The future is bright for the Utah Mammoth, and 21-year-old Logan Cooley is a major reason why.

His 2025-26 season was derailed by injury after Cooley crashed into the goalpost at full speed in December. He’s had ups and downs since returning in late February. Saturday was one of those ups.

The Mammoth’s meeting with the Los Angeles Kings was an important one, and Cooley showed up to play. He displayed glimpses of the capability that earned him the most lucrative contract in franchise history.

Here’s what he said about his two highlight-reel goals against the Kings.

Sergachev to Cooley off the end boards

First was his goal off an incredibly difficult pass from Mikhail Sergachev, who earned one of his career-high four assists in the game off of that goal.

Sergachev sent the puck all the way down the ice and off the end boards. Every Kings player seemed to hesitate for a half-second as they anticipated an icing call, which allowed Cooley to get in behind the defense.

He negated the icing and picked up the puck in the slot, putting it behind Darcy Kuemper before he had a chance to get set.

As coordinated as it seemed, Cooley said he and Sergachev didn’t actually plan it out.

“(It was) more instinct,” he told the Deseret News on Monday after the team arrived back in Utah. “I think there’s times where you talk about different things, but I wouldn’t say that’s a specific play that we’ve talked about.

“Great heads-up play by him and I was fortunate enough to bury it.”

Cooley also mentioned that a play like that isn’t necessarily possible in every building.

“Different arenas, the boards bounce a lot differently than others,” he said.

Logan Cooley goes top-shelf on the power play

As if one highlight-reel goal wasn’t enough, Cooley scored another a little more than three minutes later.

He’s usually not positioned on the first power play unit, but with Barrett Hayton out on a week-to-week basis, Cooley was the natural choice to step up. And boy, did he ever step up.

As the clock wound down to single-digit seconds remaining in the first period, it was time to do something bold. It’s a risk-free scenario, as even a big turnover wouldn’t leave the opponent enough time to pose a threat.

Cooley found a little bit of open ice in the corner, drew in the defenseman and made a move to get around him. At this point, Cooley was in a pretty tight space. But, recognizing that Kuemper was covering just the bottom portion of the net, he sent it perfectly above his shoulder — all while tumbling to the ice as that defenseman, Mikey Anderson, tripped him up.

In true hockey player fashion, Cooley pointed to his teammate, Clayton Keller, when asked what happened.

“Kells made a great play, sucking the (defenseman) out, and I was fortunate enough to make a move and score,” he said.

Utah’s power play has been head-scratchingly bad this year after finishing in the top 10 last season. It seems as though Cooley might be the answer.

Since he joined the top unit, Utah’s power play has operated at a success rate of 55.6% — the best in the NHL in that time frame. It’s a small sample size, so don’t expect them to always score on more than half of their opportunities, but it is a massive step in the right direction.

“When we’re efficient offensively, we’re not looking for the next-best play. We’re taking what’s there right away — and fast and quick,” explained coach André Tourigny of the power play’s recent success, which he said also applies to the team at even strength.

Cooley is now up to 20 goals and 33 points in 46 games. Per NHL stats, he’s the fourth active American to achieve 20 or more goals in each of his first three seasons, joining Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel.

Fans cheer as Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) celebrates his goal in the first period of an NHL game against the Minnesota Wild held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News