Firebird in Leamington
Brendan Cooke, a signed Ontario Hockey League prospect of the Flint Firebirds, is continuing his development with the Leamington Flyers and has his first goal as a member of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League team.
Cooke, a 5 foot 10, 170 pound forward with a December 22, 2007 birth date, was taken by Flint in the eighth round of the 2023 OHL priority selections draft from the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League. He spent the ’23-24 season of development with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and was good for 13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points in 55 games.
Now, into the ’24-25 campaign, Cooke was assigned by Flint to its Leamington affiliate for further development. After scoring a goal and adding an assist in two OHL exhibition games with Flint, Cooke has a goal and two assists in his four most recent OJHL regular season outings with Leamington.
Hailing from the tiny Highway 17 town of Thessalon — which is about 50 miles east of Sault Ste. Marie — Cooke most certainly remains high on the radar of the OHL Firebirds, who have a number of veteran forwards on their ’24-25 roster.
Mike Oliverio, who is the head scout for the OHL Firebirds, noted that Cooke “is a smart, cerebral, forward who plays the 200 foot game and does a lot of the little things right. He has good anticipation, sees the ice well and is always aware of where everyone is on the ice. He has that knack for scoring goals and has a high compete level.”