Matt Cooke
| Matt Cooke | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Cooke with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010.
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| Born |
September 7, 1978 Belleville, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 208 lb (94 kg; 14 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
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NHL team Former teams |
Free Agent Vancouver Canucks Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota Wild |
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| National team |
 Canada
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| NHL Draft | 144th overall, 1997 Vancouver Canucks |
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| Playing career | 1998–2017 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Canada
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| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2004 Czech Republic | |
Matthew David Cooke (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently an unrestricted free agent. Cooke won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2008–09 NHL season and was member of the Team Canada team that won the gold medal at the 2004 World Championships. In addition to having previously played for the Penguins, he has also played in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild. Cooke was born in Belleville, Ontario, but grew up in Stirling, Ontario.
Cooke's playing style of intentionally attempting to aggravate opponents has earned him the reputation of one of the NHL's "pests". During his NHL career, Cooke has been criticized and often suspended for hits, some involving head-shots, or knee-on-knee collisions that have injured opposing players. Most notable was a hit to the head on Marc Savard, which was an important factor influencing NHL rule changes intended to deter such conduct. Years later, during a lawsuit against the league, an email produced during the litigation from the then disciplinarian Colin Campbell revealed that he—an NHL executive—blamed Savard for keeping his head down. But other commentators disagree and condemn the hit. After his longest suspension in 2011, Cooke has pledged to change his style of play, though had another lengthy suspension in the 2014 playoffs for a knee-on-knee hit delivered to Tyson Barrie of the Colorado Avalanche. Although he is no longer a member of the Vancouver Canucks' organization, he is still active in the Vancouver community with his wife, as they run The Cooke Family Foundation of Hope.
Cooke played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for three seasons, predominantly with the Windsor Spitfires, prior to playing professionally. Recording an impressive 95-point (tenth overall in the league), 146-penalty-minute campaign in his second OHL season, he was drafted 144th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Returning to the OHL for a third season after being drafted, he was traded from Windsor to the Kingston Frontenacs on December 17, 1997, in exchange for Brent L'Heureux. Cooke would finish the season and his OHL career with Kingston.
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