346 Parents: Devin Cooley Gets it Right
In the Parent Segment, presented by Stop it Goaltending U the App, we build on a recent post-game interview with Devin Cooley of the Calgary Flames and revisit the importance of finding wins within the game regardless of results.
- Devin Cooley reached the NHL at 28 after years in the ECHL and AHL, proving late development is a legitimate path for goaltenders.
- Cooley actively studied philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology to rewire how he responded to bad gamesu2014a concrete mental skills strategy any goalie can begin.
- Goalie parents can use Cooley's post-game interview as a real example of what healthy process-over-results thinking sounds like out loud.
- Signing a two-year NHL extension after years of uncertainty validates the message: showing up consistently and doing the mental work compounds over time.
- Finding wins within a game regardless of the final score is a skill goaltenders must be taughtu2014and parents play a role in modeling that mindset after every game.
PARENT PLAYBOOK — “What a Pro Sounds Like”
INTRO
Hey, goalie parents. Welcome to the Parent Playbook.
I want to start this week by talking about Devin Cooley.
If you follow the Calgary Flames, you know the name. But let me give you the full picture, because the backstory matters.
Devin Cooley went undrafted TSN out of college. He signed his first pro deal and spent his early years in the ECHL and grinding through the AHL— Nashville’s system, Buffalo’s system, a cup of coffee with San Jose. He is 28 years old, from Los Gatos, California. And this season — for the first time in his career — he started the year on an NHL roster.
That’s not a quick rise. That is years of showing up, doing the work, and refusing to let the game tell him his answer was no.
He’s talked openly about how the mental side of the game held him back for most of his career — how a bad game would send him somewhere dark, and how hard it was to climb out of that hole. And he did something about it. He started reading — about a book a week — philosophy, neuroscience, psychology — trying to understand how his brain works and how he wanted to respond to adversity.
And it paid off. He was named an AHL All-Star this past season. He won the backup job in Calgary in a competitive training camp. And just a few weeks ago, the Flames signed him to a two-year extension. At 28. After years of people probably wondering if the NHL was ever going to happen for him.
I talk a lot on these segments about separating process from results. About finding meaning in the work rather than just the scoreboard. And I know that can sometimes feel like advice that’s easy to give and hard to model for your kid.
So this week, I want to play you a clip of Devin Cooley talking after a win. I want you to listen to what he’s excited about. Because it’s not what most people would expect from a guy who just got to the NHL after a very long road to get there.
OUTRO
Did you catch that?
He won. And yes — he says it — “that was amazing.” But then he immediately goes somewhere else. What actually lit him up was his puck play. His pole check. His shootout. The specific things he’d been grinding on in practice that finally clicked in a game.
He even tells the story about calling his shot before the game — telling his defenceman my passes have been hot, there are going to be no turnovers tonight — and then laughing about how the last time he said that, he turned it over twice immediately.
That self-awareness. That ability to try something, fail at it, be honest about it, and come back and try it again without letting the embarrassment stop you — that is the mental skill. And that’s exactly what he spent years quietly building.
Here’s the thing I want you to sit with. Devin Cooley is in the NHL right now. He still has things he’s been missing in practice. He still has skills he hasn’t nailed yet. And when one of them finally works in a real game — that’s the moment that feels like a win to him.
That’s what it looks like when the process becomes the point.
So the next time your goalie has a rough game, ask them: what were you working on tonight? Not how many they let in. Not the score. What were they working on — and did they get a chance to try it?
If they can answer that question, they’re doing it right. Just like Devin Cooley.
See you next week.
This segment is from Episode 346: Olympians: gold-medal winner Aerin Frankel from Team USA and Rei Halloran from Team Japan.
Episode Transcript
Did that on his own.
I that's what I mean. Like, that's those are the types of guys like, that's why he started a company like Clear Sight Analytics. Like, he didn't just go out and play. He wanted to know why he played well in certain games and why he didn't in others, and he went to great degrees to try and find improvements. I love that.
Sometimes you gotta you know, it's that it's that old saying about, you know, we see it from from the crease from Ian Clark. Be your own best goalie coach. That's what the whole thing is about. Right? And there's a guy who takes that outside the box.
