Cooley overcomes struggles, eyes chance as Flames' backup goalie

CALGARY — To say Devin Cooley ended last season in a dark place would be putting it lightly.

But as he prepares for the most important pre-season start of his career, the Flames goaltender believes the story of how he went from AHL all-star to overwhelmed with emotion is a tale worth telling.

“Near the end of the season, things just snowballed into where I didn’t even recognize myself anymore,” said the animated Californian of a spiral brought on by a Jan. 10 concussion.

“I was doing things on the ice that I couldn't even believe I was doing, like, out-of-body things. I just felt like I was a ghost, kind of just haunting the earth. It didn't feel real. I was just in a dream, like in a haze. I just didn't really understand what was happening to me, and selfishly, I didn't speak up because I wanted to keep playing.”

Flash back a year ago, to the start of his first season with the Wranglers.
An athletic, six-foot-five project who Flames coaches felt could thrive under their tutelage, Cooley’s newfound structure to his game allowed him to go 17-6-0 with a 1.99 GAA and an otherworldly .937 save percentage. 

A shoo-in to push for a Flames job this year.

A concussion early in the new year left him with a week-and-a-half of physical symptoms, but by Day 13, he felt fine enough and was cleared to return.

But nothing felt right for months.

“Things kind of fell apart a little bit, as I became more emotional from the concussion and it became really, really difficult to focus or control my emotions,” said Cooley, who figured he’d play his way through an awkward time.    

“I couldn't sleep really well, and that led to poor performance, which made things even worse, and it was just a really vicious cycle that eventually hit a point where I had to go to my goalie coach right near the end of the season and say, ‘I can't play. I can't perform right now, there's a lot of stuff going on. I’ve got to figure this stuff out. I need time away.’”

The decision to step away just before the playoffs compounded his emotional tailspin, as the undrafted University of Denver product seemed to have finally found his footing after spending the previous four years bouncing between the ECHL and AHL as a backup.

“I had a great opportunity, I was on pace for a record-breaking year, I was an AHL all-star playing every single game, and that's the first time that I've had that opportunity in my career,” said Cooley, who hadn’t had more than 26 starts in a season in his life, including minor hockey.

“I stayed with the team, but I didn't even skate for a little bit. We lost in the first round, unfortunately, and I wasn't playing. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, because I live for playoffs. Even when I was having mediocre seasons in years past, I always shine in playoffs.

“As heartbreaking as it was, it was 100 per cent the right call for my own well-being because I was becoming a liability, not just to myself but for the team as well.”

As evidence, he was 4-11-5 after the concussion with a 4.04 GAA and .867 save percentage.

Clearly, he wasn’t right.

What followed was a prolonged mental, physical and spiritual journey he now sees as a blessing, positioning him to take a good shot at being Dustin Wolf’s backup.

“Looking back now, it has led to some pretty incredible things,” said Cooley.

“I started working with sports psychologists consistently. I work with psychiatrists consistently. I've read about 20-something books and have documented about 30 or 35 pages of a blueprint of how I want to live my life, all the tools I could possibly need, how mood disorders work and how anxiety, depression and concussions work. I read about cognitive neuroscience and behavioural psychology and understanding neuroplasticity, and I got into Eastern religions and how to live life in a certain way, and sports performance as well, and operating under high intensity loads and high stress.

“And then I got into the physical side of things, I got into longevity. I got into physical health, brain health. Everything has been dialled in, from nutrition to I have a sauna in my house now. I have a giant red-light panel, I have my sleep dial, and I'm tracking everything. It's been a really awesome project, and I've never felt better in my entire life.”

Which leads to his second pre-season start Saturday in Winnipeg, where his performance may very well dictate whether he or Ivan Prosvetov will open the season on the roster.

The other will be put on waivers and sent to the Wranglers, if they clear.
That’s a big if, as several teams inquired about Cooley last season and over the summer, and many others had been pursuing Prosvetov when the Flames inked him out of the KHL on Canada Day.

Prosvetov has been impressive in his two starts, stopping 53 of 58 shots.
Over to you, Mr. Cooley.

“It's obvious that there's a great opportunity in front of me, and that's really exciting — that's kind of why you play,” said Cooley, whose previous pre-season appearance included two questionable goals against in a 3-0 loss to Edmonton in which he made 26 saves.

“You don't look at the other guy. I speak with him all the time, great guy, and I think he's probably a great goalie too. But I'm just really dialled in on my own game, and hopefully things will fall into place.”

A place much happier than where he found himself last spring.