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<\/a><\/p>\n\n LJ Mooney and Logan Cooley come from a prominent Pittsburgh-area hockey family. (Courtesy John Mooney)<\/p>\n
After Cooley was the talk of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program, LJ was.<\/p>\n
You couldn\u2019t miss him out there. He was the tiny little kid who, from early childhood, moved up to mites and then played a year ahead of his age group the rest of the way \u2014 a small-for-the-\u201907s playing with \u201906s.<\/p>\n
Over time, he learned to overcome his size disadvantage by being quicker and more competitive than everyone else, often delivering big hits on bigger kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never really even thought about his size as an issue. He could always handle the physicality and never shied away from it,\u201d John said. \u201cAnd I think if you\u2019ve got that compete level that measures up to everything. You can look at height and weight all you want, but if you\u2019re going to measure that, then you\u2019ve got to measure the heart, and I think that outweighs everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin Muller, who coached him with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, laughs when asked to contextualize how good LJ was in minor hockey.<\/p>\n
He was \u201csix inches shorter than most kids,\u201d according to Muller, but he could still \u201cjust take a game over,\u201d and his speed meant his size wasn\u2019t an issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe averaged multiple points per game even through 16U,\u201d Muller said, chuckling. \u201cHe has elite speed, he has an uncanny ability to evade any pressure and checks, and I mean his puck skills are out of this world. It was special.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was so good that there were times when Muller tapped him on the shoulder and said, \u201cHey man, we need a goal here,\u201d and he\u2019d look back and say, \u201cI got you, coach,\u201d and then do it.<\/p>\n
His compete level was also \u201coff the charts.\u201d When the team would bag skate, he\u2019d take it as a badge of honor to beat his teammates by a zone and a half.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was unreal. No matter what he did, he competed, and it was all out all the time. It was wild,\u201d Muller said. \u201cCertainly dad\u2019s very competitive, and I think that\u2019s where LJ gets it. LJ was probably forced into a little more compete than most people at that age are because of who his dad and cousins are.\u201d<\/p>\n
His natural quickness was also on display on local soccer fields and in flag football as a kid. He played the latter until 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe absolutely loved flag football, and I think that\u2019s such a great sport because you play offense and defense and you never leave the field,\u201d John said. \u201cHe was never sitting still. It was always something, playing something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Logan\u2019s three years older than him, he was \u201csuch a role model for LJ\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to see what Logan has done, it\u2019s absolutely incredible, and it\u2019s his compete, too, and what he puts into it. I see it on a daily (basis) when they come home. Right when the season\u2019s over, it\u2019s right to work and with Logan,\u201d John said. \u201cThe work he puts in, (LJ) looks up to him so much. I can\u2019t have better words to say about what he has meant to LJ\u201d<\/p>\n