NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Cooper Marody

 

Get to Know Cooper Marody

Date of Birth: 12/20/1996
Place of Birth: Brighton, MI, USA
Ht: 6’0″ Wt: 176 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Right Wing
Team: Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)

Cooper Marody is a try-hard player who overcomes a lack of elite skill with constant effort and wears opponents down. As one of the better players on the Sioux Falls Stampede, Marody was given the chance to flex his point-scoring muscles a bit more than he’s likely to in the pros but his 49 points in 38 games, including 20 goals, is nothing to scoff at.

A mid-season deal saw Marody depart the Muskegon Lumberjacks, who he had scored 9 points in 14 games and 30 points in 58 games the previous season, and put Marody front and center to be one of the starts for the Stampede en route to winning the Clark Cup.

Like several others in this draft class, Marody is committed to the University of Michigan next season where he will put his role-player talents on display for a loaded Wolverines team.

Statistics

What Scouts See

Future Considerations:

He goes hard on the forecheck, causes turnovers and creates chances around the net. He displays tremendous speed and acceleration, and uses his speed to take the puck wide and create chances from the outside as well as the inside. He doesn’t take long to mull over his decisions and while he isn’t overly creative, he does make the smart play and finds seams quickly.

He has a hard, deceptive shot, and is more than willing to go to the dirty areas for the puck and for his chances. He can fire off a very hard slapper and quick release wrister. He plays a very high-energy game, and he never quits despite what the score might be.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Cooper Marody is your classic hard-working, grinder forward on your 3rd line that opposing fans get annoyed watching because he’s so darn effective all the time. He’s not an overwhelmingly skilled player in any single area but he plays 100 mph every shift and understands exactly who he is. I love players that accept they aren’t going to be the next superstar and commit themselves to helping the team every time they’re on the ice and Marody embodies that mindset.

Skill wise, there’s a lot left to be desired as he’s not a game-changing forward. He’s a great skater who gets after it and uses his speed to wreak havoc on the opposition, especially on the forecheck, and it’s easily his most distinguishable trait. He’s not a great passer but he knows it, often settling for the smart play instead of going for the risky home run pass. His shot is good with a quick release but he’s not ever going to be a 20-goal guy at higher levels.

The only downside of Marody’s game is that he’ll never wow you with anything he does. He plays like he’s just downed a case of Red Bull and is skating through rings of fire in order to fight a conga line of bears and is relentless in his pursuit of on-ice chaos. It’s unlikely he’ll develop into a top 6-level player but it certainly won’t be for lack of effort.

Highlights



NHL Potential

Marody’s upside appears limited but his high-effort habits will likely be the reason he reaches his ceiling, which is right in that third line discussion. He could be a second line player on a weaker team but is a better fit on the third or fourth lines of a deeper team.

Expected Draft Position

Marody is ranked 53rd by CSS, which is by far his highest ranking, and comes in at #133 for Future Considerations and merited Honorable Mention status on Corey Pronman’s Top 100 list. These rankings strongly suggest he is a mid-round prospect, likely going anywhere from the 3rd round to the 6th.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Marody would bolster depth at the right wing position, where Colorado is by far the weakest, and become a player for Avs fans to keep an eye on as he progresses through college. His ceiling may not be exciting but given the lack of quality players the Avs have played on their bottom 6 in recent years, Marody would likely be an upgrade over some of them a few years down the road.

Marody certainly isn’t a franchise-changing prospect but he’s the kind of quality depth every organization needs to consistently find to bolster their rosters. Marody is the kind of quality player that allows teams to feel comfortable spending megabucks on superstars because they have the quality complementary players in place to help prop them up.

Check out similar forward prospects:

Glenn Gawdin
Adam Marsh
Nathan Noel
Erik Foley