Mark Madden: Logan Cooley playing against Sidney Crosby, Penguins a special moment for Pittsburgh hockey

In the days before becoming Pittsburgh’s foremost media icon, I wrote about high school hockey for a local paper.

As much as they let me, anyway.

“Nobody cares about hockey,” was the mantra. My coverage was mostly relegated to the suburban editions.

But look at Pittsburgh hockey now.

Logan Cooley buzzing around the ice for Arizona at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night. J.T. Miller of Vancouver is second in NHL scoring. The New York Rangers’ Vince Trocheck at just under a point per game: Forecheck, backcheck, Trocheck. St. Louis’ Brandon Saad has two Stanley Cup rings. Anaheim’s John Gibson is one of the NHL’s best goalies.

All of them are Pittsburgh guys. Most of them skate together in the summer.

It goes back further.

Ryan Malone, a true Pittsburgh Penguin. R.J. Umberger, 180 NHL goals. Matt Bartkowski. Mike Weber.

These are our guys. They played here. Learned hockey here.

As someone who’s been around Pittsburgh hockey since the very beginning, it makes me proud beyond measure.

More are on the way, too, most notably L.J. Mooney, 16, currently with the U.S. developmental program and having committed to the University of Minnesota. (Mooney is Cooley’s cousin.)

Pittsburgh has several established AAA youth programs, most notably Pens Elite. A Division I college program at Robert Morris.

That’s what Pittsburgh hockey is now.

It’s come a long way since the old skating rink at Monroeville Mall.

Since John Liprando and Dee Rizzo were Division I college pioneers at Denver and Michigan State, respectively.

Since fledgling youth organizations like the Royal Travelers.

Since Dale Rossetti and Rose Semplice founded high school hockey. They’re both gone. What they did survives and thrives: 60 varsity teams.

Tuesday was a great night for hockey, to paraphrase Badger Bob Johnson.

The Penguins won, but Cooley was flying. He’s the real thing. He won’t have the buzz and probably not the sheer numbers to push Chicago phenom Connor Bedard for Rookie of the Year, but Cooley’s going to be a star. King Cool, like Donnie Iris. (Cooley is 19. I’m betting he’s never heard of Donnie Iris.)

Cooley was cool and composed addressing the media after, not rattled by the loss or having to get over 100 tickets for friends and family. (He’s making $950,000 on his rookie contract. No need to start a GoFundMe.)

Cooley’s initial exposure to hockey was via Sidney Crosby’s learn-to-play program. On Tuesday, he was out there skating against Crosby. Cooley and Crosby took the opening faceoff. (But Cooley is an Alex Ovechkin fan. The two swapped sticks when the Coyotes and Washington met this season.)

“Crosby is a guy that I watched a lot,” Cooley said after Tuesday’s game. “To take the first draw against him was pretty special. It’s a special night for my family, too. I had family and friends here. It’s a night that we’ll remember for a while.”

This might not be a special year for the Penguins. That’s OK. We’ve had lots of those. Can’t win forever.

But hockey comes up with special moments all the time, not least in Pittsburgh: Cooley’s hometown debut. Marc-Andre Fleury returns with Minnesota on Monday. Jaromir Jagr comes home to get his number retired in February.

Tuesday’s postgame was great, too: Go home. Turn on ESPN. Connor vs. Connor. Bedard vs. McDavid. Bedard scores a great goal early. John Buccigross on the call. He’s from Indiana, Pa., via Steubenville, Ohio. Right down the road.

What could be better?