University of Denver Professional Athletes

Devin Cooley Is Doing Something Remarkable in a Dumpster Fire

The Calgary Flames are a bad hockey team. They have two wins, a minus-20 goal differential through eight games, and have allowed 37 goals — second-most in the NHL. None of that is Devin Cooley's fault anymore.

The Denver alum has gone from liability to lifeline over the past week, posting consecutive standout performances that have given the Flames their only two wins of this young season. On Monday, Oct. 19, Cooley stopped 34 of 36 shots (.944 SV%) to down the Carolina Hurricanes — at the time one of the NHL's hottest teams — 3-2. He did it again Friday, turning aside 36 of 37 attempts (.973 SV%) to beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score suggests. Sportsnet captured the sequence that sealed it: a flurry of clutch saves in the third period that slammed the door on Minnesota's late push.

It's a sharp reversal. Cooley entered the Carolina start with a 5.01 GAA and an .818 save percentage, having surrendered seven goals to the Colorado Avalanche in his previous outing. His career hung at something of a crossroads. Then, two starts, two wins, a combined 70 saves.

When asked how he felt when the final buzzer sounded against Carolina, Cooley's answer was vintage: "I felt nothing." It tracks. As Defector noted in a recent profile, Cooley has long operated under a philosophy that's nihilistic in framing but borderline zen in practice — "the past is dead, there's nothing for you there." For a goaltender on a struggling team who needs to forget bad goals the moment they happen, it's less eccentricity than survival mechanism.

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Around the Pioneer Alumni Map

Cooley wasn't the only DU name worth watching this week. A few others checked in with varying results:

Zeev Buium picked up assists in both of Vancouver's games (Oct. 21 vs. Carolina, Oct. 23 vs. Detroit), though the Canucks dropped both outings. Heavy Sports reported earlier this week that the young defenseman — acquired as part of the Quinn Hughes trade — has faced early-season demotion pressure in Vancouver, with his development pace affecting broader roster decisions.

Logan O'Connor made his 2026-27 season debut for Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 24, returning in time to see the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay 6-3. His return was described by Sports Illustrated as a "timely reinforcement" for a team that has been one of the league's better stories so far.

Dakota Mermis had a strong night for Toronto on Saturday, posting a plus-2 in the Maple Leafs' 7-2 blowout of Edmonton. His recall from the Marlies amid the Leafs' defensive injury woes made news earlier in the week, as Yahoo Sports reported Toronto needed bodies on the back end.

Scott Mayfield remained on the periphery of the transaction wire, with Heavy Sports reporting that Toronto scouts were spotted watching the Islanders defender — a potential trade target as the Leafs shore up their blue line.

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The headliner remains Cooley, who has bought himself time — and perhaps a sustained role — with a two-week stretch that no one on the 2026 Flames saw coming. Whether he can keep it up behind one of the NHL's shakiest rosters is another question. For now, the DU netminder is making saves, winning games, and feeling absolutely nothing about it.

The Rough Road in Vancouver

Zeev Buium's debut NHL season is turning into a stress test. The former Denver Pioneer — one of the most hyped defensive prospects to come out of college hockey in recent memory — has just one point in eight games for the Vancouver Canucks, and the team's coaching staff has already lost patience. Midway through the week, Buium was demoted to the third defensive pairing and stripped of his power-play role, a public signal that the leash is shortening fast.

The numbers back up the alarm. Buium posted a minus-2 in Sunday's 6-2 blowout loss to the Rangers, another minus-2 in Tuesday's 3-2 setback against the Islanders, a minus-1 in Thursday's narrow 3-2 loss to the Panthers, and finished the week at plus-1 in a 4-2 defeat against the Lightning on Saturday. That's a minus-4 across four games, in a week where the Canucks dropped every contest.

Context matters: Vancouver is a team in transition, one that can't afford mistakes at either end, and a young defenseman learning on the job is a luxury they may not have room for right now. Sportsnet noted it's "impossible to overlook" Buium's struggles given how little margin the rebuilding Canucks have to work with. The demotion isn't a death sentence — plenty of NHL blueliners have weathered rough early patches — but at 21, Buium is being asked to answer a hard question about whether he's ready, right now, for this level.

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The Right Kind of Noise in Minnesota

While Buium battles adversity, Rieger Lorenz is doing everything right 1,400 miles away in St. Paul. The 22-year-old Wild rookie has made his presence felt in every way the coaching staff could want: elite speed, a physical forecheck, and — most memorably — a willingness to drop the gloves when the moment calls for it. "I'm not going to shy away from it," Lorenz said, a line that doubles as a personal manifesto.

His week had bumps. Lorenz was a minus-2 in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Jets and a minus-1 in Friday's 5-4 win over the Blues. But on Tuesday against the Golden Knights, he pitched in an assist and finished plus-1 in a 4-2 Wild victory, showing he can contribute on the scoresheet as well as in the trenches. The energy he's bringing — the kind that energizes benches and shifts momentum — is the harder thing to quantify and often the harder thing to find.

Fellow Pioneer Bobby Brink was also on the ice for Minnesota during the week, picking up an assist in the same win over Vegas and mirroring Lorenz's plus/minus line across the stretch.

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Elsewhere Around the League

The week was quieter for other DU alumni. Trevor Moore chipped in an assist for the Kings in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Oilers but was held off the scoresheet in Sunday's tight defeat to Vegas. Carter Mazur finished minus-2 in Detroit's 5-4 overtime loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. No other Pioneers posted notable statistical marks during the period.

The week's headline, though, belongs to the contrast between Buium and Lorenz — two Pioneers, two NHL opportunities, and two very different early returns.