road trip. The Sharks lost 3-2 to Philadelphia on Tuesday and 6-3 to Pittsburgh on Thursday, and have won just once in their last 12 games.
Only three individuals from Santa Clara County have played a game in the NHL: Gilroy's Dustin Wolf, and San Jose's Hunter McKown and John Emmons. Wolf and McKown are in the Calgary Flames and Blue Jackets organizations, respectively, while Emmons' last NHL game came in 2001. He played for the Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins over a threeyear NHL career.
The Sharks acquired Cooley from the Buffalo Sabres on March 8 for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick, which the Washington Capitals originally owned.
“I'm headed home! Couldn't be more excited to be a San Jose Shark,” Cooley wrote on his Instagram account, along with a picture of himself, as a young kid, having his head playfully swallowed by team mascot SJ Sharkie. “A dream I've had since I put on skates for the very first time came true today and I can't wait to get things started.
“I also want to say thank you to the entire Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans organization. Filled with truly amazing people.”
The 26-year-old Cooley, who graduated from Los Gatos High School, posted a 6-6-2 record with a 3.77 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in 14
games this season with Rochester of the AHL.
Cooley has appeared in 66 career AHL games split between Rochester, the Milwaukee Admirals, and Chicago Wolves, and owns a record of 32-24-6 with a 3.16 GAA and .900 SV%.
It's unclear how long Cooley, a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, might be with the Sharks.
Blackwood is working his way back from a groin injury but could return as soon as Tuesday when the Sharks finish their road trip against the Nashville Predators. He has not played since Feb. 27.
After Tuesday, the Sharks begin a three-game homestand from March 21-26 with games against the Lightning, Blackhawks and Dallas Stars.
NOTABLE >> Quinn said he was confident that either Jan Rutta (lower body) or Jacob MacDonald (illness) would be available to play against the Blue Jackets. Both were out Thursday, meaning the Sharks had to play with five defensemen.
Rutta has missed three straight games and MacDonald came down with an illness, and was determined to be unavailable to play against the Penguins roughly 90 minutes before the start of the game.