The comparisons are always going to be there.

And frankly, L.J. Mooney and cousin Logan Cooley don’t do much to dissuade them.

They have been working out together for several years, even after Cooley made the jump to the NHL in 2023. And that habit hasn’t changed in the early days of summer as the pair push one another to improve their games at Ice Castle Arena in Castle Shannon.

Also, each West Mifflin native has taken a nearly identical path in his development. Both are alumni of Sidney Crosby’s Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey endeavor as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program.

Like Cooley, Mooney skated for the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) based in Michigan. And guess where Mooney is committed to playing for at the NCAA level: Minnesota, where Cooley spent a season before turning professional.

Oddly, both grew up fans of Russian forwards who were adversaries of the hometown Pittsburgh Penguins. Cooley was drawn to Alex Ovechkin, and Mooney was dazzled by Pavel Datsuyk.

Even just in conversations with both of them, it’s impossible not to notice their similar speech patterns, each tinged with accents unique to the South Hills.

To be certain, those comparisons to Cooley aren’t exclusive to Mooney.

Any Western Pennsylvanians with NHL aspirations are going to be gauged against the standard Cooley set when he was picked No. 3 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, the highest ever a native of this region was selected.

As he strives to reach the NHL, Mooney realizes those comparisons with his cousin are inevitable.

He embraces them. But he suggests there are some profound variances.

“Just skating with him a lot growing up, I feel like we play a lot alike but also have a lot of differences,” Mooney said. “Our (level of competition) is both there. Just competing against him and then just watching him, how he works out in the gym and everything, trying to model after that.

Rena Laverty | USA Hockey National Team Development Program In 51 games with the United States National Team Development Program this past season, forward L.J. Mooney had 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists).  

“But we also have a lot differences on the ice. I can’t say we play exactly alike. I’m a little smaller than him. Try to play a little different and play more physical than him.”

A big difference will play out this weekend with this year’s edition of the NHL Draft. Unlike 2022 when his cousin was considered a possibility for the top overall selection, Mooney won’t be selected that high.

In fact, there really isn’t a consensus on where Mooney might land. Several outlets that cover the draft in-depth project him going between the third and sixth rounds.

For his part, Mooney, a right-handed shot, exercises caution on the idea of even being drafted.

“Trying not to think about it too much,” said Mooney, 18. “But also looking forward to it. Having an opportunity to maybe get drafted would be awesome. Wherever you go, just look forward to it.”

The notion of Mooney being a draft pick isn’t new. It probably even predates Cooley’s own selection.

Both are from the unofficial first family of hockey in this region. His father John and uncle, Tom, were some of the first players from the Pittsburgh area to play NCAA Division I hockey in the 1980s. John, by way of Serra Catholic, went on to play at Colorado College. Tom played for West Mifflin and became a captain at Notre Dame.

L.J.’s sisters, Ireland and Kaley Mooney, played for the Miami (Ohio) women’s team.

Cousin Eric Cooley skated at the Division I level with Niagara and Ohio State, and Riley Cooley also suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program.

And don’t forget that other cousin, Logan, who is merely a burgeoning NHL star with the Utah Mammoth.

“Obviously, a big hockey family,” Mooney chuckled. “Coming from that, it’s hard to not play hockey. Also, you fall in love with it growing up. I fell in love with it. Didn’t really have any other sports that I was into that much. Coming from our family, you’re around hockey all the time.”

Mooney enjoyed a productive season skating for the USNTDP, posting 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) in 51 games. And that was despite a left knee injury — he was on the wrong end of a knee-on-knee collision — that sidelined him for several weeks beginning in October.

Oh myyyy LJ Mooney ????#USAvsBGSU pic.twitter.com/f3BdB1wYNS

— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) February 15, 2025

Then in the proving ground that is the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Under-18 World Championship tournament this past spring, Mooney had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in seven games as the United States earned bronze.

Shades of Patrick Kane, Mooney hits the spin move for goal 7. ????️#U18MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/kNO7rGJOfc

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) April 25, 2025

“Just playing my normal game that I can play,” Mooney said. “I think I was at my best there. Was able to play physical and block shots. But also put up some points. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was a great time.”

As one might surmise by his ratio of goals to assists, Mooney is more suited to creating goals than scoring them. But he boasts of other attributes as well.

“I’d say I’m a playmaker,” Mooney said. “Always competing, also. I think sometimes maybe my (level of competition) doesn’t get talked about a lot. Or my physicality. But I think I’m just as good at that as I am with my pucks skills and making plays.”

Mooney’s eagerness to engage in physical play is present despite modest dimensions at 5-foot-8 and 157 pounds.

LJ Mooney isn’t just skating and skill this kid is a competitive Dawg. #U18MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/FOrr5kSUtN

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) April 27, 2025

He defiantly pushes back on that being a detriment.

“I really don’t think it matters at all,” Mooney said. “I’ve heard that my whole life, being too little. Just trying to prove people wrong is fun for me. I’m just looking forward to keep doing that, keep proving people wrong.”

Mooney cites Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (5-10, 165) as an archetype to model his game after.

“A little bit smaller guy but I like to watch him a lot, just the way he competes and the way he plays,” Mooney said. “I try to play like him a little bit.”

Of course, there is another logical comparison.

“We’re pretty similar,” Cooley said. “We’re both pretty good skaters. Probably not the biggest growing up but I think we’re both pretty strong. We find ways to protect ourselves, not getting hit with that being speed, edge work. I skate with him in the summer and train with him. He’s a super-skilled player. He works super hard. It would be great one day to play against him in the NHL or with him.”

Presuming Mooney’s name is selected this weekend, it will extend a streak of Western Pennsylvanians being drafted by NHL teams to four consecutive years.

Following Cooley in 2022, Level Green’s Brandon Svoboda was chosen by the San Jose Sharks in the third round of the 2023 draft. Then last year, Christian Humphreys of Peters Township was a seventh-round selection of the Colorado Avalanche.

This surge comes more than a decade after the 2011 draft that launched the productive careers of J.T. Miller (Coraopolis), John Gibson (Whitehall), Brandon Saad (Gibsonia) and Vince Trocheck (Upper St. Clair).

“It’s, obviously, awesome,” Mooney said. “You see the older guys like J.T. and Trocheck and Gibson, you see those guys, they’re in the NHL doing it. I’m close with the (recently drafted players), just seeing their dream come true, obviously, very happy to see that. Look forward to maybe doing it myself.”

Mooney will monitor this weekend’s draft from his home in West Mifflin, mindful of the comparisons with his cousin. But hardly fixated on them.

“Just trying to ignore it a little bit,” Mooney said. “Whatever happens, happens. Whatever happens, I’m just going to be (grateful) for it and look forward to getting the work in.”

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