Former Penguins forward Matt Cooke finds fulfillment coaching in Minnesota

There are a lot of things you can call Matt Cooke.

And if you happen to be in Boston or Ottawa or New York, a lot of those things would not be suitable for publication.

One thing you definitely can’t call him these days?

A hockey player.

At 44, the former Pittsburgh Penguins forward has been retired for just over seven years.

What you can call him is an empty nester (and even a grandfather).

With his youngest, Jackson, in his first semester at Tennessee-Martin on a baseball scholarship, Cooke’s surplus of free time led him to the next thing you can label him.

A high school hockey coach.

Cooke is in his second season behind the bench for the Chaska (Minn.) Hawks boys team, based approximately 25 minutes southwest of Minneapolis. In eight games this season, Chaska has a 2-6-0 record but is in third place of the Metro West conference with a 2-1 mark.

Last season, Chaska won the conference while posting a 22-6-0 overall record.

“It’s fun,” Cooke said by phone recently. “It’s definitely different. I grew up in the AAA world (the highest level of youth hockey) up in Ontario. … But, obviously, been living here now for nine years and understand the allure and kind of the integrity of the high school (game) here. Most of the best players all play high school hockey. They stick around and play (instead of joining a junior team).”

A native of Belleville, Ontario, Cooke’s professional experience allowed him to see a good chunk of North America. Drafted in 1997 by the Vancouver Canucks, he spent the first nine years of his professional career with that franchise before being traded to the Washington Capitals for a brief stint at the end of the 2007-08 season.

During the 2008 offseason, Cooke joined the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent and enjoyed his greatest professional success, helping the franchise win a Stanley Cup title in 2009.

After five seasons with the Penguins, he joined the Minnesota Wild as a free agent in 2013 and spent the final two seasons of his career with that organization.

And never left. The so-called “State of Hockey,” that is.

“The biggest thing was we built a house,” Cooke said when asked about his choice to stay in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. “Our kids had moved a lot (during his career). … They had just kind of got settled, and it was time to stay for them. I think our plan was to move back to Pittsburgh. But (wife) Michelle and I made a decision that it made a decision to not create more changes.”

What didn’t really change for Cooke was a desire to get into coaching hockey. After a stint as an assistant coach on the staff of former NHL forward Mark Parrish at Orono (Minn.) High School, Cooke was hired by Chaska in the summer of 2021.

“Getting involved last year, I guess I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Cooke said. “But I took a team that was 9-9 in a (season shortened due to the pandemic) then went 22-6. We lost in the section final to Prior Lake, and (forward Alex Bump, a fifth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in this year’s draft) scored four goals against us.”

To say high school hockey is played at a high level in Minnesota is like saying the air in Florida is humid.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Former NHL forward Matt Cooke was a member of the Penguins for five seasons and helped the franchise win the Stanley Cup in 2009.

The passion Minnesotans have for the sport at the high school level is hard to explain to outsiders.

“High school there is the epitome of hockey,” said Penguins forward Jason Zucker, who spent parts of nine seasons with the Wild, including two as Cooke’s teammate. “It’s the Penguins Elite (program) on steroids, basically. … It’s a huge honor for those kids to be playing for the high schools. They’ve got great fan bases and coverage. It’s a cool thing to be a part of.”

A 17-year veteran who appeared in 1,046 career games at the NHL level, Cooke clearly has the credentials to be a part of it.

But those credentials come with a bad reputation.

Fairly or unfairly, Cooke is known primarily for violent hits that injured players such as the check he delivered to the head of Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard in 2011. Legal at the time, that hit led to a premature ending of Savard’s career and sparked new rules in the league that limited contact to the head.

Matt Cooke the coach said he is different than Matt Cooke the player.

“Unfortunately, people saw ‘24’ and ‘Cooke’ on the ice, and they ascertain that that’s who I am,” Cooke said. “They’re entitled to that. They’re fans of the game, and that’s where they’re going to get their assumptions. But anyone that’s ever taken the time to get to know me or understand me knows that’s not all that’s here. I coach the game very differently than I played. I was a product of how I was coached when I was young. I was taught to hit him before he hits you. You always want to get the biggest hit because it creates momentum for your team.”

“I coach very differently. … I want to be able to give each and every one of my kids the tactical tools to be successful.”

Considering the length of Cooke’s playing career, it’s fair to say he has a pretty cerebral grasp of the sport.

“People remember him for the grit aspect of the game,” said Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who was Cooke’s neighbor during the latter’s time in Pittsburgh. “But he was kind of a guy that was pretty smart as far as game plans and systems and stuff like that. He was really good on the (penalty kill). He would talk a lot in those meetings. He was a vocal guy, so that doesn’t surprise me that he can teach younger people how to learn about the game.

“He has a brain. It wasn’t like he was gifted (physically). He was not the fastest or the most skilled but his brain was making good (decisions) on the ice. People saw all the (hits) or the grit, the fighting and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, if you put him on the ice with a (penalty kill), he was one of the best players in the league.”

And Cooke has already sent one player to the league, thanks in part to his professional connections.

In July, at the NHL draft, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Chaska defenseman Sam Rinzel in the first round (No. 25 overall).

Former Penguins defenseman Mark Eaton is the Blackhawks’ assistant general manager, and during his pre-draft scouting, he chatted with Rinzel’s coach, who just happened to be a former teammate he won the Stanley Cup with in 2009.

As prominent as coaching at the high school level in Minnesota is, it’s not the ultimate goal for Cooke. He would like to be a professional coach, and he sees this as a good first step toward that goal.

“I’ve had a few interviews with a few teams for (American Hockey League) positions,” Cooke said. “Obviously, player development is one that everyone wants. But … there’s probably 60 or 70 or 150 ex-NHLers that are looking for those positions because they’re viewed as cushy. The thing for me, I’m not looking for cushy. That’s why I’m coaching high school. I want to put in the work. I want to develop guys. I want to help guys make it to the next level. There’s things that I did over the course of my career that I think would truly help aspiring NHLers.

“I’ve done a ton of work. A lot of it is timing, a lot of it is knowing and a lot of it is people knowing that I’m looking. It will all happen. I’m not here to force the issue. But all in the right time.”