Laker junior's hockey career started in Sault Ste. Marie and comes full circle

By Linda Bouvet, LSSU Sports Information Director 

Wearing the Laker anchor feels as natural as can be for junior Brad Cooper, whose roots go all the way back to Lake Superior State University's beginnings. One would imagine Cooper's route to LSSU was predestined, but in reality it included a few twists and turns before he arrived in the fall of 2007.

The junior from Coppell, Texas, is the grandson of former LSSU athlete, coach and director of athletics Bud Cooper. Brad Cooper was born in Texas, moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., when he was six years old, and moved back to Texas when he was 12 years old. He played three junior hockey seasons for the Texas Tornado of the North American Junior Hockey League, leading the Tornado in points in 2004-05. At that time, LSSU's coaching staff was going through a transition, and Cooper garnered more recruiting interest from former Providence head coach Paul Pooley.

Pooley, a former assistant and associate head coach at LSSU, left Providence to join Jeff Jackson at Notre Dame in 2005 shortly after signing the Friars' recruiting class that included Cooper.

"My first year at Providence, I was asked to do things that were not really my strengths," said Cooper, who played in 31 games as a freshman. "It was tough having to learn a whole new way to play, so to speak. My second year, I was told to expect the same. I got hurt and came back. I felt there were never opportunities for me to show what I was brought in to do. I saw where I was headed as far as playing and where they saw me. If ever there was a time to change, that was the time."

Cooper transferred to LSSU last fall and spent the 2007-08 season practicing with the team and watching games from the stands.

"I got a different perspective on things," Cooper said. "I got a perspective from the coaching side and what they look for, not just on the ice but off the ice. It was a humbling experience and I learned a lot."

While he wasn't playing, Cooper found ways to contribute to the team either as a practice player or a listening ear.

"It was interesting seeing how guys who were playing well reacted to it in practice," he said. "Conversely, guys who were struggling had to get that mindset out of their heads...I tried to make my presence known. If guys wanted to work on things, I tried to be the ‘Devil's advocate' and help them get better."

Cooper plans to make the most of a fresh start in familiar surroundings. This season, he has been playing regular shifts and adjusting to "game speed" every week. As the season goes on, he hopes to improve his reaction time and play more instinctively. And he wants to win.

The comfort of returning to his roots undoubtedly eased his long transfer process. He has immediate family in Sault Ste. Marie, and Lake Superior State is part of his extended family.

"When I was a kid I came to every game and knew a bunch of the players," Cooper said. "They came over for dinner. Now I walk in the building, and it even smells the same. It's almost overwhelming.

"My family went to the Joe every year. It was a privilege that they pretty much made it every year back then. We stayed in the same hotel. It was one of those things that made you feel like it was a big deal. It was a privilege being a fan and experiencing all of that. It's hard to even think about now. Being able to go in the lockerroom, wear the jersey and ring the bell. I have no expectations. I'm just overwhelmed with each new thing that I'm able to do that I saw when I was younger."

Cooper instantly recognized the close bond that has defined Laker Hockey for six decades. It's a character trait that his grandfather helped instill in Laker Athletics and is his legacy.

"It's astounding the difference in character this team has (compared to his experience at Providence)," he said. "It's night and day. After the year I spent red-shirting, I knew that if I didn't play a game for the next two seasons, for whatever reason, transferring here was absolutely the best decision I ever made. Spending time with the people I met last year I wouldn't trade for anything."

Bud Cooper, who played football and basketball at LSSU in the 1940s and coached the LSSU men's basketball team from 1954-60 along with coaching tennis, golf and bowling, helped start the hockey program in 1966. He retired as LSSU's director of athletics in 1986, but has remained involved in LSSU Foundation and Hall of Fame activities.

"I really can't put it into words other than to say how proud I am of what my grandfather and family have done for the university," Brad Cooper said. "I feel like I haven't been able to do anything on the scale of what they've done."

Any pressure Brad Cooper has felt to live up to the Cooper name has been self-inflicted.

"He was not as much a hockey guy as athletics guy, but hockey has big place in his heart," Cooper said of his grandfather. "He started program. He just wants to see me be happy and do well."

Hockey has taken Brad Cooper to just about every corner of the United States, and brought him back home.

"It's amazing," he said. "The people you meet in hockey, they are just different people than anywhere else. It's hard to explain. The friends I have made I wouldn't trade for anything. To go out and experience it - it's just life."