Hockey players are resilient athletes and as such are used to “bouncing back” from a multitude of injuries.
While athletes in some sports are sidelined for a plethora of seemingly “small” injuries, hockey players have a tendency to work through their pains and soreness, go through treatments and then get back on the ice. However, as we live in uncertain and tragic times, players who have gone through injuries with a chance to resume their season are still waiting for that chance to start playing again.
In the case of Islanders prospect Logan Cockerill, the 2019-20 season wasn’t especially kind to him and his playing career.
Cockerill is a 2017 seventh-round draft pick of the Islanders and a junior currently playing for the Boston University Terriers.
As the assistant captain this season, Cockerill sustained an upper-body injury that cut short his junior campaign early on and limited his role to only 18 games this year and further limited his scoring abilities. The Brighton, MI native and left-winger did make a recovery late in the NCAA season only to have it shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Cockerill’s senior year will hopefully be more fruitful since he was selected to be the Terriers team captain next season-if and when that season arrives.
Cockerill is a 5’9″, 175 lb. a hard-working player who remained in college to develop his hockey craft and once he is 100% healthy he should be a valuable addition to the Islanders organization.
Being selected as a team captain of a well-known, Division I college program such as BU is both an honor for the player and recognition from the coaching staff and fellow players that Cockerill truly is a team leader. Cockerill previously earned a gold medal for Team USA in the 2017 U18 World Championship and should immediately be an offensive factor once he makes the transition over to professional hockey.
Cockerill also epitomizes the trials and tribulations that hockey players along with other collegiate and professional athletes are going through to remain in playing shape during the challenges the current pandemic has placed on our daily lives.
Normally, Cockerill would stay in Boston and work out on the various ice arenas over the summer and maintain a strict workout program. However, Boston University, along with colleges and universities throughout the United States, sent their students home the remainder of this semester, and Cockerill has found himself back home trying to maintain some semblance of a workout.
Cockerill himself explains how he has been forced to transition to an individualized workout program over a traditional hockey exercise regimen:
“I’m usually there for 12-14 weeks during the summer and training with [BU trainer] Kyle Czech and skating around there,” Cockerill said. “We usually have a lot of the guys that are returning from the team and some of the newcomers come in and join for the summer sessions…It’s just nice being in Boston because there are so many ice sheets and all of that organization for skating and summer league games. I play in that Foxborough league with [NHL Player Agent] Matt Keator’s team. Then, there’s just a lot of skill skates that you can hop into. It is unfortunate that I’m not around Boston for all of that.” –Logan Cockerill, NHL.com/Islanders, 4/28/20
Logan Cockerill is the type of gritty, tough young hockey player that will be a welcomed addition to the Islanders organization and it will be fun to see how he fares in his senior season.
If he can stay healthy and productive, Cockerill could find himself in an Islanders training camp soon fighting for a roster spot.
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