Pheonix Copley

Pheonix Copley was born on January 18, 1992, in North Pole, Alaska — a hometown detail he carries with him through a professional career that has unfolded across more than a decade of NHL and AHL stops. The left-catching goaltender stands 6'4" and weighs 205 pounds, and currently holds a contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

The clearest marker in Copley's career came during a season in which he posted a 24-6-3 record across 37 games with the Kings — a stretch that, as InGoal noted at the time, more than doubled his career NHL total in games played over the previous ten pro seasons ^[1]. His NHL career totals across 78 games show 44 wins, 17 losses, 8 overtime losses, a goals-against average of 2.85, a save percentage of .898, and 3 shutouts.

InGoal Magazine has covered Pheonix Copley in two Pro Reads. Both were authored by Kevin Woodley and grew out of an appearance Copley made on the InGoal Radio Podcast, after which he remained for a video session. The first Pro Read ^[1], published in July 2023, examined a two-part sequence against the Edmonton Oilers' power play, with Copley walking through his positioning decisions against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl. He explained his choice to enter a Reverse as Nugent-Hopkins moved to a sharper angle, and described the anchors he uses into the post — a skate on the post for pass coverage, an inside edge driving short-side positioning, and his arm and blocker kept outside the post for shot readiness. "It's situational," Copley said of keeping his arm free rather than locking his elbow on the post. "In this specific situation its more to keep this side free if he shoots. If my elbow is locked on the post, it would be harder to come up, whereas if its free I can lift and come up more." On the second part of the sequence, involving a Draisaitl pass across to Nugent-Hopkins, Copley described his approach as connecting the dots on where the puck was going. "Getting to the post first was what helped me make that save because it drove me into the right position," he said.

The second Pro Read ^[2], published in November 2023, followed Copley coming off a shutout — his second consecutive win of that season — and covered a 5-on-5 sequence against the Philadelphia Flyers. Copley acknowledged with a chuckle that it was "not the prettiest save," but agreed there were lessons in the play and walked through his decision-making. On his depth choice with players on either side of the ice, he said: "When there's a situation with guys on each side of you, it's better to be a little more conservative with depth. Not being out too far and then patience on edges helps too, if he doesn't shoot, to get over to whichever side he's going to make the pass to." As for reading the puck carrier's intentions, Copley described watching the blade. "As soon as he opens up the blade," he said, "up until that point it's just a matter of being patient and tracking the puck and not committing to anything too soon but as soon as he opens the blade, he could still whip it around, but odds are at that point he's making the pass."

In the 2025-26 season, Copley has appeared in one game for the Kings, with a goals-against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .893 across 58:34 of ice time.