Height: 6’2”

Weight: 190 Pounds

Date of birth: April 30, 2000

Hometown: Bradford, Ontario

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Left

OHL Draft: Round 8, 160^th overall, 2016 Priority Selection

NHL Central Scouting pre-season: Not listed

NHL Central Scouting mid-term: 13^th North American Goaltenders

NHL Central Scouting final rank: 15th North American Goaltenders

The National Hockey League Draft is often referred to as an “inexact science.” Looking for a more challenging task? Try ranking goaltenders.

London Knights Goaltender Jordan Kooy entered this season not listed on NHL Central Scouting’s Players to Watch List. By the time January rolled around and Central’s Mid-Term Rankings were released, he had climbed all the way to thirteenth among thirty-one ranked goaltenders. He ended the season ranked fifteenth among thirty-one North American Goaltenders.

By comparison, fellow Ontario Hockey League draft eligible goaltender Jacob Ingham entered the season as a B Prospect and moved all the way up to third on the mid-term list. By the time the final list was revealed, he dropped to thirteenth. Christian Propp, who is re-entering the draft, was missing from both Central’s Players to Watch list and their mid-term rankings yet he finished as the top ranked OHL goaltender, 11^th on the North American list.

In the end, you may have better luck throwing darts blindfolded at a board this season.

Kooy played his Minor Midget AAA with the Central Ontario Wolves during the 2015-2016 season where he posted 3.33 goals against average in 18 games. The Knights would use the 180^th overall pick to select Kooy.

The following season was somewhat of a whirlwind for Kooy, playing with three teams in three different leagues, including the Knights.

Kooy appeared in 16 games with the London Jr Knights Midget AAA squad and posted an excellent 2.22 goals against average. He also appeared in 5 games for the St Marys Lincolns of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League posting a 3.63 goals against average and .896 save percentage. He also played in 11 OHL games for the Knights and finished off with an excellent 2.45 goals against average and .927 save percentage. He retained his rookie status for this season.

Kooy appeared in 24 games this season for the Knights. His numbers dropped from last season to a 3.11 goals against average and .904 save percentage. However, he won the Dinty Moore Trophy with the lowest goals against average among rookie goaltenders and was named to the second all-rookie team.

Kooy showed a lot of promise during his 11-game stint with London his first go around in the OHL. The Knights were prepared to run with Kooy as the number-one to start the season, but a slow start by Kooy and his teammates forced management to acquire Joseph Raaymakers and move Kooy to the backup role.

Kooy is an extremely athletic goaltender but he makes his bread and butter with his sound technique, which is a step or two ahead of where it should be at his age. He possesses excellent edges and once he gets stronger, he’ll be able to push off even better then he can, and it’s already at a very good level.

There’s been enough improvement this season for Kooy from start to finish. He worked on and improved his rebound control. He was tracking pucks better then at the start. He was seeing pucks through bodies, and when he wasn’t, he was making the “positional save.” At 6’2”, he has decent size and was making himself big in the crease.

I’d say the biggest difference from a year ago to the start of this season is confidence. A season ago, he played with plenty of confidence, almost a cockiness. That was lacking at the start of this season. And I don’t think he was ready to be a starter this season.

Bringing in Raaymakers may have been the best thing for Kooy’s development.

Stat page from Elite Prospects