Right? Not just, hey. I'm gonna run my own drills. I'm gonna try and understand my game, but I'm gonna try and find unique ways to improve my game. I love it.
That's why Valiquette's the best.
Another great avenue is our Stop It Goaltending U, the app parent segment with David Hutchison presented by our good friends over at Stop It Goaltending.
Wanna have twenty five years of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips? Wanna tap into the goalie parenting expertise that helped Joey Daccord reach the NHL? That's what you get with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app. All the knowledge from Brian Daccord, who has been an NHL goalie coach, scout, and director, as well as the insights and expertise from his staff at Stop It that includes a long list of veteran NCAA coaches, all delivered in easy to digest chunks, including five short daily primers, weekly style analysis, and breakdown videos, as well as drills that you can take onto the ice with your team and coach. Plus, you get a subscription to InGoal Premium included.
So check it out now at the App Store or Google Play Store and get the best of both worlds with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U the app and included a subscription to InGoal Magazine Premium.
Taking, it easy with Hutch and his voice, but, Hutch, is able to, provide us with the parent segment on InGoal Radio, the podcast.
Hey, goalie parents. Welcome to the Parent Playbook. I wanna start this week talking about Devin Cooley. You know the name, but let me give you the full picture because the backstory matters. Devin Cooley went undrafted out of college.
He signed his first pro deal and spent his early years in the ECHL and grinding through the AHL. Nashville system, Buffalo system, time with San Jose. He's 28 years old from California, and this season, for the first time in his career, started the year on an NHL roster. That's not a quick rise. It's years of showing up, doing the work, and refusing to let the game tell him the answer was no.
Now, he's talked openly about how the mental side of his game has held him back for most of his career, how a bad game used to send him somewhere dark and how hard it was to climb out of that hole, but he did something about it. He started reading about a book a week apparently, philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, trying to understand how his brain works and how he wanted to respond to adversity. Now it's paid off. He was named an AHL all star last year. He won the backup job in Calgary in a competitive training camp.
Just a few weeks ago, the flame signed him to a two year extension at 28. After years of people probably wondering if the NHL was ever going to happen for him. Now, I talk a lot in these segments about separating process from results, about finding meaning in the work rather than just the scoreboard. And I know that can sometimes feel like advice that's easy to give but hard to model for your kid. I know it is for me.
So this week, I wanna play you a clip of Devin Cooley talking after a win. Maybe you've heard it already on social, but I'm going to share it with you here. I want you to listen to what he's excited about because it's not what most people would expect from a guy who just got to the NHL after a very long road to get there. Listen up.
Yeah. It was awesome. And it wasn't just awesome because, like, we won. Like, yes, that was that was amazing. But the three things that I've been kind of grinding on and and working on, like like, I hit it tonight, like, puck play and I didn't miss a single pass and then, I've been working on my po checks.
Well, I haven't really been working on my po checks. I've just been doing it and missing it every single time and I finally hit hit it, hit the puck on the po check. I finally got on the breakaway and, of course, it goes right to the guy and then they freaking just hit. It could have been a goal easily, I guess that we got lucky there, but they got lucky, like, three other times so it evens out. And then, what else was I working on?
Shootouts.
Yes. And yeah. That's what it is. And then shootouts. Yeah.
I kept, I kept telling everyone. Was like, one of these days, I'm gonna I'm gonna be good in the shootout and then one of these days, I'm gonna, have no turnovers. I actually told my d today. I came in the locker room right before the game. I was like, d, my my passes have been hot.
All practice, I was like I was like, there's gonna be no turnovers today. I can feel it like get ready because they're coming and I actually did it. So that was great. Last time I said that was, I forget where we were last time but last time we said that and I turned it over immediately twice in a row and they almost scored on it. I was like, maybe I shouldn't say that again But I think if I just keep saying that and holding myself accountable, eventually it'll work out and it worked out.
So I was really excited.
Okay. Did you catch that? He won. Yeah. He says it.
That was amazing. But then he immediately goes somewhere else. What actually lit him up was his puck play, his poke check, his shootout, the specific things he'd been grinding on in practice that finally clicked in the game. He even told the story about calling a shot before the game, telling his defenseman, my passes have been hot. There are gonna be no turnovers tonight.
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