Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens may have found a prospect worth watching very closely in LJ Mooney.
The young forward has been drawing attention all summer, and the noise only got louder when praise came from inside the U.S. National Team Development Program. Nick Fohr, who coaches Mooney there, didn’t hold back when describing what makes him stand out.
"He's such a shifty little player, and he works extremely hard, and he's dialed in to doing the right things over and over and over again. His elusiveness and his ability to change direction is elite," the coach said.
That kind of language carries real weight. When a coach reaches for the word elite about one of his own players, it says plenty about how high the internal opinion is.
Mooney’s summer work also ties into his family connection, since he trains every year with his cousin Logan Cooley. The ambition around him is obvious, and the buzz has followed.
A comparison that keeps surfacing is Logan Stankoven, and it’s not hard to see why. Mooney has the same type of profile: a smaller frame, a relentless motor and the kind of hockey sense that helps bridge the size gap. Fohr’s point about his ability to change direction fits right into that picture, because it gives a smaller player a real weapon when the game gets faster and heavier.
Still, not everyone was ready to go all in on the hype a year ago. Simon Boisvert urged a little restraint when the Stankoven comparisons started flying.
"Comparing L.J. Mooney to Logan Stankoven? Yes... but only to a certain extent," he said.
Even with that caution, the Canadiens could have something special in an undersized forward who is making plenty of people pay attention.
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