Cooley’s Story Yet Another Proof of Hockey’s Success in Bay Area

CHICAGO – Evgeni Nabokov has been teaching Devin Cooley the tricks of a trade for a long time – Nabokov just didn’t know it.

The 26-year-old goaltender, acquired by the San Jose Sharks from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2025 seventh-round pick last week, will make his NHL debut tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Los Gatos native will become the second Jr. Sharks player, following Matt Tennyson, to play for the San Jose Sharks, and the first goalie. Cooley graduated from Los Gatos High School and played for the Jr. Sharks until 2015.

How it started: How it's going: pic.twitter.com/jgrZk78khp

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 10, 2024

According to Cooley, he was about 10 when he first met Nabokov, then the San Jose Sharks’ starting goalie. Since he was a baby, Cooley’s family had Sharks season tickets, so naturally, Nabokov was the youngster’s favorite netminder…along with another more surprising keeper. But first, Nabokov.

“We got to skip dryland [off-ice exercises] one time because we got to go into the Sharks locker room. I remember Nabby showed us how to break in our gloves,” Cooley told San Jose Hockey Now with his easy smile on Friday. “That was our excuse to skip workout. So that was a pretty cool moment.”

Read the Full Story at NBC Sports Bay Area